No one can earn a million dollars honestly.

– William Jennings Bryan

For men with speculation running through their veins, the vast open spaces of what would become Western Colorado beckoned to their gambling nature. The possibility of finding the big strike or the chance to own property that could rapidly appreciate drew men of a pioneering nature. Some riches were a reality. Other riches were created through good marketing.

John C. Blake with two associate miners found quartzite and carbonate formations on the Flat Tops in 1878. These formations were similar to those that produced the wealth at Leadville. Although this area was not opened to settlement due to an agreement with the Utes, Blake and his associates staked their claim, calling their new settlement Fort Defiance. Blake spread the word, and miners began to flock to the Flat Tops for their chance to strike it rich.

Blake’s exploration was not complete. In June 1879 he along with James M. Landis continued to explore mining potential around the hot springs southwest of Fort Defiance. Landis claimed a great expanse of land in this area. Blake claimed a smaller parcel to the east of Landis. A man named Henry Marsc also staked a claim. In 1882, the area was opened up to white settlement, and a developer named Isaac Cooper grew interested in the development of the hot springs. Landis and Marsc sold their property to Cooper, with Landis receiving $1,500 from the sale. Blake retained his property.

Isaac Cooper envisioned a bustling resort town with commerce focused on the hot springs. During the winter of 1882, he formed the Defiance Town and Land Co., tapping the expertise of some of Colorado’s prominent businessmen. With Cooper owning seven-tenths of the stock, he became president of the new company. To bring rail service to the town, David C. Dodge of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway was named secretary and treasurer. Fredrick C. Childs, Cooper’s associate, was named assistant secretary and treasurer. Among the directors were John C. Blake, and attorneys Hiram P. Bennet and William Gelder.

The new company commissioned a survey for the townsite, with the plat completed in February 1883. To avoid a filing fee for the townsite, Blake provided a solution. His Fort Defiance was no longer a settlement, so by inserting the word “south” in the front of “west side of Grizzly Peak” in the original Fort Defiance description, the new town became Defiance. Defiance was renamed Glenwood Springs by Isaac Cooper shortly thereafter.

To market Defiance, the Defiance Town and Land Co. produced a 24-page pamphlet in June 1883. On Sept. 24, 1883, the first town lot was sold to S.R. Pascoe for $250. By March 1884 all shares of stock in the Defiance Town and Land Co. had been sold.

In September 1885, John C. Blake sold his interest in the Defiance Town and Land Co. for $50,000. He received $15,000 in cash and the remainder in lots and secured notes. In 2009 dollars, this transaction was valued at more than $1.1 million.

Blake moved on to other ventures, but his ability take a risk and to sell an idea made him wealthy and created a town that thrives 125 years later.

Willa Kane is former archivist of and a current volunteer with the Frontier Historical Society and Museum. “Frontier Diary,” which appears the first Tuesday of every month, is provided to the Post Independent by the museum, 1001 Colorado Ave., Glenwood Springs. Winter hours are 1-4 p.m. Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For more information, call 945-4448.