John Calhoun

John Calhoun was born in 1832.  His name first appeared in a Douglas County, Colorado, paper in 1866 when he was a witness for a homesteader named John Gray.

In 1879 John purchased 160 acres in the Spring Valley area of Douglas County. Throughout the 1880’s and 90’s he purchased more land until he had accumulated 840.08 acres east of Spring Valley.

John was married to Frances. From the 1880 census records we learn that they had four children: Annie, nine years old; Katie, seven, who had been attending the Colorado Springs Mute and Blind Institute since she was five; and the last child, John Jr., who was three. The Spring Valley Cemetery records showed that Francis died in January of 1888.

In 1890 John served the area as Justice of the Peace and also served, sometime later, as School Superintendent. His ranch was agricultural growing potatoes, grains and corn as a dry farmer, not using irrigation.  He had cattle including about fifteen dairy cattle, which he milked and made butter that was sold in Colorado Springs. His daughter, Sarah “Annie,” married Henry Lamar and they lived on John’s ranch, helping him run it.

In October of 1900 John died and was buried in the Spring Valley Cemetery.



Thanks to the Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection; Spring Valley Cemetery Records; U.S. Census records and BLM land records.