While Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer in the rest of the United States, Grand County waits until the second weekend of June to kick off the season. The two prominent reasons for this two week delay have to do with the fact that most Grand County schools aren’t out until that second week in June, and most importantly, more often than not it’s still snowing on Memorial Day in Grand County – the snow and sub-freezing temperatures making for very small opening day crowds at the swimming pool.
The second weekend in June is also home to “Hot Sulphur Days”, a three-day festival to celebrate the town, its history and its citizens, current and past. These town festivals are common to small town America in the summer, and Hot Sulphur’s line-up of festival activities reads like most other towns of its size – kiddy carnival rides, Friday night street dance, pie-baking contest, craft fair, softball games, pancake breakfast, Saturday night fireworks, etc. Unique to Hot Sulphur Days, and one of the weekends highlights, held at High Noon on Saturday a few short yards from our hotel at the intersection of Grand and Aspen, is the re-enactment of the Texas Charley Shootout.
It is difficult to get to the real story behind Texas Charley, as I’ve read several accounts of the incident, all differing on some major details. What seems to be a common thread in the story is that 19-year old Texas Charley – Charles Wilson – came to the Hot Sulphur/Grand Lake area in 1880, most directly from Colorado Springs. It’s not known if he actually was from Texas, but most probably got the name from the large, white sombrero that he wore. He also carried a large knife with a deer-foot handle, and two Colt .45 revolvers with gold name plates, inscribed “CW”. His prowess with those revolvers was quick to become the stuff of legend in Grand County, invoking fear in the local residents, as Charley loved to play the role of bully and bad guy. In December of 1884, Charley got into a gun fight with a local, W.L. Veatch, with Veatch getting shot in the shoulder. A warrant was sworn for the arrest of Texas Charley, and when he was served with the papers, he tore them up and headed for the courthouse, located in a log cabin just across the street and up the hill from where The Riverside is now located, where he intended to confront the local law, bragging that there wasn’t a man in this town big enough to put him behind bars.
The locals had by this time had enough of Charley, and as the citizens of Skidmore, MO did some 100 years later to Kenneth Rex McElroy, they quickly and quietly banded together in The Springs Hotel, and anonymously hidden behind the safety of the hotel’s room windows, doors and roof facades, gunned Charley down as he walked across the street on his way to the courthouse. The stories vary from Charley being shot by a single bullet, to the extreme of 15 guns blazing and hitting him multiple times. After an inquest into the shooting, the jury’s verdict read “we believe the killing was justifiable as C. W. Wilson was a very bad man.”
The annual re-enactment of the Texas Charley shootout that you’ll see at this years’ Hot Sulphur Days follows the single shot theory, probably more for the fact that they can’t find 15 re-enactors with 15 guns shooting 15 blanks than for the actual historical bent. It is a sight to see if for no other reason, (actually, specifically for this reason) it is amateur drama played out and hammed up at its best. You might see one or two of the participants decked out in period regalia – most of the others simply wear cowboy hats along with their Harley shirts and camouflage pants ( a clothing ensemble otherwise known in Grand County as ‘puttin’ on the sartorial dog’.) Most of the actors have a difficult time keeping a straight face – the crowd doesn’t even try. After Charley is 'shot', his body is put on a pallet, and he now becomes the focal point in the Hot Sulphur Days parade, as he is required to lie lifeless (save the occasional wink and wave to friends and family) as he is carried along the parade route.
It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, Hot Sulphur Days and all of the fun and festivities could, to the erudite and overly educated visiting city dweller, be considered low rent, small town hokum. It also goes without saying that this low rent, small town hokum is another reason why we gave up the grind and moved to a town like Hot Sulphur Springs.
I invite all of the aforementioned city dwellers to visit Hot Sulphur Springs during its annual celebration – I guarantee a good time, and the experience will, at the very least, make you way more eruditer.
The second weekend in June is also home to “Hot Sulphur Days”, a three-day festival to celebrate the town, its history and its citizens, current and past. These town festivals are common to small town America in the summer, and Hot Sulphur’s line-up of festival activities reads like most other towns of its size – kiddy carnival rides, Friday night street dance, pie-baking contest, craft fair, softball games, pancake breakfast, Saturday night fireworks, etc. Unique to Hot Sulphur Days, and one of the weekends highlights, held at High Noon on Saturday a few short yards from our hotel at the intersection of Grand and Aspen, is the re-enactment of the Texas Charley Shootout.
It is difficult to get to the real story behind Texas Charley, as I’ve read several accounts of the incident, all differing on some major details. What seems to be a common thread in the story is that 19-year old Texas Charley – Charles Wilson – came to the Hot Sulphur/Grand Lake area in 1880, most directly from Colorado Springs. It’s not known if he actually was from Texas, but most probably got the name from the large, white sombrero that he wore. He also carried a large knife with a deer-foot handle, and two Colt .45 revolvers with gold name plates, inscribed “CW”. His prowess with those revolvers was quick to become the stuff of legend in Grand County, invoking fear in the local residents, as Charley loved to play the role of bully and bad guy. In December of 1884, Charley got into a gun fight with a local, W.L. Veatch, with Veatch getting shot in the shoulder. A warrant was sworn for the arrest of Texas Charley, and when he was served with the papers, he tore them up and headed for the courthouse, located in a log cabin just across the street and up the hill from where The Riverside is now located, where he intended to confront the local law, bragging that there wasn’t a man in this town big enough to put him behind bars.
The locals had by this time had enough of Charley, and as the citizens of Skidmore, MO did some 100 years later to Kenneth Rex McElroy, they quickly and quietly banded together in The Springs Hotel, and anonymously hidden behind the safety of the hotel’s room windows, doors and roof facades, gunned Charley down as he walked across the street on his way to the courthouse. The stories vary from Charley being shot by a single bullet, to the extreme of 15 guns blazing and hitting him multiple times. After an inquest into the shooting, the jury’s verdict read “we believe the killing was justifiable as C. W. Wilson was a very bad man.”
The annual re-enactment of the Texas Charley shootout that you’ll see at this years’ Hot Sulphur Days follows the single shot theory, probably more for the fact that they can’t find 15 re-enactors with 15 guns shooting 15 blanks than for the actual historical bent. It is a sight to see if for no other reason, (actually, specifically for this reason) it is amateur drama played out and hammed up at its best. You might see one or two of the participants decked out in period regalia – most of the others simply wear cowboy hats along with their Harley shirts and camouflage pants ( a clothing ensemble otherwise known in Grand County as ‘puttin’ on the sartorial dog’.) Most of the actors have a difficult time keeping a straight face – the crowd doesn’t even try. After Charley is 'shot', his body is put on a pallet, and he now becomes the focal point in the Hot Sulphur Days parade, as he is required to lie lifeless (save the occasional wink and wave to friends and family) as he is carried along the parade route.
It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, Hot Sulphur Days and all of the fun and festivities could, to the erudite and overly educated visiting city dweller, be considered low rent, small town hokum. It also goes without saying that this low rent, small town hokum is another reason why we gave up the grind and moved to a town like Hot Sulphur Springs.
I invite all of the aforementioned city dwellers to visit Hot Sulphur Springs during its annual celebration – I guarantee a good time, and the experience will, at the very least, make you way more eruditer.
We were there for Hot Sulfur Springs Days this month. The kids really enjoyed the shoot-out at high noon, as did I too. We also enjoyed the Sat AM pancake breakfast at the Fire Hall. Our stay at the Riverside was wonderful. The people we met were fun and interesting(including an interesting woman from Dublin, Ireland). The food was fabulous (chef Danny made an asparagus appetizer that was out of this world). Each room was decorated very uniquely and my husband and I agree we had the best 2 nights sleep of our 10 day venture. I must add that we stayed at the Broadmoor 2 days previously and the beds were just as comfy at the Riverside. Thanks for a wonderful stay! We hope someday to return. Donna and Rich Nolan from Lancaster Co., PA.
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