Henry Dozier: Peripatetic Architect of Colorado and the West

Did someone really boil a baby? Henry Dozier was both a talented Victorian architect and a troubled soul. In 1887 he moved to Cripple Creek Colorado from Denver, presumably to rebuild a town destroyed by 2 devastating fires. According to the newspapers, he was also dissipating his income in dissolute behavior. On February 4, 1897, there was an impassioned letter to the editor from Celestia Dozier, head of the household in Denver, in spite of the fact that she was only sixteen years old. Celestia noted that her father was supporting his family as best that he could under the circumstances and that the newspaper report that her mother tried to boil the baby was incorrect. The Denver Post noted in 1898, in discussing his lack of support from his family, that he had 9 children. The Rocky Mountain News reported the same thing in 1897. The 1910 census reported that he had 9 children of which 8 were living. Enjoy the story of this truly unique architect!