WOMEN DOCTORS IN THE COLORADO MOUNTAINS -1870s

Post (c) Doris McCraw

Continuing the story of Early Women Doctors, this post will take a look at two women who practiced in the mountains of Colorado in the early days.

In the 1879 Leadville City Directory, Dr.Mary Helen Barker Bates is the only woman listed among 34 physicians. Prior to her moving to the mountain town, she lived and practiced in Utah. Family stories have called her 'the doctor to Brigham Young'. She left Utah and moved to Leadville with her husband George C. Bates, an attorney. The two remained there until his health caused the couple to move to Denver, Colorado around 1881.George Bates died in 1886 after a long and distinguished legal career, including an appointment by President Grant in 1871 as the district attorney of Utah.

After her husband's death, Dr. Bates remained in and practiced in Denver. While living there Dr. Mary Helen Barker Bates made history as the first woman in Colorado to be appointed to the staff of the Women's and Children's Hospital in 1885. Dr. Bates went on to serve as a member of the Denver Board of Education, as Vice-President of the Colorado Medical Society, and as Colorado's Delegate to the 1904 Pan-American Medical Congress.

In 1878, Dr. Julia A. Adams originally from Oneida, New York moved to Colorado take up residence in Chaffee County at the Cottonwood Hot Springs. Dr. Adams had received her MD from the Homeopathic Medical College in Cleveland, Ohio. She was forty-eight when she graduated. 

Dr. Adams and her second husband the Reverend J.A. Adams purchased the Cottonwood Hot Springs about six miles from what is now Buena Vista, Colorado .Shortly after this purchase, half interest went to George K. Hartenstein, a Buena Vista attorney and the husband to Dr. Adam's daughter. They invested around $50,000 to build a hotel/resort on the property. All materials were hauled to the site over the mountain from Colorado Springs as no train ran through that area. The Rev. and Dr. Adams, after leaving the region and moving to California they became involved with Mary Baker Eddy and the Christian Science movement. Some records say it was Rev. Adams who coined the phrase ‘Christian Science.

The springs were originally used by the Indians for their healing properties. The two story 'resort' served as medical offices and lodging. The primary focus of Dr. Adams was on respiratory, digestive and rheumatic issues. 

For those who would like to know more about the history of these women and the areas they practiced, below are options for additional reading.

James Alexander Semple, Representative Women of Colorado: a pictorial collection of the women of Colorado who have attained prominence in the social, political, professional, pioneer and club life of the State (Denver: Alexander Art Pub. Company, 1914)

History of the Arkansas Valley, Colorado. O.L. Baskin & Company, 1881

Doris McCraw who writes under the pen name Angela Raines is an Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in Colorado and Women's History

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Photo and Poem: Click Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

Every step you take should be a prayer.
And if every step you take is a prayer then you will always be walking in a sacred manner. 
Oglala Lakota Holyman.