Irving Howbert: Successful Businessman and Railroad Investor

Colorado grew and prospered with the contributions of wealthy businessmen during the Gold Rush of the 1800s.
Irving Howbert: Successful Businessman and Railroad Investor
Men and women outside a polling station in Colorado 1893. Courtesy of Denver Public Library, Western History/Genealogy Department. Public Domain
Trevor Phipps
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Irving Howbert (1846–1934) headed west with his family in hopes of finding gold. Later in life, he played a vital role in getting railroad tracks laid through the Rocky Mountains. He became a major land developer in Colorado and wrote two books, which are some of the earliest accounts of the region surrounding Pikes Peak.

Howbert was born in Columbus, Indiana and got his schooling in Iowa before his family’s wagons went west to mine for gold. The Howbert family traveled towards the Rocky Mountains with only enough supplies to last six months, which was common during the “Pikes Peak or Bust” mining boom days. Accounts from one of Howbert’s books titled “Memories of a Lifetime in the Pikes Peak Region” say that 60,000 to 70,000 people went to the Rocky Mountains during the summer of 1860.
Trevor Phipps
Trevor Phipps
Author
For about 20 years, Trevor Phipps worked in the restaurant industry as a chef, bartender, and manager until he decided to make a career change. For the last several years, he has been a freelance journalist specializing in crime, sports, and history.