Southwest Colorado Oral Histories

Entry ID: 1346

Institution: History Colorado

  • Website: historycolorado.org/research
  • Email: cosearch@state.co.us
  • Phone: 303-866-2305
  • Medium(s): Transcript

    Access: Online

    Narrator: Joanna Spalding Todd

    Date: 1934

    Link: https://5008.sydneyplus.com/HistoryColorado_ArgusNet_Final/Portal.aspx?lang=en-US - go to Advanced Search and type object ID. Object ID: PAM.360.105

    Location Tags: Cortez, Montezuma County, Dolores, Pueblo, Pueblo County

    Topic Tags: Pioneer, Homesteading, Ute, Native American, Racial Relations

    Description: General Note: Part of the CWA Pioneer Interviews Collection. Consists of a biographical sketch of Joanna Spalding Todd, an early day resident of Cortez, Colorado. Born in Pueblo, Colorado in 1866, Todd moved to the San Luis Valley with her family as a child, and in 1885 she came to Dolores, Colorado. In 1886 she married Sam Todd, and a short time later the couple moved to a homestead near present-day Cortez, Colorado. Much of this document consists of her recollections of the preparations made for her wedding, as well as the experiences of her husband who was part of a group that fought a battle with a group of Ute Indians led by a chief known as "Mancos Jim."

    Last updated March 20, 2025