The Kingsleys in 1870s Colorado: A Very British Desire for Adventure, Investment, and Community

The Kingsleys in 1870s Colorado reveals the story of how one Englishwoman, Rose G. Kingsley, the eldest daughter of an Anglican clergyman, arrived in the newly-founded town Colorado Springs in November 1871 to organize the first reading room, the first music concert, and the Fountain Society of Natural Science. Rose’s brother, Maurice, was already in Colorado, inspired to emigrate there by city founder, William J. Palmer, a Civil War veteran and President of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, and his English business partner, William A. Bell. The cultural influence of Maurice Kingsley and Rose was such that the town was soon referred to as Little London. In the summer of 1874, the Reverend Kingsley sojourned in nearby Manitou Springs for six weeks with Rose on her return visit, at the same time that his brother, Dr. George Kingsley, M.D., was assisting the 4th Earl of Dunraven to create a ranch in Estes Park, Colorado, an adventure that would soon become dangerous when a Dunraven employee shot Rocky Mountain Jim. For the first time, the full story is told of the international investment intrigue behind the Kingsleys in Colorado.