Heritage & Fire

Did you know the National Western Stock Show traces its origins to a 30,000 attendee BBQ festival turned mass civil disruption in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver?

“It was reported that chaos broke out when a rope stretched to keep people from forcing their way in too rapidly was dropped and the crowd rushed forward. The crowd got tangled in an end of the rope had been tied to a table for support, causing the table to collapse. Guests who had been prompted by police and militia to take their food and move on, refused the demands and "broke down the tables and made a wreck of the preparation that had been made for the feeding of thousands of people." …In addition to the destruction and plundering, one man was killed in a fight that took place in the saloon of the stockyards' hotel. Claude J. Wilson was killed in a fistfight by Edward "Kid" Calkins, a cattleman from Grand Junction. Wilson is believed to have died after breaking his neck when his head struck the foot rail at the bar.”

https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/denver/maelstrom-humanity-denvers-barbecue-riot-1898