Recently a hand-dug well was discovered at the former home of the Augustus Macon family at 1315 Royal Gorge Blvd. The well was likely dug in the 1880s and is 42 feet deep with stones lining the sides. So let’s talk about the man who once lived on this property, one of Cañon City’s early settlers.
Augustus Macon was born in Christian County, Kentucky on September 10, 1832. His family moved to Bloomington, Illinois when he still young. As a young man he joined the law office of Lincoln & Herndon in Springfield, Illinois where he studied law. Originally the firm in Springfield was the firm of Logan & Lincoln run by Stephan T. Logan and Abraham Lincoln. In 1844 it became Lincoln & Hendron with Lincoln as the senior partner and William H. Hendron as the junior partner. According to Macon’s obituary in the Cañon City Record on December 22, 1904, he was well liked by Lincoln while he studied under him. After two years, he was admitted to the bar as a lawyer and headed out to open an office in Omaha, Nebraska.
Macon and his family arrived in Cañon City in 1865 in their covered wagon with a group of early settlers to the area. Along with J.T. Cox, Macon operated the law firm of Macon & Cox and was a successful attorney. He was married to Virginia McGeath whom he met while in Omaha and the couple had three daughters. Macon died in December 1904 in Denver at the home of his brother-in-law of stomach ailments.
An article in the Cañon City Daily Record on September 11, 1958 estimated the house to be over 90 years old, placing its construction in the mid-1860s. Macon filed on a homesteaded for the property in 1870 which would put the construction of the house around 1865 if it was the house that he needed to build and live in for five years before he earned his land as a homestead. The house was torn down in 1958 to make way for a new business to be built by Claude Dowen but it was planned to leave the well.
The information presented in this article is compiled using research conducted by the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center.
2 thoughts on “Well, Well, Well. What Have We Here?”
I have been so excited to take the train through the Breathtaking piece of heaven. However My phone/Google skills are not up to par.
So I would appreciate a y help anyone can give ,that will allow me to make a reservation for what I have been told is absolutely a sight to be forever remembered!!! I did drive up once ,but was told the train was down…. So I drove up as far as I could before the game wardens spotted me… Lol. I am planning a trip within the next few days and I haven’t been able to get in touch with whoever I need !!! I would be deeply grateful for any help I could get at this time! Thank you!!! Nikki
Hi Nikki! We are not actually associated with the train so I cannot help you with getting tickets but the link to their website is https://royalgorgeroute.com/. You can also call them at 719-276-4000 (toll free at 888-724-5748) or email them at info@royalgorgeroute.com. I hope this helps!