Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour

Clara Brown

Freed by her master in 1859, Miss Brown traveled from Kentucky to eventually settle in Central City, Colorado. Miss Brown ran a successful laundry, a business that provided funding for her to pursue her dream of finding her lost children. After fifty years of searching, Miss Brown not only found her daughter, but also a granddaughter. Clara Brown promoted the betterment of the state by helping to start the First Methodist Church in Central City and by assisting other black people to come West. She had a special chair dedicated to her at the famous Central City Opera House, and the Methodist Historical Society memorialized her in a plaque at Central City. Aunt Clara was the fist woman and first African American to be inducted into the Society of Colorado Pioneers.

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last modified June 20, 2003