ENOS A. MILLS PAPERS
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
Original manuscripts of Mills articles and lectures comprise the bulk of the collection. Book reviews, newspaper clippings and biographical essays are also included. A photograph album and numerous individual photographs, primarily comprising black and white scenic photographs that Mills shot in and around Rocky Mountain National Park and Long's Peak, Colorado complete the collection.
This collection contains over sixty manuscripts of Mills' articles and lectures on natural history topics, with a few devoted to the Lewis and Clark expedition. It also includes biographical essays about Mills and reviews of some of his books. A large number of newspaper clippings, both loose and in scrapbooks, deal with announcements or reviews of the lectures Mills gave throughout the country.
The small amount of correspondence is primarily business-like in nature. The remaining newspaper clippings are about Mills, his lectures, books, and work preserving the National Parks. The materials date from 1896 to 1954.
A photograph album, formerly cataloged as C Photo Album 110 and containing numerous black and white scenic photographs of Rocky Mountain National Park and the area around Long's Peak, Colorado, comprises a portion of the series. Numerous individual black and white photographs complete the series. The bulk of these photographs, formerly cataloged as C Photo Collection 320, depict Mills and the Long's Peak Inn, Estes Park, Colorado.
Three microfilm reels comprise the series. These reels duplicate materials included in Mills' papers and scrapbooks. A negative copy is included for reels 1 and 2. Two negative copies are included for reel 3.
Dates
- 1896-1954
ACCESS:
The collection is open for research.
OWNERSHIP:
Enos A. Mills papers are the physical property of the Denver Public Library.
PUBLICATION RIGHTS:
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Enos Abijah Mills was born April 22, 1870 in Linn County, Kansas to Enos Mills Sr. and Ann Lamb. He came to Colorado at about the age of 13 or 14 because of poor health. Moving first to Greeley where his older sister, Belle, lived, he later moved to Estes Park, working at the Elkhorn Lodge. He soon built his own homestead cabin where he lived during the summers. From 1887 to 1901, Mills worked winters at the Anaconda Copper Mine in Butte Montana.
Mills also traveled extensively, and it was during a trip to San Francisco in 1889 that he met the famous naturalist John Muir. It was through Muir's encouragement that Mills became active in the emerging conservation movement and began writing about his experiences in the wilderness.
In 1901, Mills bought the Lamb Ranch, later changing its name to the Longs Peak Inn. It was from here that he developed his career as a nature guide, leading guests through areas now known as the Rocky Mountain National Park. Mills married Ester B. Burnell of Des Moines, Iowa in 1918 and his daughter, Enda, was born the following year.
Mills wrote books and articles on the animals of the Rocky Mountain region, but he is probably best remembered as the father of the Rocky Mountain National Park. From 1909 until his death in 1922, he lectured extensively on the need for preservation of natural resources and the importance of setting aside areas for future generations. His original proposal for the park was for a far larger area, but after compromising with mining and local interest, the borders for a smaller area were set.
The legislation establishing the Rocky Mountain National Park was signed by President Woodrow Wilson on January 26, 1915. In 1929, the Never Summer Range was added to the park. In 1973, the homestead cabin built by Mills was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is now a museum.
Books by Enos Mills:
- The Story of Estes Park and a Guide Book (1905)
- Wild Life on the Rockies (1909)
- The Spell of the Rockies (1911)
- In Beaver World (1913)
- Long's Peak Inn (1913)
- The Story of a Thousand Year Pine (1914, first published in Wild Life on the Rockies, 1909)
- Rocky Mountain Wonderland (1915)
- The Story of Scotch (1916)
- Your National Parks (1917)
- The Grizzly, Our Greatest Wild Animal (1919)
- The Adventures of a Nature Guide (1920)
- Waiting in the Wilderness (1921)
- Watched by Wild Animals (1922)
- Wild Animal Homesteads (1923)
- Rocky Mountain National Park (1924, Originally published as The Story of Estes Park and a Guide Book in 1905)
- Romance of Geology (1926)
- Being Good to Bears (1930)
- Trees That Twist (1931)
- Bird Memories of the Rockies (1931)
Extent
3 boxes (2.25 linear feet)
2 photo boxes
3 microfilm reels
Language of Materials
English
English
Other Finding Aids
PROVENANCE:
Papers and photographs were donated from 1961 to 1964 by Enos A. Mill's widow, Ester Mills. Fred Rosenstock donated additional photographs. However, the date of this donation is unknown.
SIZE:
Number of Boxes: 3 (2.25 linear feet)
Number of PhotoBoxes: 2
Microfilm: 3 reels
LOCATION:
CONS250
PROCESSED BY:
Claudia Jensen
November 2006
REVISED BY:
Dennis Hagen
January 2011
PROJECT MANAGER:
Ellen Zazzarino
- Naturalists -- Colorado. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Nature conservation. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Personal papers. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Photographs. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Rocky Mountain National Park (Colo.) Subject Source: Lcnaf
- Title
- ENOS A. MILLS PAPERS
- Date
- January 2011
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy Repository
