Virtual History Lecture: Jim Beckwourth – The Black Mountain Man – The Gaudy Liar

James Pierson Beckwourth (1798-1866) was born a slave in Frederick County, VA. His father was Jennings Beckwith a plantation owner, who raised his son as his own. At an early age he trapped the frontier in Missouri and then moved west to work for the Rocky Mountain Fir Company. He was tall, muscular, rugged, and weatherworn. He wore his black hair to his waist or braided in long rolls decorated with brightly colored ribbons. He looked like a pirate in buckskin. He was adopted by a Crow Indian tribe in 1833, was made a war chief, took several Indian wives, and fought in battle against the Cheyenne, Blackfoot, and Sioux. Later he joined the US Army to fight in the Seminole war in Florida. He ran his own trader stores in Taos, NM, and Denver, CO. In 1850 he discovered Beckwourth Pass, a shorter way into the gold fields of California, and led wagon trains over the pass to Marysville, CA. He was at the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado, worked as a guide with Jim Bridger, and died at the age of 66 under mysterious circumstances. He was widely known and respected for his tall tales about himself, which people assumed were lies, but later turned out to be true; nonetheless, he was deemed the “Gaudy Liar”. Presenter: Robert Meroney

Registration #284382.00
Date: Wednesday, March 17
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Cost: $2.00 Resident, $3.00 Non-Resident

Call the Senior Center at 303-651-8411 or register online to receive the Zoom link. Online registration expires 6 hours before class begins, so please call the Senior Center if you cannot register online. Please note that we may not be able to accommodate same-day requests. It is best to register early to secure your spot.

Visit www.longmontcolorado.gov/senior-services for more programs and information.