Barney Launcelot Ford

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8821848

Colorado Pioneer, former slave and innkeeper. Colorado’s first great African-American was born a slave and is best known for his work to improve civil rights in early Colorado history.

Joining the gold rush, Ford struck paydirt on "Barney Ford Hill" (formerly "Nigger Hill") and built a house in Breckenridge that still stands today. After becoming a prosperous Denver innkeeper, Ford helped negros by establishing literacy classes and seeking the vote for them. When the 13th Amendment passed in 1865, Ford was already known as the "Black Baron of Colorado." His People’s Restaurant still stands at 1514 Blake St., although his Ford’s and Inter-Ocean Hotels, also in lower downtown Denver, have since been demolished. Ford served with William N. Byers and former governor John Evans on the board of the Dime Savings Bank; was a prominent member of the Republican Election Commission; became a member of the Colorado Association of Pioneers; was instrumental in ensuring that equal voting rights for all citizens became a part of Colorado's constitution in 1876.

He was the first Coloradan of color included in Denver's 1898 Social Register. A stained glass window at the Colorado Statehouse immortalizes Ford who worked hard to elevate Denver’s African-American community, among America’s most prosperous and best educated. He was also the first black man to sit on a Grand Jury in Colorado. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Ford

In 1860, Barney Ford was among the first to arrive at the gold fields above Breckenridge.

It had been only a year since gold was first discovered in the area. Ford and four companions headed up French Gulch, panning the stream as they went.

When they saw gold in their pans, they stopped, and Ford staked out a claim. Excited, he wrote his wife that he finally had struck it rich in Colorado, but not to come out until the spring. Making the journey with their small child would be too risky.

The yield in gold dust by Ford and his companions grew by the day. He kept the gold dust in a jar buried beneath the dirt floor of their cabin. By the first of September, all of his cash was gone, so Ford brought some of his gold in a sack to Breckenridge to exchange it for $5 gold pieces.

Once in town, he ran into a man named Dode. Dode had harassed Barney out on the trail to Colorado and Ford was afraid that he would be robbed of his bright, shiny gold pieces. Ford waited until dark before returning to his cabin.

Under Colorado law, blacks were not allowed to own homesteads or mining property. Ford used the name of a Denver lawyer to file his claim and in exchange, the lawyer was to take 20 percent of the gold recovered. After the passage of weeks, Ford became worried that the claim had not been properly filed.

One afternoon, the Summit County sheriff appeared at his cabin door and served Barney with an eviction notice. It was sworn out by none other than his Denver lawyer. The attorney had kept the claim and had no intention of letting Barney recover any of its riches.

That night, Ford and his companions heard a group of horsemen approaching the cabin. Ford hid the bottle of gold dust in his shirt, and he and his companions fled into the dense forest. They headed up the hillside south of French Creek leaving their belongings. It was now the middle of September, and the nights were cold. This is Barney Ford’s 1882 home in Breckenridge. It serves as a museum and historic landmark to remember the successful former slave. (Kenneth This is Barney Ford's 1882 home in Breckenridge. It serves as a museum and historic landmark to remember the successful former slave. (Kenneth Jessen)

The group of riders was led by Dode. The cabin was torn apart including its floor as the men searched for the gold dust. Meanwhile, Barney and his companions continued over the hill and spent a cold night without shelter or even blankets knowing that if they returned to the cabin, they would be killed. It cost Ford most of his gold dust, but he was able to purchase supplies from a miner.

The hill they went over was given the derogatory name "N

Ford traveled to Denver where in 1873 he built the fabulous Inter-Ocean Hotel. He became a wealthy man and expanded his hotel business by opening a second hotel under the same name in Cheyenne, Wyo.

http://www.reporterherald.com/ci_20031588