William J. Palmer originally grew up on the east coast in Delaware and Pennsylvania and he was a Quaker, a person who did not believe in violence. He lived when slavery was still allowed in the Southern United States. He felt that slavery was wrong, so even though he was a pacifist he went and fought for the Union in the Civil War. He ended up being a very effective general which is why we call him General Palmer. He then started working in the railroad industry and moved out to Colorado.
Ms. Sweet, teacher at Palmer high school, says “Palmer wanted to make sure that the railroad had a great place for people to visit as he was promoting the west and so he set up Colorado Springs to have tree-lined streets wide boulevards and just to be a beautiful place for people at the base of Pikes Peak.” That’s why Colorado Springs looks good and it’s big city in Colorado. He needed to develop this region so that the railroad could get some of the natural resources out of nearby places such as Cripple Creek and he just wanted to stop on the railroad where people could enjoy themselves and the beauty of Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods.
Palmer also fought in the Civil War because his principle against slavery outweighed his belief that violence was wrong and so it was a moral decision for him. This was a choice that was criticized by some of the other people who had Quaker beliefs, but personally I’m grateful that he made that choice and stood up for the rights of all people.
His side won the Civil War and he was of an effective leader during the Civil War. I think he was able to manage his troops and win the fights that he was part of.
Ms. Sweet says “Well here in Colorado Springs he had a lot to do with founding the town making it a town.” He gave a lot of the property to start some of our local churches he helped start Colorado College that has a building named after him he also founded the antlers hotel which is downtown and then a little farther a field. One of my favorite stories about General Palmer comes from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison it’s now a national park and they show a movie about how General Palmer decided that they needed to build the railroad through that very treacherous terrain and he did not take no for an answer. The movie about him says he was not a can-do person, he was a will do person. He figured out how to get around all of the obstacles and get his train into the western part of Colorado so he has a huge story to tell and also if you haven’t been there he lived in a castle on the west side of Colorado Springs so it’s a great place to visit.