John F. Campion
Encyclopedia
John Francis Campion was the wealthy owner of several hard rock mines in the Leadville, Colorado
area. After 1900, he made a second fortune growing sugar beet
s. The community of Campion, Colorado
is named after him. Campion is a somewhat obscure figure today, but was well known in his day. His big gold strike at the Little Jonny Mine in Leadville made him and his partners rich. He had help engineering the dig from James J. Brown, whose wife Margaret "Molly" Brown won fame in the sinking of the great liner Titanic. Campion was partnered with industrialist Charles Boettcher in a number of ventures including mining in Leadville, the formation of the Great Western Sugar Company and the co-founding of the Ideal Cement Company. Campion was also an owner (with Boettcher) of the Leadville Light and Power Company and the Western Meat Packing Company, and once owned the Herald-Democrat newspaper there. After moving his family to Denver, he was named president of the Denver Chamber of Commerce, and was influential in helping to build the Denver Municipal Auditorium in time for the 1908 Democratic Convention. He was a founder and president of the Denver Art League - a precursor to the Denver Art Museum. Campion was a co-founder of the Denver Museum of Natural History (now the Museum of Nature & Science) and his donated gold collection can still be seen there. He also gave money, along with James J Brown, Dennis Sheedy and others, toward the purchase of land for the construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, at Colfax Ave. and Logan St. The bell in the east tower is dedicated to his memory. Campion's Capitol Hill mansion at 800 Logan St. was one of the city's showplaces, and sat north of what is now the Colorado Governor's Mansion, which was the former home of Charles Boettcher's son, Claude K. The Campion house was destroyed in 1963 and replaced with an apartment high rise. Campion's name is listed on the Donor's Wall in Denver's Civic Center Park at Colfax Ave. and Broadway.
During the Leadville Colorado, Miners' Strike
of 1896-97, Campion hired labor spies
to infiltrate the Cloud City Miners' Union, Local 33 of the Western Federation of Miners
. Spy reports compiled by the Thiel Detective Agency
and forwarded to John Campion are currently housed at the Colorado Historical Society.
Leadville, Colorado
Leadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States. Situated at an elevation of , Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States...
area. After 1900, he made a second fortune growing sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
s. The community of Campion, Colorado
Campion, Colorado
Campion is an unincorporated community in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,832 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a census-designated place ; the community was not enumerated separately in the 2010 census. Located between Loveland and Berthoud along U.S. Route...
is named after him. Campion is a somewhat obscure figure today, but was well known in his day. His big gold strike at the Little Jonny Mine in Leadville made him and his partners rich. He had help engineering the dig from James J. Brown, whose wife Margaret "Molly" Brown won fame in the sinking of the great liner Titanic. Campion was partnered with industrialist Charles Boettcher in a number of ventures including mining in Leadville, the formation of the Great Western Sugar Company and the co-founding of the Ideal Cement Company. Campion was also an owner (with Boettcher) of the Leadville Light and Power Company and the Western Meat Packing Company, and once owned the Herald-Democrat newspaper there. After moving his family to Denver, he was named president of the Denver Chamber of Commerce, and was influential in helping to build the Denver Municipal Auditorium in time for the 1908 Democratic Convention. He was a founder and president of the Denver Art League - a precursor to the Denver Art Museum. Campion was a co-founder of the Denver Museum of Natural History (now the Museum of Nature & Science) and his donated gold collection can still be seen there. He also gave money, along with James J Brown, Dennis Sheedy and others, toward the purchase of land for the construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, at Colfax Ave. and Logan St. The bell in the east tower is dedicated to his memory. Campion's Capitol Hill mansion at 800 Logan St. was one of the city's showplaces, and sat north of what is now the Colorado Governor's Mansion, which was the former home of Charles Boettcher's son, Claude K. The Campion house was destroyed in 1963 and replaced with an apartment high rise. Campion's name is listed on the Donor's Wall in Denver's Civic Center Park at Colfax Ave. and Broadway.
During the Leadville Colorado, Miners' Strike
Leadville Colorado, Miners' Strike
Silver was discovered in Leadville, Colorado in the 1870s, initiating the Colorado Silver Boom. The Leadville miners' strike in 1896-97 occurred during, and as a result of, rapid industrialization and consolidation of the mining industry. Mine owners had become more powerful, and they resolved not...
of 1896-97, Campion hired labor spies
Labor spies
Labor spies are persons recruited or employed for the purpose of gathering intelligence, committing sabotage, sowing dissent, or engaging in other similar activities, typically within the context of an employer/labor organization relationship....
to infiltrate the Cloud City Miners' Union, Local 33 of the Western Federation of Miners
Western Federation of Miners
The Western Federation of Miners was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into sharp conflicts – and often pitched battles...
. Spy reports compiled by the Thiel Detective Agency
Thiel Detective Service Company
The Thiel Detective Service Company was a private detective agency formed by George H. Thiel, a former Civil War spy and Pinkerton employee.The Thiel Detective Service Company headquarters were in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was formed to be a direct competitor to the Pinkerton Detective...
and forwarded to John Campion are currently housed at the Colorado Historical Society.