Introduction:

When the name Emma Crawford is spoken within Manitou Springs, Colorado, there is little doubt that local individual will know exactly to whom this name refers, as Crawford served as a vital part of the past of Manitou Springs. Every October, the Emma Crawford Coffin Races take place up and down the streets of Manitou, in remembrance of Crawford’s painful past with tuberculosis and the strength it took her to make her way from South Royalston, Massachusetts into the small town of Manitou, to allegedly “chase after the cure.”

Photo: “Emma Crawford Gravestone” Manitou Springs Cemetery. (June 16^th, 2022). Personal Photo.

                                                                          Early Life

Emma Crawford was born March 24, 1863, in South Royalston, Massachusetts to a music teacher known as Madame Jeanette Crawford. At the tender age of seven, Crawford was diagnosed with tuberculosis and knew well that her young life may be over before it even started. From this, she took to playing the piano and learning the skills of music, to the point where all who met her as a child-and as a young woman-remarked on her uncanny harmony and skill as a “powerful musician.” [1] Emma had a dream to eventually grow up and attend a teacher-training school to become a music teacher, however, this dream was not fulfilled due to her untimely death from tuberculosis.

                                                                   Time Spent in Manitou

Emma Crawford came to Manitou Springs, Colorado in 1888, and it is believed that her home residence was located on the pass-way through of Ute Avenue, in the lower areas of Manitou, as seen within a death notice provided to manitou on the information regarding Emma’s funeral arrangements.[2] Knowing that she was sick with tuberculosis, Emma came to Manitou Springs with a mission to take in the ‘mineral waters’ which were believed to provide healing relief to those who were suffering with any ailments.[3] Emma found comfort in the ‘Red Mountain.” Which stood above Manitou Springs, and wanted to be buried upon this mountain, after her passing. At one point, she took to the mountain herself and climbed up the entire mountain, marking a tree with a red scarf, as to prove that she had actually climbed this mountain.[4] During her time spent in Manitou, Emma was also engaged to William Hildebrand, an engineer who was working for the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad during the time he met and proposed to Emma.

                                                                      Death and Memory

After passing on December, 4^th, 1891, Emma left behind a fiancé, and a devoted mother. Her passing was seen known all around the Manitou Springs region and her request to be buried upon ‘Red Mountain’ was also made clear in her last will and testament. It took at least eleven men to carry her casket to the top of the hill, where she was laid to rest-twice. Each time Emma was buried, the rainy weather and the mixture of that with the red dirt that she was buried under-would unsettle the grave, and her coffin would come down the hill and into town.[5] The town buried her twice on this mountain before coming to the conclusion that this would not be substantial. Emma Crawford is now buried in Manitou Springs Cemetery in a private lot-upon a red dust hill. Every year, Emma’s memory is honored by the annual Manitou Springs ‘coffin races’ which celebrates the rich history of Manitou Springs, and its connection to Colorado as a hub for those with tuberculosis to seek out a cure-or at the very least, die in the peace of the arid climates which Colorado had to offer.

                                                        Photo Provided Curtesy of Pikes Peak Library District: Special Collections

                                                                          Bibliography:

Primary

“Death announcement: Ms. Emma Crawford.” Manitou Springs Journal. (December 5, 1891), p. 2. Manitou Springs Heritage Center Archives. Date Accessed June 2nd, 2022.

“To The Higher Life” Manitou Springs Journal, December 12, 1891. page 1, Manitou Springs Heritage Center Archives. Accessed June 2nd, 2022.

“Worked Started on New Road Up Red Mountain.” Gazette (January 28, 1912.) P. 12

City Directory, 1929 and 1930. Manitou Springs Heritage Center Archives. Accessed June 2nd, 2022.

    Secondary:

Solly Edwin Sam. Manitou, Colorado, U.S.A., its mineral waters and climate. Manitou Springs, Colorado; Creative Media Partners, (2011).

Peak Radar, “Emma Crawford Coffin Races and Parade” accessed June 16, 2022

http://www.peakradar.com/event/detail/37293/Emma_Crawford_Coffin_Race_Parade

.

[1]     “Death announcement: Ms. Emma Crawford.” Manitou Springs Journal. (December 5, 1891), p. 2. Manitou Springs Heritage Center Archives. Date Accessed June 2^nd, 2022.

[2]   “To The Higher Life” Manitou Springs Journal, December 12, 1891. page 1, Manitou Springs Heritage Center Archives. Accessed June 2^nd, 2022.

[3]   Samuel Edwin Solly. Manitou, Colorado, U.S.A., its mineral waters and climate. Manitou Springs, Colorado; Creative Media Partners, (2011).

[4]    “Worked Started on New Road Up Red Mountain.” Gazette (January 28, 1912). P. 12

City Directory, 1929 and 1930. Manitou Springs Heritage Center Archives. Accessed June 2^nd, 2022.

[5]     Peak Radar, “Emma Crawford Coffin Races and Parade” accessed June 16, 2022

http://www.peakradar.com/event/detail/37293/Emma_Crawford_Coffin_Race_Parade