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The Hinsdale County Courthouse is important for its association with the settlement and development of Lake City during the late 1800s mining era. Constructed in 1877, the building is significant as the state's oldest courthouse still in use for its original purpose. The first year of its operation as a courthouse was marked by the appearance of suffragette Susan B. Anthony.
Anthony came to Lake City as part of a state-wide speaking tour and addressed a capacity audience on two successive nights. Anthony was originally scheduled to speak in the upstairs courtroom, but the large crowd could not be accommodated inside the building. She spoke instead from the courthouse's east entrance, facing Henson Street. Anthony was a founding member of the Lake City Female Suffrage Association. Another charter member of the association was Lake City Attorney J. Warner Mills. Mills was the author of the Colorado Equal Rights Amendment, approved in 1893. Colorado was the second state to allow women to vote, following Wyoming. Another notable event occurred in the courthouse on April 13, 1883. That was the date that Alferd Packer was convicted of cannibalism and sentenced to death by hanging. His sentence was later reduced to prison time by the Colorado Supreme Court. He was paroled in 1901 and died in 1907.
The Hinsdale County Courthouse is a rare surviving example of a frame courthouse building. It is also a well-preserved representative of the local interpretation of the Italianate style, as constructed in Lake City during this period. Italianate features of the courthouse include the bracketed cornice, corner boards, frieze board, transoms, and narrow windows with crown molding. The courthouse remains relatively unchanged since Anthony addressed miners on the importance of extending the vote to women. The interior includes many original furnishings. The upstairs courtroom continues to be used for periodic County and District Court functions.
FUN FACTS TO KNOW AND TELL
1) Susan B. Anthony was a founding member of the Lake City Female Suffrage Association. Another charter member was city Attorney Warner Mills who after moving to Denver authored the Colorado Equal Rights Amendment approved in 1893.
2) Alferd Packer accused of cannibalism in Hinsdale County in 1875, was tried at the courthouse on April 6, 1883.
OTHER PLACES TO VISIT
1) Hinsdale County Museum
2) Silver Thread Scenic and Historic Byway
3) Alpine Loop Scenic and Historic Byway
4) Public lands: approximately 97% of Hinsdale County is public land half of which is wilderness.
5) Lake San Cristobal: Colorado's second largest natural lake
6) National Historic District: one of the state's largest with over 75 buildings from the late 1800's.
RELATED WEBSITES
http://www.lakecitymuseum.com/
http://www.lakecitydirt.com
http://www.lakecitymusicfest.org
http://www.hinsdalehauteroute.org/
http://www.lakecity50.com
http://www.lakecityarts.org
http://www.lakecityskihill.com
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