Heroes, Villains, Dames & Disasters — 1859: Rolling out a rich history
The first office of the Rocky Mountain News in 1859. Image courtesy of the Denver Public Library Western History Collection, photoswest.org.
The original series, written by Michael Madigan, a longtime editor at the Rocky, started publication in the newspaper and was to have run for 150 days. The closing of the Rocky on Feb. 27 ended the series after barely 100 chapters.
A few of the excerpts have been expanded for the book, which is now on sale at the Colorado History Museum, 1300 Broadway, and all Tattered Cover locations. It can be requested at any Colorado bookstore.
No. 1: April 23, 1859
A cheer went up along Cherry Creek late the night of April 22, 1859. William Newton Byers, 28, and a crew of three men — not all experienced printers, as you will learn — cranked out the first edition of the Rocky Mountain News, beating its very first competitor, The Cherry Creek Pioneer, to the streets of Denver by 20 minutes.
Colorado had its first newspaper.
Byers had arrived from Omaha only one night earlier, setting up shop on the second floor of a log building operated by Uncle Dick Wooton as a general store and saloon. Immediately, he found himself in a race against the Pioneer, as he explained on page 3 in the first edition:
QUICK WORK. — On the 21st, at 7 p.m., the wagons carrying our press were driven to the door and we began unloading. We set up our press, arranged our matter, and the next day at 10 p.m. began printing the outside of our first issue.
One man working with Byers, Ike “Buckskin” Chamberlain, may have had some printing experience. But Byers apparently wasn’t so sure that he could outrace the Pioneer that he would turn down help from an unlikely volunteer. The following account appeared in the paper’s anniversary edition 38 years later:
O.P. Wiggins, the well-known policeman . . . was in the city on the day and had never seen a press. Hearing that one was about to be operated he went to The News office and requested to be allowed to assist in the printing. Mr. Byers gave him a chance to run the roller which distributed the ink over the type. He accepted the offer and worked faithfully for an hour . . . Chamberlain was killed about a year later on the trail between Pueblo and Taos. Mr. Wiggins subscribed for The News at that time and has been a continuous subscriber ever since. Amos Steck divides the honor with Mr. Wiggins, having taken the paper as regularly.
For all 150 complete chapters, with accompanying original front pages from the Rocky, plus the book Foreword written by State Historian William J. Convery, ask for Heroes, Villains, Dames & Disasters at your favorite bookstore or order online at www.michaelmadiganauthor.com.
