115 Years Ago
The September 16, 1909 Colorado Transcript reported that the county commissioners had hired J. H. Linder & Co. to install steam heating in the courthouse, thus eliminating “the antiquated and costly method of heating the various offices.”
For reasons that the paper never explained, the project was delayed until 1913. By that time, the commissioners had voted to eliminate the jail in the basement of the courthouse and build a separate jail and sheriff’s residence on the courthouse grounds.
The county issued a new request for proposals for a steam heating system and this time the job went to local blacksmith W. H. Fromhart, rather than hardware dealer Linder. A new building was constructed between the courthouse and the jail and two boilers were installed there to heat both buildings.
This got me started on a lengthy and unsuccessful search to learn what they had been using for heating prior to the new system. My guess is that each room in the courthouse had one or more coal-burning stoves. The Transcript did comment that the new steam plant reduced fuel costs considerably.
Many thanks to the Golden Rotary Club for sponsoring for sponsoring Golden History Moments for the month of September.
