The Steele Story-"a Part of Colorado's History
| Publication year | 2009 |
| Pages | 15 |
2009, December, Pg. 15. The Steele Story-"A Part of Colorado's History
December 2009
Vol. 38, No. 12 [Page 15]
About the Author
Hon. William A. Erickson, retired Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court, served from 1971 to 1996. He graduated from Colorado School of Mines in 1947 as a Petroleum Engineer, and was awarded the Distinguished Medal in 1990 and an Honorary Doctor of Engineering degree in 2002. In 1950, Erickson earned his JD degree from the University of Virginia Law School, where he was an honorary member of the Coif. He practiced law in Denver from 1951 until he became the third merit appointment to the Court in 1971. The Colorado Bar Association presented him the Award of Merit in 1989. Justice Erickson chaired the National Commission for the Review of Federal and State Laws relating to wiretapping and electronic surveillance, and filed a five-volume report with President Gerald Ford and the U.S. Congress. He also chaired Colorado Governor Bill Owens's Columbine Review Commission in 2001 and, in 1977, the Erickson Commission Report on Law Enforcement's Use of Deadly Force in Denver. Justice Erickson thanks Daniel B. Cordova, librarian with the Colorado Supreme Court Law Library, for his assistance in preparing this article.
Walter (Bill) Arundel Steele died on May 27, 2008, at the age of 85. He was one of the finest and most respected trial lawyers in Denver. He died two days after the passing of his older brother, Robert (Bob) Wilbur Steele III, who was a nationally known forestry expert. Bob Steele obtained his PhD in Forest Fire Science from Colorado State University, and was a professor of Forestry at Montana University for many years. Bill and Bob Steele were sons of Colorado District Court Judge Robert W. Steele, Jr. and Alice Arundel Steele; grandsons of Chief Justice Robert Wilbur Steele; and great-grandsons of Dr. Henry K. Steele.(fn1)
This "story" is a chronological history of the Steele family in Colorado. This family's history coincides with the history of Colorado before and after it became a state. A brief discussion of Colorado history is provided to establish frame of reference for the Steele family, as well as for the discussion that occurs later about the future home of the Colorado judicial department and its impact on the Steele family legacy.
A Brief Colorado History
The Civil War was over. Many veterans returned to their homes in the North and the South, bitter and broke with financial burdens and obligations that could not be met. The Louisiana Purchase made vast amounts of land west of the Mississippi River open for homesteading, mining, and development. Stories flourished about the gold discoveries in California in 1849 and the fortunes made by filing the first mining claims in California. The silver discoveries and mining boom in Colorado produced a lot of prospectors.
Many men and women accepted the advice to "Go West, young man, and grow up with the country."(fn2) Homesteading presented families with opportunities to obtain the title to land for farming or ranching without paying cash for the value of the land. Of interest here, Henry Cordes Brown, spurred by his failure in the first California Gold Rush, left his home in Ohio with his wife in a second attempt to strike it rich. On his way to California, they passed through Denver and, inspired by the beauty of Colorado, he was confronted by his wife's statement: "Mr. Brown, thou may press on to California if such be thy wish. I shall stay here."(fn3)
The Capitol Building Project
The Browns made Denver their home and homesteaded the 160 acres known as Brown's Bluff or Capitol Hill. To raise the worth of his other property, he donated ten acres to the capitol building project. Disputes as to where the state capitol should be located delayed Colorado's pursuit of statehood. Brown attempted to revoke his gift.(fn4) A constitutional convention and a petition was filed on July 1, 1876 that permitted President Grant to proclaim on August 1, 1876 that Colorado was the Centennial State and the thirty-eighth state of the United States. In terms of population, there has never been any question about Colorado's growth potential. For example, in 1870, the census reported Colorado's population to be 39,864. The 1880 census reported a population of 194,327. The 2008 census reported a population of 4,193,962.(fn5)
The ten acres donated by Brown to the State Board of Capitol Managers(fn6) became the site of the Colorado State Capitol and the Civic Center Park around the Capitol Building (cornerstone laid on July 4, 1890, dome completed in 2008). The Colorado State Capitol was built to provide space for Colorado's three branches of government. It had executive office space for the governor and chambers and office space for the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as hearing rooms. The judiciary had a Supreme Court Courtroom, chambers for its seven Justices and their clerks, a Supreme Court library, and offices for the administration and execution of the laws enacted by our General Assembly.(fn7)
Since 1977, the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals and the Colorado Supreme Court library were located in the Colorado Judicial Building, which will be torn down in May 2010 and replaced with a new judicial building, named the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Complex (Carr Complex). The new judicial complex is scheduled to be completed in 2015. The judicial department will be required to contract or lease space for its operation until the Carr Complex is available for occupancy.
The Pioneers
Steele family members were true Colorado pioneers. Dr. Henry King Steele made enormous contributions to the medical profession in the city of Denver and in the state of Colorado during the end of the 19th century. The pioneer quality extends to Dr. Steele's son, grandson, and great grandchildren. Their participation in the growth and development of the law and the legal profession in Colorado is without question. Their pioneer spirit also extends to contributions to and participation in the enjoyment of Colorado's vast wilderness areas.
Dr. Henry K. Steele (1825-"1893)
Dr. Henry K. Steele served in the U.S. Army as a surgeon during the Civil War. He was discharged on November 10, 1869, and moved his family from Ohio to Colorado in 1870. He was the first doctor to set up a practice west of the Mississippi, and the first doctor in Colorado to administer antitoxin. The Steele residence in Denver was located at what is now 16th and Stout Streets. At that time, this was the heart of Denver's residential district. Dr. Steele practiced medicine in Denver. He founded the Colorado Medical Society and was Dean of its medical department. He also was Professor of...
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