RICHARD WHITSITT

Traveling to the Pike's Peak region in November 1858, Richard (Dick) Ed. Whitsitt participated in the organization of several mining towns in the region. Whitsitt and his friend, General William Larimer, came to the area from Kansas, following the South Platte River trail.

From the outset, Whitsitt and Larimer intended on promoting and speculating town sites rather than prospecting for gold mines. As a result not only did Whitsitt participate in the organizing of Denver City in 1858, but also Whitsitt was a director of the Colorado City Town Company, founding the town on August 12, 1859.

Although Whitsitt lived in Denver, Whitsitt remained active in Colorado City. Whitsitt belonged to the El Paso Claim Club, a vigilante form of early civil government that recorded real estate claims and settled land disputes, lasting from 1859 to 1862. Whitsitt also advertised his services as a Denver real estate and collection agent in The Colorado City Journal in November 1861.