I return to the First Ladies Series with a piece written by my friend and Queen Palmer expert, Dianne Hartshorn. If you wish to see the prior posts in this series, you can find them here:
Elizabeth McAllister
Cara Bell
Grace Greenwood
Lucy Maggard
Helen (Hunt) Jackson
Imagine
you are a new bride of twenty one who finally received word from your
husband to join him at your new home on the Colorado frontier. The
reunion, however, is not at all you’d planned. Your dear husband is
nowhere to be found; however, he did ask a business partner to meet
you at the train. By the way, did I also mentioned, you were
accompanied by your father, stepmother and several of your
step-siblings? In addition, it's a March Spring day, which in the
high desert plains where you’re new home is, usually means
miserable snowy weather.
What
would you do? Would you step back on that train and return home to
your comfortable home in Flushing New York, or would you accept the
challenge of the adventure?
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| Mary 'Queen' Lincoln Melon Palmer as a young woman |
Imagine
asking yourself those questions. Mary Lincoln Mellon Palmer, who
could be considered the First Lady of Colorado Springs, may have
asked herself those very questions, as she stepped off the train at
the Denver and Rio Grande Depot in March of 1871. It was a dismal
spring day, snowing, cold and downright miserable. William Jackson
Palmer, her husband, founder of Colorado Springs, the Denver and Rio
Grande Railroad, and responsible for a great deal of development of
Colorado's front range, was nowhere around. He had been detained on a
survey expedition in the mountains. Most young ladies might have
purchased a return ticket home, but not our Queen.
Mary
Lincoln Mellon was born March 24, 1850, in Prestonsburg KY. to
William and Isabel Clark Mellon. Isabel’s parents, Charlotte and
Nathan Clark were pioneers on the Minnesota Frontier. The story is,
Isabel’s sister, Charlotte, was the first white child born in MN.
Charlotte,
Mary’s grandmother, is the one to bestow the nickname ‘Queen’
to Mary while still a child. Isabel, unlike her mother Charlotte, did
not inherit that strong pioneer constitution. When “Queen’ was
only four, her mother, Isabel, died at the age of twenty-five. When
Isabel’s husband, William, remarried it was to Isabel’s younger
sister, Charlotte. Through this union, Queen was blessed with seven
step-brothers and sisters.
Queen’s
father, a prominent player in Washington politics, served as an agent
for the treasury department during the Civil War. When the war ended,
Mr. Mellon traveled a great deal seeking investment opportunities. As
the eldest child, Queen would accompany her father on many of these
business trips. One on particular trip, she and her father made the
acquaintance of the charming and dashing Civil War hero, and empire
builder, William Jackson Palmer. The two fell in love and married a
year later.
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| Pikes Peak in the Springtime photo property of Doris McCraw |
It
was an exciting time for those involved in building the Fountain
Colony, associated with the now Colorado Springs, located at the foot
of Pikes Peak. Queen understood how important her role was, not only
to her husband’s dream, but to the community as well.
Queen’s
father, Mr. Mellon, was also an intricate part of the expansion of
the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. He was deeply involved in the
establishment of South Pueblo, in addition to being a significant
investor in Palmer’s Denver and Rio Grande Railroad.
Queen
didn’t wait for things to happen, she made things happen. She’d
had the opportunity of a good education and realized the success of
the colony depended on its children, and their education. She started
the first school, serving as its first teacher. The family lived in a
beautiful estate nestled in the canons off of Camp Creek about an
hour from the new town. So each school day was a two hour trip for
Queen, which she gladly did.
She
also worked tirelessly along with other women in the new colony. She
was aided by the energy of Rose Kingsley, a friend from England.
Rose's brother Maurice served as the treasurer for the Colorado
Springs Land Company. Together, Queen and Rose, would put on concerts
and other entertaining events to bolster the spirits of the colony’s
inhabitants. She encouraged the donation of books for the colony’s
reading room. One of the donors was author, Helen Hunt Jackson. Queen
was also responsible for the first Christmas party.
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| Garden of the Gods- Near Queen's Canhon Photo property of Doris McCraw |
As
you can see, Queen had a zest for life. She enjoyed sharing the
beauty of the region by escorting guests on hikes and carriage rides.
Many of these trips included Queen’s Canyon, Manitou Springs, and
the nearby vicinity.
In
early 1872, she and Rose Kingsley accompanied General Palmer and
other gentlemen into the wild’s of Mexico. It was just prior to
this trip that Queen learned she was expecting their first child.
Like
her mother, Queen also did not inherit the strength of her pioneering
grandmother. She suffered her first heart attack at the age of
thirty, on a return trip from Leadville, CO. It was several months
later that the Palmer’s welcomed their second child.
In
the hope of regaining her health, Queen moved to England. She wanted
to watch her daughters grow into young women. General Palmer
frequently visited England, to see his wife and their three
daughters. Despite her wish to live in the town she helped create,
and to watch her daughter grow to young women, it was not to be. In
December of 1894, shortly after Christmas, Queen died. She was only
forty-four years old.
Doris Gardner-McCraw -
Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History
Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet
For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here
Photo and Poem: Click Here
Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here
