Closing the Boarding House Loopholes and Killing Bandits in 1868

June 16, 2021

Golden Eye Candy – Robert Saieg – Late Evening, Mt. Zion – click to enlarge

COVID Updates


% of Jeffco residents (12+) who have received at least one shot–source

NOTE: After today, the County will only be updating these numbers ONCE A WEEK, on MONDAY, so I will post the new stats each TUESDAY.

Jefferson County Case Summary:
Cases in Jeffco – Monday: 48,521 | Tuesday: 48,521 (unchanged)
Deaths in Jeffco – Monday: 844 | Tuesday: 844 (unchanged)
Currently Hospitalized in Jeffco – Monday: 33 | Tuesday: 36 (+3)
Recovered – Monday: 47,386 | Tuesday: 47,421 (+35)
Known Cases in Golden – Thursday: 2005 | Monday: 2016 (+11)

COVID Vaccine Appointments
State of Colorado: Where You Can Get Vaccinated
Jeffco Public Health Vaccine Call Center: 303-239-7000
State Vaccine Hotline: 1-877-268-2926.

Golden Testing Sites
Mines COVID Testing | Jeffco Fairgrounds COVID Testing

More Public Health References
Sign up for exposure notifications | CDC | Colorado | Jefferson County | City of Golden


Virtual Events

8:30-9:30AM Virtual Power Training
8:40-9:35AM Tai Chi
9AM Golden Walks – Wednesday Morning Celebrating Life
10:15AM Baby Time with the Library
12:30PM Golden Women in Business Book Club
2PM Cliffhangers Club
3-5PM Hard Times Writing Workshop
5:30-7PM Golden Orators Toastmasters
6PM Golden Young Professionals Book Club
7-8PM Summer Challenge – Art for Teens


Real World Events

7:30AM Golden Young Professionals

7:30AM Citizen Budget Advisory Committee Meeting
CBAC will hear about the City’s IT/Fiber plan, how the City might spend the $5.2 million it receives from the American Rescue Plan, and the 2021-2022 Budget Process.

6:30PM Planning Commission Study Session
The Planning Commission will consider a request to rezone the Golden Hills Mobile Home Park (map) from R2 to PUD (Planned Unit Development) that will establish “mobile homes” as the principal residential use on the property in order to better ensure the long term preservation of the mobile home park.

They will then review a proposed code change “related to residential allocations for boarding houses, a new definition of affordable housing unit, and additional requirements for reapportionment requests related to affordable housing units.”

Finally, they will discuss “the idea of a potential code change that would enact a new requirement for the merger of nonconforming lots in Golden. This would first require City Council to indicate whether or not they would support a Commission investigation, discussion and possible recommendation concerning this topic.”

LIVE MUSIC:
4PM Chrispy at Mountain Toad Brewing


Golden History Moment


I’m not sure of the source, but this picture is always used by people telling the story of “Heartless Ed Franklin” – click to enlarge

Throughout the 1930s, the Colorado Transcript ran a series called UNWRITTEN HISTORY. In it, they published memories of long-term townsfolk. They paid $1 for a good story. Since the stories were based on old memories and didn’t suffer the constraints of absolute accuracy, they made for good reading. One story, published on May 1, 1930 was provided by G.E. Dollison.

This was the tale of three bandits–Franklin, Musgrove, and one whose name was lost in the mists of time. The three were in Jack Hill’s saloon (now part of the Buffalo Rose) when a posse entered. The bandits ran out the back door, shooting as they left. One of the shots killed the bartender. The posse eventually caught up with Musgrove and the unnamed guy “in the bottoms along Clear creek somewhere east of Ford St..” Mr. Unnamed was killed in the fight. In this version of the story, Musgrove “was immediately hanged to a convenient tree.”


This photo from the Golden History Museum collection shows the Overland Hotel, where Franklin was killed. – click to enlarge

The third bandit–Ed Franklin–was discovered in bed, in his room in the Overland Hotel (which stood on the site of the Buffalo Rose). His guns were out of reach, so he opened his shirt, pointed to his heart, and told them to “shoot me here, so there won’t be any doubt about it.” That was the story, as recalled by Mr. Dollison in 1930.

I searched for the newspaper accounts written at the time the events occurred, finding them in the November 25, 1868 Colorado Transcript. The story as Dollison recalled it was basically accurate, though there were a few pertinent details missing.

One might wonder why Ed Franklin would go upstairs to bed after his gang had shot a bartender. The testimony at the inquest explained that he was drunk. His guns weren’t “out of reach–” there were no guns in the room. The deputies were trying to put handcuffs on him and take him into custody, but there was much swearing and wrestling as he resisted arrest. The part where he instructed them to shoot him in the heart did appear in the testimony, and one of the deputies obliged.

The Transcript’s comment was “As Franklin was known to be a desperado of the worst stamp, and was doubtless guilty of the crimes charged upon him, no one here regrets his death, but many think that three armed officers should have been able to hand-cuff one unarmed, naked man, and given the law a chance at him.”

The way the story was told in 1930, it seemed that Musgrove was captured near Ford and Clear Creek and hanged on the spot. In fact, he was taken to a jail in Denver. From there, “a vigilance committee of fifty of the citizens of Denver, among them some of the most respectable people, proceeded to the jail, took the notorious Musgrove from the officers in charge and hung him on the Larimer street bridge over Cherry Creek.” (Colorado Transcript, November 25, 1868)


The Golden Transcript (originally called the Colorado Transcript) has been publishing since 1866. The Golden History Museum has been working on digitizing the historic issues. You’ll find old Transcripts online at coloradohistoricnewspapers.org.