A History of Lake City Bands
In 1871, the area around Lake City was discovered by a group of miners led by Harry Henson who found rich ore veins. However, at this time the land in the San Juans had been occupied by the Ute Indians and their ancestors for centuries so mining claims were not filed.
In 1874 the Utes ceded the land to the United States opening a mining frenzy. Enos Hotchkiss began the boom with his find of rich gold and silver ores. He built the first log cabin in Lake City.
By 1875 Lake City was established, the first newspaper was published, stagecoaches arrived in town, and the first wedding was held. A sizable town had sprung up by 1876 with a variety of stores, saloons, banks, a school, and two churches that are still in use today.
The town's need for music to enhance all this booming activity led to the forming of the first Lake City Brass and String bands about 1877.In 1878 the Pitkin Guards was set up in town to help maintain peace. They remained in Lake City for many years. Their drum and bugle corps and brass band were entertaining additions to the town's active social life.Photographs of early Lake City Bands demonstrate that these early ensembles had instrumentation consistent with thousands of American Brass Bands springing up across the United States in the Late 19th Century. After the Civil War, the 400 plus bands that had accompanied local military organizations to war returned to their communities to provide music for dances, civic celebrations, and town ceremonies. It was common for one trained musician, usually a cornet player who could read music, to form these bands. Members of the band were sometimes trained musicians but, as often as not, other players had little or no formal training and served as “oom-pah” accompaniments for the lead cornet player. In the top photo C. W. Hirt, in the front row with a cornet, was the band’s leader. | S P A C E R |
C. W. Hirt, band leader, center with cornet
Lake City Band with instrumentations |