One of my favorite places in Leadville is the old Derry Ranch. Which has quite a unique story behind it. Samuel Derry moved his wife and three children, to the ranch in 1878. Samuel and his son, Caulaincourt, farmed the land which produced mostly hay for the booming mining town of Leadville.
In 1879, two men by the names of Warren Hussey and General Bearce ran a mining company located near the Derry Ranch. Samuel feared that the debris from the mining would effect his irrigation. The two men offered to buy the ranch but Samual declined. Over the next couple of years, Samuel had run-ins with the two men until one day in 1884. The two men were doing some survey work and Samual accused them of trespassing while General Bearce accused Derry of being a perjurer. Later that day, as the survey party passed the ranch, Samuel pulled out a revolver and shot General Bearce. He died 36 hours later. After a lengthy trial, Samuel Derry was acquitted by pleading temporary insanity. He eventually returned to the ranch and built the tower to keep a watch out for vigilantes. He eventually died in the ranch in 1889 from burns he had suffered from falling into the fireplace.
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- Perhaps the fireplace where Samuel Derry fell into.
