From homesteader to conservationist: the evolution of Enos Mills Editor's note: Enos Mills is considered the father of Rocky Mountain Na onal Park, which was officially established by the US government as the na on's third na onal park on January 26, 1915. We are honored to have his great-granddaughter, who along with her mother, runs the Enos Mills Cabin opera ng out of Enos Mills' original homestead cabin, write this original piece for us in celebra on of Rocky's 106 birthday this month. By Erin V. Mills As a boy, Enos Abijah Mills, was the ninth child out of eleven of Enos and Ann Mills. Enos Sr. and Ann were of hearty Quaker stock, and moved from Indiana to Pleasanton, Kansas. They “came for the avowed purpose of helping to make Kansas a free state” in 1857, four years before the Civil War began. A brief me in Breckenridge in 1860 to try mining was forma ve and adventurous for them, but they returned to Pleasanton, Kansas, to farm wheat and raise their family. Enos was born April 22, 1870. Pleasanton is in the southeast corner of Linn County, Kansas, near the Missouri border. Out of the Mills family brood of eleven, only seven survived past the age of two years. Enos Sr. was easily six feet tall, and Ann was about four foot-ten or so. Ann became a Quaker preacher at the age of 83, and outlived her husband and all but her two youngest sons, Horace and Joe. More informa on on the genealogy can be found on our website. During Enos' childhood and early teens, his family called him Tom. His youngest brother, Enoch, went by the name of Joe. I imagine these nicknames happened early on to avoid confusion. For the purposes of clarity, I'll be referring to Enos Abijah simply as Enos. Joe (Enoch) kept his nickname the rest of his life. Enos was always a small, sickly child. He was bright, intui ve, hard-working when he could, and studious. There was a school in Pleasanton which he did a end occasionally when his health allowed. His elder sisters tutored him to keep him up on his schoolwork when he was unable to a end. His parents o en borrowed
The front page of the Denver Post on January 20, 1915, six days prior to Rocky Mountain Na onal Park being signed into law by Congress. RMNP photo
books from anywhere they could in order to encourage all their children in their studies. His sisters were par cularly sharp. One of them married a teacher who was able to eventually tutor Enos through the eighth grade, cer ficates and all. The copious books in the house also made Enos a voracious reader. He would o en help with the household chores, during which Ann would tell him stories of her me in Breckenridge. These stories fascinated him, and he dreamt of traveling to Colorado. Unfortunately, Enos' health did not improve on the farm. He was thin and weak, and o en unable to help with the more strenuous chores. His parents were rightly concerned about him. When he was about thirteen years old, the local doctor tried in vain to diagnose his illness, and in what was most likely a hushed conversa on, the doctor said that Enos might not live another six months. Something had to be done. Let's be clear, Enos' parents loved him. They wanted
