William Bell (city founder)

Dr. William Bell (born 1840 in Ireland, died June 6, 1921 London, England) was a physician and the founder of Manitou Springs, Colorado.

In 1867, Bell left London for Saint Louis, Missouri to attend a series of lectures on the medical principles of homeopathy. In that period, shortly after the Civil War, Saint Louis was the "Gateway to the West." By the end of the medical lectures, Bell decided to stay in America for a while and applied with the Kansas Pacific Railway for a survey and mapping expedition. The position of doctor was filled, but a photographer was needed. Bell took a crash course in photography, purchased equipment and was hired by the railroad. Leading the survey was General William J. Palmer, with whom he formed a friendship that men became a life-long bond. They shared a vision of building a corporate empire and formed a business partnership. Both were astute businessmen and complemented each other. Together they founded the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, and Bell and Palmer went on to found some 30 businesses.

The narrow gauge D&RG RR extended a spur into Manitou Springs, and an aggressive marketing campaign with brochures and pamphlets promoted the health benefits and ease of travel. The resort became so successful that it was called the "Saratoga of the West."

With his business ventures firmly in place, Bell returned to England in early 1872 to marry Cara Scovell, his childhood sweetheart. By July, the newlyweds arrived in Colorado and soon began construction of their new home on the banks of Fountain Creek in the tiny valley of Manitou Springs, west of Colorado Springs. His Victorian home, "Briarhurst Manor", was completed in 1876.

Easterners and investors from England arrived in a steady stream, and an entire community sprang up around the fashionable health resort. The town was designed like a European spa with luxury hotels, parks and shops. The hotels provided entertainment, hiring the popular bands of the day for dances. Wealthy visitors often brought their families and household staff and stayed for months at a time.

By the turn of the century, Bell's thoughts were turning more to retirement and his homeland. By 1890, Bell liquidated many of his holdings in the United States, and entrusted the Briarhurst Estate to the hands of Ferdinand and Amalia Schneider, both long-term employees. They lived on the estate grounds, in the gardener's cottage. The Bell family moved back to England.

In March 1909, Bell was called back to America when his partner, General Palmer, died following an extended struggle with spinal paralysis resulting from a riding accident. The Bells paid a last visit to Briarhurst and their Manitou resort in March 1920. Dr. Bell announced to newspaper reporters that this would be his last trip, saying he was no longer able to take the long sea voyage back and forth to England. On June 6, 1921, Bell died at the age of 81 of a heart condition. Cara lived until 1938, to the age of 85.

External links

*http://www.coloradoeats.com/briarhurst/about.html