Recreation of General William Jackson Palmer's Funeral

2009-04-17T21:51:00.001-07:00

On March 21st, the citizens of Colorado Springs once again had the opportunity to pay tribute to William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs. Not only did General Palmer found this great city but also was responsible for the founding of many cities along the front range, including, Pueblo, Alamosa, Durango, Manitou Springs, and Palmer Lake. A man of great vision and ideals, we can only hope we have lived up to his standards of the community he founded at the foot of Pikes Peak.

The day was beautifully sunny and warm for us in this decade. We included a horse drawn hearse, 2 carriages, and 4 cars for the re enactment. It was escorted by 3 police cars. Modern days needs required a more limited assemblage. It went off without a hitch.
We estimate around 300 people came out to see this event. We witnessed people who walked with the procession from Giuseppes to Evergreen. We witnessed drivers in opposite lanes stop, as was customary, until the procession passed. We realized that General Palmer's memory was still alive in the thoughts of the citizen's of Colorado Springs. WOW!
We have to thank Joann Colt of Giuseppes for allowing us to take this event through her restaurant. She is a dedicated historian to this city and always a positive influence! We wish to thank the Gazette newspaper for printing the issue commemorating this man's passing. It took many man hours for them to produce this paper and their willingness to participate was unwavering. We wish to thank our photographers, Jim Baker, Aaron Hartshorn, and Scott Robley for documenting this event in film. Also a thank you goes out to the members of the Pikes Peak Chapter of the Veteran Motor Car Club of America who drove their vintage cars and dressed up for the event.

We wish to thank everyone who came out and took time out of their weekend to attend this. We recieved many positive comments. It was a terrific climax to almost a year of planning. We also would like to commend Will DeBoer, cemetery manager, for leading this planning. Without his input we would not have been able to accomplish this. A huge thank you also goes out to the re enactors that came out to represent the family and friends of Gen. Palmer. Father Marty from St. Stephens did an outstanding job representing the original pastor.
Below are photos taken by Jim Baker from www.theweddingphotographycenter.com

Click on the link below to view a film by Mike Colletta of Colorado Springs, CO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOzJ-L_7rZY

Please choose these links for more information on the event for the Gazette Telegraph
http://www.gazette.com/articles/lorraine_50430___article.html/funeral_center.html

The Gazette Telegraph were able to reproduce the 1909 Edition of the Paper. It was a treat to read the paper from 100 years ago.
http://www.gazette.com/articles/general_50314___article.html/mrs_city.html

A PERFECT ERA

Recreation of General William Jackson Palmer's Funeral