The Deere Family and The Hotel Colorado

  • By Gretchen Small
  • •
  • 28 May, 2021
  • •
L to R: Mary Deere, Charles Wiman, and Anna Wiman (1987.321.1)
What I love about the study of history are the interesting little stories you come across. This is the case with this month’s blog. At first glance, two photographs from the archives do not tell much of a story.

We see Mary Deere, her daughter Anna Wiman, and Anna’s son Charles. The setting tells us little. It is just a sweet picture of three generations of one family.
The story grew as it led us in a different direction through the inscription on the back of one photograph. I could tell that this photograph was taken the same time and location as the one above. The inscription includes, May 1896, Glenwood Springs. (See Below) I wasn’t surprised when I saw the name of a hot springs. A trip to a hot spring was very popular during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The healing waters were a popular destination for families, the wealthy, and the famous. Other photographs in the collection show the Deere family visiting Baden Baden in Germany, Hot Springs in Arkansas, and French Lick in Indiana.
Charles Wiman age 4 (1988.142.1)
Back Inscription: Charles Deere Wiman, Glenwood Spgs – Colo May 1896 (1988.142.1)
Out of curiosity, I wondered what Glenwood Springs was like and through the glory of google, I came across a brief history of the town. What drew my eye was the photograph of the hot springs and the Hotel Colorado. (See below) The central courtyard with the arched entrances led to my next research step. Hotel Colorado still exists so I emailed them. I sent them our 1896 photograph to see if it was taken in their courtyard. A staff member promptly answered me that our photograph was taken in their courtyard.
Hotel Colorado at Glenwood Springs, Colorado. “In 1888, the world’s largest hot springs pool was born in the newly established town of Glenwood Springs. It became world-renowned as a healing wonder set in a mountain paradise.” The sandstone bathhouse and lodge were built for $100,000 in 1890. Go to https://www.hotelcolorado.com/our-hotel/history to read more about the hotel and its interesting history during World War II.

She also shared several other historic photographs which give us a clearer picture of what the Deere family experienced at Hotel Colorado.

Hotel Colorado
Ballroom, Hotel Colorado
Lobby at Hotel Colorado
Bar at Hotel Colorado. I doubt if Mary Deere or Anna Wiman ventured into this room, that is if they were even allowed into the bar..
Hotel Colorado Grand Staircase
Hotel Fountain
Waterfall Inside Hotel
Pink Bridal Chamber
Hotel Chamber
Hotel Chamber
Hotel Rotunda
East Corridor of Hotel Colorado. I love the light fixtures and want one!
West Corridor of Hotel Colorado
I can imagine Mary and Anna walking through these spaces and taking Charles out to the courtyard to play with his toy train. I wish I knew why they decided to go to Glenwood Springs. Did one of the family go for the healing waters of the springs? I assume they traveled by rail to reach the springs. Today the railroad still runs along the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon.

I hope you have enjoyed this month’s little story. I never know where my research will lead, but I do enjoy these pieces of history.
L to R: Mary Deere, Charles Wiman, and Anna Wiman (1987.11.1)
Special thank you to Hotel Colorado and staff member Taylor James for being so helpful. Someday I would love to head out to Colorado and experience the grandeur of Hotel Colorado and the mineral-rich hot springs.

Go to www.hotelcolorado.com to read more about the beautiful hotel.

Royal Experiences for the Deere Family: Part II

By Gretchen Frick Small • 27 Jul, 2023
The experiences that Katherine Deere Butterworth and Charles and Pattie Wiman had with the British Royal family in the 1920s, 30s.

Royal Experiences for the Deere Family

By Gretchen Frick Small • 23 Feb, 2023
Americans’ fascination with the British royal family is not a recent phenomenon. With the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022, we have been flooded with royal news. One historian places this interest back to 1776.

Alexander F. Harmer

By Gretchen Frick Small • 29 Apr, 2022
If you have not watched any of our YouTube videos at our channel Deere Family Homes, we encourage you to check out the April 2022 video. The video features the story of one painting hanging in the Deere-Wiman House. The painting’s artist is Alexander Harmer.

We are lucky to have four paintings in our collection that were created by Harmer. It made sense for us to learn more about Harmer and see if we could determine why we have so many paintings from one artist. I love all four pieces and wanted to know more about the artist and determine if there was a connection to the family. Three of the paintings hang in the Deere-Wiman House and one at Butterworth Center. So, it was not just one family member that took an interest in his work.

We know that William and Anna Wiman moved to Santa Barbara in the 1890s. Then about 1906-07, William and his sons moved back to Moline following Anna’s death. The Santa Barbara house was still owned by the family, and by 1914, Katherine and William Butterworth began to use the house. In addition to the house in Santa Barbara, the Butterworths also owned a residence in the San Marcos Pass area. Mrs. Butterworth continued to spend part of the winter in Santa Barbara until her death in 1953. We also know that Charles Deere Wiman and his family had a home in the area, as early as the 1920s.

Did any of the family know Alexander Harmer? We wish we knew. It is possible since Harmer’s life in Santa Barbara does overlap with the Butterworth and Wiman families. Or maybe the family did not know Harmer but was drawn to his art and purchased pieces through art dealers.

Alexander Francis Harmer was born in 1856, in Newark, New Jersey. One source I read said that he sold his first work at the age of 11 for $2. Then at the age of 16, he lied about his age and joined the United States Army. He was stationed in California, which I think is the time period his artistic interests changed. He turned towards painting and illustrating the Apache Nation. The year would have been 1872, and the US Army would have had a large presence in the West with the enforcement of federal Indian policy (which consisted of allotment of land and assimilation.)

After just one year, Harmer asked for a discharge and left the military. He worked as a photographer’s assistant until he was able to enroll in art school. He studied art under Thomas Eakins and Thomas Anshutz at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. In 1881, he re-enlisted in the Army and headed to his assignment at Fort Apache, Arizona. Harmer probably saw the Army as a cheap way of traveling West to continue his interest in the American West and the Apache Indians. During this enlistment, he was able to serve in an Army division assigned to pursue Geronimo. His studies of Indian life created an invaluable record. Harmer then returned to the academy in Pennsylvania where he turned his sketches of the Apache Nation into illustrations for Harper’s Weekly.

In 1891, Harmer returned to California, and in 1893, he married Felicidad Abadie. The Abadie family was one of the pioneering California families. The couple settled in Santa Barbara, which led to Harmer being remembered as “Southern California’s first great painter of the 19th Century." At this time, his work revolved around a series of paintings of the Old California missions under Mexican rule. They resided on De La Guerra Plaza, which included the Adabie family home. From 1908 through the 1920s, Harmer established the first art colony on the West coast. Studios were added to the Spanish-Colonial adobe home of the Harmers, where many up and coming artists worked.
Alexander Harmer died on January 10, 1925, supposedly while admiring the sunset from his backyard. This was just six months before the Santa Barbara earthquake, which left the Harmers' adobes in ruins.

All four paintings are signed Alex. F. Harmer, but only two are dated. Below are photographs of the four paintings in the collection.

 Inside the Butterworth Garage

By Gretchen Small • 25 Feb, 2022
Butterworth Garage, circa 1909, now known as the Butterworth Education Center. Let’s go inside the building beginning with the addition constructed in 2009

The History of the Butterworth Garage

By Gretchen Small • 27 Oct, 2021
The History of the Butterworth Garage’s

Deere-Wiman House 1917 Swimming Pool

By Gretchen Frick Small • 20 Aug, 2021
Click here to view a new video on our YouTube Channel featuring the Swimming Pool built in 1917 on the Deere-Wiman House grounds. https://youtu.be/NgV6XUEkrLs

Ruth Vendala Marie Moll, Part II

By Gretchen Small • 26 Apr, 2021
Ruth Moll's life at Hillcrest, both with Katherine and William Butterworth and as the first Director of Butterworth Center.

Ruth Vendla Marie Moll

By Gretchen Small • 24 Mar, 2021
Ruth Moll's wonderful stories about life at Hillcrest

Mollie and John Capris

By Gretchen Frick Small • 22 Feb, 2021
John Deere brought a family here named Capus. He built a house for them near his home. They joined the First Methodist Church.

William Le Baron Jenney

By Gretchen Frick Small • 26 Jan, 2021
Deere-Wiman House architecture
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