Hartman, Alonzo; 1905 Bio, Gunnison County, Colorado http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/gunnison/bios/hartmna.txt --------------------------------------- Donated May 2001 Transcribed by Judy Crook from the book: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Published 1905, A.W. Bowen & Co., Chicago, Ill. --------------------------------------- Alonzo Hartman Following in the footsteps of his worthy and esteemed father, who was a pioneer in three states, Alonzo Hartman, of Gunnison, who owns and operates the largest and best cattle ranch in the county and carries on one of the most extensive ranching and cattle industries on the western slope of this state, boldly strode into the wilderness when what is now Gunnison county was a part of Lake county and an Indian reservation, with no white men within fifty miles of where he "stuck his stake" and there challenging fate list, determined to meet her on almost equal terms. During the first winter of his residence in the benighted region the snow was almost continuously four feet deep, and hardships and privations were ever present and pressing. True, he had a position under the United States government at the Los Pinos Indian agency to look after cattle, but that was a post of danger and difficulty, and he had, even in performing its duties, to rely largely on his own resources and meet the conditions around him with courage and determination. His career in that new country has demonstrated his fitness for the task he selected for himself, and justified his self- reliance. Mr. Hartman was born on September 3, 1850, on a farm near Iowa City, Iowa, where his parents, Thomas and Mary (Boone) Hartman, settled in early life and were reared and married. The former was a native of Canada and the latter of Pennsylvania, she being a descendant of the renowned Daniel Boone. The father as a pioneer in that part of Iowa took up the paternal homestead and became one of the prosperous and extensive farmers of the section. The family afterward moved to Kansas and later to Colorado, being pioneers in each state. The father died at Denver in 1885, and the mother now lives at Montrose. They had a family of five sons and one daughter, all of whom are living but the daughter the sons being residents of western Colorado. Alonzo was reared on farms and received a limited common-school education in the primitive and incomplete country schools of a new country. He was eight years old when his parents moved to Kansas, and thirteen when they became residents of this state. They took up their residence at Denver, the father giving his attention to mining in the neighborhood. The son was then able to attend for a time the Denver Seminary, the first high school in that city. The principal business part of the city at the time of his arrival was on the West Side, and soon afterward Blake street became the chief business center. As a boy and young man he worked in the mines and at whatever else he could find to do, being two years at Golden and two at Central City. In 1865 his father entered the cattle industry, and the son remained with him until seventeen years of age. During the next three years he was employed on a range and in buying and selling cattle. In 1870 he moved into the San Luis valley with a herd of cattle and started a cattle and ranching business of his own. Two years later he accepted the government position already alluded to in what is now Gunnison county at Los Pinos Indian agency, arriving at his post of service on Christmas day, 1872. The region was remote, uninhabited by settlers and devoid of roads and the other conveniences of life, and all who were there had to "rough it" in heroic style. The life was strenuous enough to satisfy the most adventurous and the outlook was sufficiently unpromising to deter all but the most determined. Mr. Hartman remained in the government service nearly four years, then in 1876 started a trading post and small store for dealings with the Indians. Soon afterward the post office at Gunnison was established and he was appointed postmaster, but was obliged to hire a man to carry the mails once a week, or oftener as occasion demanded. This was one of the first post offices on the Western slope and he had charge of it a number of years. His store was on a part of his present ranch, and having his operations concentrated, as the town grew and the number of settlers in the surrounding country increased, he soon found himself with a flourishing and steadily increasing trade. When Gunnison county was organized he and James P. Kelley, who were partners, bought one hundred and twenty acres of land and laid out the townsite of Gunnison in 1879. Not long after this he built a store on the townsite, and from that time his rise in prosperity and consequence in the community was rapid. As an indication of the rapid growth of the place and development of the region, it should be noted that when the post office was established he could carry all the mail in his vest pocket, but after the railroad was built through his salary as postmaster was three thousand dollars a year and he was obliged to employ several clerks and other help. He continued merchandising until 1885, and since then he has been giving his attention almost wholly to this ranch and cattle interests. His start in this was one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he took up in 1877, it being one of the first homesteads and he one of the first settlers in the county as it is now. That tract is still part of the ranch, which now embraces two thousand acres and is one of the most highly developed and best improved in the county. He has a fine modern brick dwelling, with brick barns, shed and other needed structures, and equipped with all the conveniences of life known to the progressive man at this period. The ranch yields fifteen hundred to sixteen hundred tons of good hay a year and with this and its extensive pasture lands supports in comfort the fifteen hundred to two thousand cattle which are regularly fed on it. Mr. Hartman is now one of the most extensive cattle dealers on the Western slope, buying and selling in large numbers in addition to what he raises. The ranch is beautifully located in the valley of the Gunnison and Tomichi rivers, which form a confluence on it, and it has eight miles of mountain streams running through and fertilizing its expansive domain. These streams afford the finest trout fishing in this part of the country, and incidental to his other pursuits, some years ago the proprietor built ponds and a fish hatchery and paid considerable attention to the propagation of trout. This industry is not now in active operation, but the structures for it are still intact and [in] good condition. But the dairy which he started at nearly the same time he still conducts, keeping thirty milch cows of chosen breeds to supply its trade. Politically Mr. Hartman is a Republican, but he is seldom active in party contests, although he has served one term as county commissioner. Fraternally he belongs to the order of Odd Fellows at Gunnison. On January 29, 1882, he was married to Miss Anna Haigler, a native of West Virginia, a daughter of William P. and Mary (Hinkle) Haigler, who moved from their native state, West Virginia, and located near Olathe, Kansas, in 1860, and were pioneers in that part of the state. The father died in Colorado in 1888, and since then the mother has made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Hartman. In the Hartman household three children have been born, Hazel H., Alonzo Bruce and Leah L., all of whom are living at home. Their father has the distinction of being the oldest settler in Gunnison county, and in addition is one of its most respected citizens. =================================================== Contributed for use by the USGenWeb Archive Project (http://www.usgenweb.org) and by the COGenWeb Archive Project USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access.