By mid-June, the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) had delivered two shipments containing 209 pieces of six-inch water pipe (2,508 lineal feet) to Palmer Lake at a cost of $1,128.71.[49] Town Trustee Doyle reported that Eben Smith was in favor of the town laying a joint pipeline with the Rio Grande Railroad if the town could apply the six-inch pipe Smith had just purchased toward the town’s share in a larger main line. In November, Eben Smith noted that he had talked with a Rio Grande engineer about constructing a dam and reservoir to ensure a reliable supply of town water. The railroad reluctantly agreed to send an engineer to make a survey and an estimate. Smith wrote:
Our plan…now is to build a crib at the lower side, with a batter of inch timber, having it tied inside with legs, and filled from the banks with rock and all kinds of debris, as the crib is going up. In the mean-time prior to building the crib, to lay in the pipe, probably an 8 inch pipe, then stop the waste water around the end of this. This arrangement will cost very much less than a stone dam such as they put in heretofore, and will last longer…. From cribs I have built in mining operations I am satisfied this will last from twenty to twenty-five years if the bark is taken off of the logs.[50]
Smith’s water receipt signed by four D&RG officials.
The Rio Grande’s chief engineer considered the plans and estimates of a proposed reservoir above Palmer Lake and noted that the total costs would be approximately $14,000. He wrote to Eben Smith in January 1900:
As I understand the scheme as suggested by you [Smith] is that a reservoir with a capacity of 47 million gallons, covering nearly 11 acres, should be constructed on land belonging to the D&RG RR [Denver & Rio Grande Railroad] Company on Middle Monument Creek…; that you would individually contribute a sum of money toward defraying the expense of construction of the dam and reservoir, and that the Town of Palmer Lake would do likewise….
I had hoped to be able in my own mind to fix some basis that would be equitable to all parties concerned, but so far I have been unable to arrive at a definite conclusion; I would, therefore, suggest that you give this matter thought and confer with the citizens of Palmer Lake, if you deem it best, and make some definite proposition that I can submit to [Rio Grande president] Mr. Jeffery.[51]
Apparently the town or the railroad could not easily agree to terms, for in October the town clerk wrote Smith that he had called upon Mr. Jeffery in Denver and was told the matter was under consideration. The clerk noted that:
The other members of our Board of Trustees are bubbling over with a desire to “do something” and at our last meeting again passed a resolution, this time authorizing the issue of $5,000 worth of bonds for the purpose of laying new pipes in Glen Park and a new main down past your place to the north end of the lake… I opposed this move claiming that I felt that they were making a mistake in making any extensions before providing for more water which could only be done by building the reservoir….
Can not an agreement be reached with the D&RG before [our next meeting in November] regarding the reservoir? And unless the action that has been taken meets with your approval, won’t you kindly write me in reply to this, setting forth your ideas regarding this matter? Also state a time when we could meet with Mr. Jeffery and yourself which letter I could show to them and thereby hold them in check until we could proceed properly. They have already commenced work.[52]
Smith’s decision to retire from his business activities in 1901 and move to Los Angeles must have removed him as a major player in efforts to upgrade Palmer Lake’s water works. It was not until 1904 that the town authorized $15,000 worth of bonds and signed a contract with the railroad for building a new dam and reservoir and to reconstruct the town’s water main.
Smith’s Impact on Palmer Lake’s Economy
In addition to the financial assistance Eben Smith provided the town in laying new water pipes and efforts he made to get a new dam and reservoir built, Estamere’s owner also played a significant role in the local Palmer Lake economy, especially during the summer months. Although only a private citizen and part-time resident, Smith may have contributed as much to the economy of Palmer Lake as did the expenditures of the town and county governments. While many building supplies were purchased in Denver and a few workers from that city came to work on projects at Estamere, the Smiths (and later the Carnahans) made significant purchases from Palmer Lake businesses and hired a number of local men to work at Estamere. The men were paid wages of between $2.50 and $3.00 a day for their work.
Local Residents who worked for and provided supplies to the Smiths at Estamere (1898-1905)[53]
Eben Smith kept excellent business records. All bills and receipts from suppliers had to go through his office in Denver for payment. Ultimately, many of these documents were donated to the Denver Public Library, where they remain today. They provide a great resource for insight into Eben Smith’s time at Estamere and his influence on the regional economy. Some of these receipts refer to the following people who worked at Estamere or sold supplies to the Eben Smith family there:
· Babcock, Jerome C. (Provided mulch for Estamere flower beds, 1900.) Babcock had a farm near Greenland and was proprietor of the Bay State Dairy.
· Berry, Mrs. Clarissa A.J. (General property manager and overseer at Estamere, 1899-1906.) Berry, the sister of the man who built Estamere, Dr. W. Finley Thompson, sold the furniture in Estamere to Eben Smith in 1898 for $255. For at least seven years, she watched over the property and those who worked at Estamere. Clarissa even lived in the house at times. Eben Smith paid her $25.00 a month for her services.
· Campbell, Archibald P. (Gardener at Estamere, 1899; also sold meat to the Smiths, 1899.)
· Campbell, Walter. (Gardener at Estamere, 1898-99.)
· Doyle, DeWitt. (Provided building supplies, worked as a painter, plumbing assistant, made roof repairs, and dug up and drained the sewer and grease trap at Estamere, 1899-1900, 1903.) Doyle was the son of John W. Doyle.
· Doyle, John W. (Painter at Estamere, 1899.) Doyle was living at Palmer Lake as early as 1891; he served as the first watchman in Glen Park.
· Frey, Daniel. (Plumber at Estamere, 1898-1900.) Frey commuted from his store in Denver, but supervised several local residents who worked as his plumbing assistants. He installed the new water line to Estamere in 1898.
· Gard, Alva. (Shoveled snow at Estamere, 1900.) Alva was the son of John M. Gard, who, with his brother E. Chapin, came to Palmer Lake in 1888 and started the town’s first newspaper.
· Hanks, Thomas A. (Transported supplies to Estamere, some from the Palmer Lake railroad station, 1898-1900.) Hanks owned a livery stable in Palmer Lake and transported people and goods to and from the railroad station and local merchants. Hauled trash from Estamere and delivered loads of sand, cement, lumber, coal, iron pipes, groceries, manure, dirt, hay, oats, alfalfa, and household goods, including furniture, that were shipped from Denver to Estamere. He shoed horses at Estamere, and used his team to spread manure on the lawn. Transported Eben Smith’s horses from Palmer Lake to Denver.
· Judd, John L. (Sold meat to the Smiths, 1899.) Judd owned an eating house and hotel by the Rio Grande station at Palmer Lake. Elected the second mayor of Palmer Lake in 1890 and was on the town’s Board of Trustees in 1914.
· Giem, M. G. (Sold meat to the Smiths, 1899.) The Giems were a prominent family in Palmer Lake and later owned a ranch there. Maude Grace Giem, wife of George F. Giem, ran two grocery stores in Palmer Lake and one in Glen Park in 1900.
· Giem, W.C. (Shoveled snow at Estamere, transported lumber to the property, 1900.) He was a brother of Edward F. and George Giem and was in the livery business.
· Hanna, John B. (Carpenter at Estamere, 1900.) Hanna had a farm in Jefferson County.
· Harper, C. R. (Shoveled snow at Estamere, 1900.)
· Kerbough, William W. (Shoveled snow at Estamere, 1900.) He was a local farmer.
· Lindquist, John A. (Did lawn work at Estamere, 1899.) Lindquist lived in town for many
years; the town hired him in 1916 to take care of the town’s trees.
· McGraff, Thomas. (Gardener at Estamere, 1899.) He had a home in Colorado City.
· Miller, Patrick J. (Gardener at Estamere, 1900-02.) Miller moved into the Mackey house in June 1900 with his family; was the landscape gardener in charge of the grounds at Estamere. He worked there all year around for monthly wages of $75.
· Mount, G.H. (Helped the Estamere gardener, 1900-01.) He lived with John L. Woodbury at this time.
· Munger, Harry E. (Provided building supplies for Estamere, 1899; furnished ice in 1900.) Munger was the son of John H. Munger, who ran a general merchandise store in Palmer Lake.
· Owen, Robert W. (Cleaned stables at Estamere and shoveled snow, 1900.) Owen was a local farmer, who later served five terms as mayor of Palmer Lake.
· Russell, Gholson G. (Sold 3,000 pounds of coal to the Smiths in 1898.) The Russells came to Palmer Lake about 1885. Russell was the manager of The Rocklands Hotel in 1895 and was affiliated with the Ben Lomond Ranch. He was an owner of the Russell Mine north of Palmer Lake, went bankrupt, and moved to Denver.
· Russell, Mrs. G.G. (Sold a cow, a load of coal, and butter, cream, and gingerbread to Mrs. Eben Smith, 1898.) For many years she ran the D&RG Lunch Room that was owned by John L. Judd.
· Sawyer, Roland. (Landscaper at Estamere, 1899.) He was a farm laborer from Boulder County.
· Sherwin, Frank R. Jr. (Sold manure and soil to the Smiths, as well as ploughed the garden at Estamere, 1902.) Sherwin had worked as a foreman on the Ben Lomond Ranch about 1886. Later, he was a farmer, operated the Pinehurst Dairy, served on the Palmer Lake town council, and was a Forest Service ranger.
· Shrull, Frank S. (Supplied 2,200 pounds of ice to Estamere in September 1899.) Shrull worked for the railroad in the 1890s; was a town trustee in 1901. For a while he was in the transfer (livery) business.
· Shumaker, Jerry B. (Supplied gunny sacks to cover shrubs at Estamere in October 1899.) Shumaker was a carpenter by trade and served as the first marshal of Palmer Lake in 1889.
· Skipp, Daniel (Carpenter at Estamere, 1899.)
· Skipp, Samuel (Carpenter at Estamere, 1899.) He was a carpenter from Denver.
· Stanley, F. R. (Gardener at Estamere, 1903.)
· Steimle, John H. (Sold milk and cream to the Smiths, 1905.) Steimle was also in the ice business at Palmer Lake.
· Woodbury, John L. (Carpenter and general caretaker at Estamere, 1899-1905.) Woodbury built many houses in Palmer Lake and Glen Park in the 1890s and early 1900s. He billed Eben Smith $3.00 to $3.50 a day for his work. He probably continued working at Estamere until his death in 1918.
It appears that Eben Smith was acquainted with John Woodbury prior to Smith’s purchase of Estamere. An interesting newspaper clipping shows that Eben Smith and John L. Woodbury served on a petit jury in Boulder in January 1878. Smith might have been the reason Woodbury came to Palmer Lake where Eben hired him to work on Estamere.
In addition to the local produce he bought and wages he paid, Smith was the biggest taxpayer of the town, paying property taxes on Estamere to the El Paso County Treasurer’s Office. The County turned over to the town of Palmer Lake approximately $400 of the taxes Smith paid to the County during the years he owned Estamere, and an additional $175 of his tax payments went to support the local school district.
John Woodbury’s Obituary 1918.
Emily (Emma) Rundel Smith
Emily Louise Rundel was born in Penfield, New York, in 1836. She arrived in Colorado in 1860 and settled in Boulder where she became a school teacher. She married Eben Smith in 1866 and they soon moved to Central City. Before the railroad reached Denver, Emily made six trips to and from the East and crossed the plains to Denver on the Overland stage. She lived in Aspen and Leadville with her husband and came with him to Denver in 1893. She was associated with and supported many charitable activities in Denver including the Old Ladies Home, the Society for the Aged Poor, and the Children’s Hospital. Emma died of cancer in Denver on 26 December 1909 at the age of 73.
Emma Smith became the owner of Estamere upon the death of her husband in November 1906. There is no record of her at Palmer Lake in 1907; she may have stayed at her Los Angeles home that summer to deal with the personal effects of her husband. Cora Carnahan sailed for Europe in June of that year, while Frank Smith was in the midst of marital troubles. Hence, the family may not have been at Estamere that summer. Emily and her children and grandchildren did stay at Estamere during the summer of 1908:
Estamere house, Mrs. Eben Smith’s home, is occupied this summer by the family. Mrs. Carnahan is visiting her mother this week. The usual retinue of servants with their automobiles and two chauffeurs make quite a showing.
In spite of the fact that Estamere house has three automobiles in commission here, there are some beautiful saddle horses in the barn [the Carriage House?]. Frank Smith and his son, Eben, can be seen every day riding over the country together, having a happy time.[54]
Cora Carnahan returned from a trip to Europe with her daughters Doris and Emily in late June of 1909, and spent time with her mother at Estamere later that summer, Emily Smith’s last season at Palmer Lake.
Anne McCarroll—1901 Photos of Eben Smith at Estamere
On 03 October 2000, Roger Ward received an email from Anne McCarroll in Ireland. Anne stated:
Hi, I was delighted to come across your site. My grandmother was born in Colorado and was a close friend of Cora Smith (Carnahan). She married an Irishman and came to live in Ireland in 1893. In 1901 she made a return visit and spent some time with Cora at Palmer [Lake]. We have a few photos from that visit including one of the carriage house with their party ready to set out on a trip and also two postcards. I had always been under the impression that the carriage house photo was from Hamill House in Georgetown. Your house is really lovely and it is so wonderful to see historic houses and their history being cherished as they deserve. Best of luck in all your efforts, A.
In 2011, Anne provided more information on her great-grandparents:
My grandmother’s maiden name was Frances (Fanny) R. Watson. She was the daughter of Joseph Warrington Watson, silver mine owner, arbitrator, and manager as fortune allowed. He had been in partnership with Governor Routt when they made the lucky strike in Leadville. He had worked with Eben Smith in Summit County in the 1860s and was Eben Smith’s best man at his wedding to Emily Rundle. My grandmother met Patrick F. O’Kane, businessman from Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in Menton, France while he was holidaying with his sister, Marianne. Fanny and Cora were being chaperoned by a Mrs. Stille on their European tour (Sep 1891 to May 1892). My grandparents continued the attachment by letters and in August 1893 my grandfather made the journey to Denver for their wedding, after which they returned to live in Ireland.
The Eben Smith “party ready to set out on a trip” (from McCarroll). The structure to the far
left-hand side of the Carriage House is no longer present; it may have been the stable.
The Mystery of the Lions
Of special note is the next photo (provided by Anne McCarroll) that shows Eben Smith and his grandchildren on the front porch of Estamere. Notice the lamp post and the lion on the porch to Eben’s right—the lamp post is still at Estamere, but the lions of today are different. Photos from about 1906 to the 1960s show no lions. David Forsyth solved the mystery—after David published his Master’s thesis on Eben Smith, Emily Smith’s great-great-granddaughter Julia Moore Mynett sent David a photo, below, showing the original Estamere lions on the front of Eben Smith’s mausoleum at the Fairmount Cemetery in Denver. There is no doubt that these are the original lions. David included a current photo of the mausoleum in his thesis—sans lions. Someone removed the lions from the mausoleum between 1906 and 2000. Notice that the lion in the photo with Eben Smith has the left paw over the right paw; in the photo below the right-hand lion has its left paw over the right paw, while the lion on the left has the right pa
w over the left paw. The photo on the cover of this book shows the original Estamere lions with the same crossed paws as the lions on the mausoleum.
Left photo: Eben Smith at Estamere, probably with Harold and Doris Carnahan.
Right photo: Left: Cora Carnahan; right: Fanny (Watson) O'Kane. From Anne McCarroll.
Eben Smith’s mausoleum with the Estamere lions at the Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.
Right photo of Eben’s mausoleum without lions by David Forsyth ca. 2000.
A visit to Fairmount Cemetery by Dan Edwards revealed the following information inscribed on Eben Smith’s mausoleum:
EBEN SMITH MAUSOLEUM
Fairmount Cemetery, Section 3, Denver, CO
May 2010
Frank Leonard Smith Jr
1927-1997
Mary Frances Smith
1924-2007
Cora Smith Costello
March 27, 1870—Jan 17, 1956
Harold Smith Carnahan
Jan 27, 1894—Nov 9, 1924
Eben Leroy Smith
(plaque w/dates)
Melvin Hill Smith
Sept 23, 1917—Dec 28, 1972
An 1880s Victorian Mansion in the Colorado Rockies: The Estemere Estate at Palmer Lake Page 7