Palmer Lake Historical Society, April 21 – General Palmer’s life explored

By Marlene Brown

The Palmer Lake Historical Society (PLHS) held its regular membership meeting at the Palmer Lake Town Hall on March 21. The guest speaker was “Gen. William J. Palmer,” founder of Palmer Lake and Colorado Springs, portrayed by David Harmon.

Palmer began by telling us he was born in 1836 to John and Matilda Palmer. The family was of the Hicksite sect Quakers. He was born on the family farm, near Leipsic, Kent County, Delaware. Hicksite Quakers believed that there is an inner light in each of us, and they were committed to peace and nonviolence. Their religious beliefs would cause conflict later with William and his family when he joined the army.

Palmer’s early school days were spent in Pennsylvania where he went to private school and public school. Private school is where he received an engineering degree, though he never graduated. He had always been fascinated by trains. He was able to save and go to school in Europe, and that was where he studied railroads, mills, and coal mines. Returning to the States, he was hired by his uncle to work the Westmoreland Coal Co. as the secretary and treasurer. The following year he was hired as the private secretary for the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, where he met Thomas Scott, who was later appointed as assistant secretary of war.

Palmer’s upbringing taught him to detest slavery and war, though when the Civil War began he enlisted with the Pennsylvania volunteers and took a commission in the Union Army. At age 25, he was a captain and they gave him a regiment of 1,000 men. Later that year, dressed in civilian clothes and scouting for places for the Union Army to recross the Potomac River back into Virginia, Palmer was captured and incarcerated for four months. He was released in a prisoner exchange and in February 1863 was able rejoin his regiment. In 1865 he received the Medal of Honor for his actions as colonel of the 15th Pennsylvania Regiment.

After the war, the 30-year-old Palmer went back to railroads. While in Colorado Territory, he had a vision of a railroad running south from Denver to Mexico City. He built the first section going south from Denver, across the Palmer Divide and to Colorado Springs by 1871. He was married in 1870 to Mary Lincoln (Queen) Palmer. They had three daughters, and Mary passed away in 1894 at the age of 44.

In 1906, William fell from a horse and was left paralyzed. He was forever confined to a wheelchair. Unable to travel after that, veterans of his 15th Pennsylvania Regiment had their annual reunion in 1907 at Glen Eyrie. He provided a special train for 208 of the surviving veterans. Palmer passed away on March 13,1909. The mayor of Colorado Springs said that Palmer was “a soldier, builder of an empire, philanthropist, and friend of the people whose life was a blessing.

Harmon graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1973. He and his wife Julie have three grown kids and have lived in Colorado Springs since 1981. Many attendees at the meeting came to Harmon afterward with more questions about Palmer.

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PLHS meetings are usually held on the third Thursday of the month from 7-8:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 pm) at the Palmer Lake Town Hall, 28 Valley Crescent St. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information regarding memberships and future programs, go to palmerdividehistory.org/events.

Marlene Brown can be reached at marlenebrown@ocn.me.

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