Best view in the Cemetery, Greenwood Cemetery, Canon City, Colorado

Best view in the whole cemetery for Thomas “Uncle Tom” Pennington and his son Frank. 

Thomas “Uncle Tom” Pennington was a well known and loved Cañon City Resident in the late 1800s. He lived in the apartments under the county courthouse at the time of his death in 1907. Mr. Pennington was the manager for the McClure house for many years, the Cañon House and the Strathmoor Hotel. It is said that there was “not a single hostelry in town that he did not at one time or another control”. 

Born April 29th, 1828 in Lincolnshire, England, He landed in New York with his wife and children in 1880 then immediately rerouted to Cañon City. His wife had family in the region and they settled in immediately. His Daughter Louise Pennington was married in Cripple Creek soon after to Mr. James H. Wright. In 1881 Thomas would open a thrift store with his son in law James called Wright & Penningtons. 

Just as The Great Comet of 1882 was bright in the sky and headlining the newspapers, Thomas was on the record for new ventures with The Cañon House opening by November 1st.  Board and Lodging in the Cañon House was $1.50 to $2.00 a day. The Cañon House was in the 300 Block of Main Street, addressed in the newspaper aptly as “In between 3rd and 4th” and was newly renovated in 1882. 

His hospitality was so great they even called him Dr. Thomas Pennington. One story I found says that Rev. Humphrey of Coal Creek was visiting and wanted to visit the Royal Gorge. He hiked into the Gorge chasing sunsets and became of the elements momentarily by finding himself at the cliff against the river at dark. He made it to the Iron Bridge and was stuck there without a way out. Unable to find the Ice that he had crossed on, he braved the rapids in a wild dash and made it to the railroad tracks. He spent a harrowing encounter on his way there, playing with the cactus and the nightmares of creatures at his heels kept him afoot. He was brought to Pennington to The Canon House when they found him. He was full of cactus and the article stated “He had seen the ghost of the departed maiden aunt, or was attacked by a grisly.” Uncle Tom fed him a good supper and gave privacy to remove the cactus that he clung to on the cliffs. This article was in the Fremont County Record on March 17th, 1883.

Frank Pennington, The Son of Thomas Pennington, was also an outstanding citizen and was in the paper for cleaning up around his father’s hotel, and starting a vegetable garden in 1883. Thomas lost his son in June of 1897, though I am unsure of what happened to him. He was 21 years old. 

I found so many articles in the Cañon City Daily Record and the Fremont County Record that outlined the life and death of “Uncle Tom”. For the 27 years he was in Canon City, the stories were plenty. He spent weeks recovering from an illness in March of 1899, this illness left him slightly unable to move about on his own. A little at a time he regained his strength and got right back to life.

He was nominated for Alderman (council) in 1898 and in 1901 for Cañon City, 1st Ward. Then additionally he was nominated for Justice of the Peace in October of 1901. He won the election against John W. Waters for Magistrate by a majority vote in 1903.  He continued to serve and dot the news for his magistrate duties for the next several years. Thomas was said to be a very hard working individual. There were many more articles like this. 

During these elections he was noted in the paper to have been contemplating a trip to California to hopefully alleviate his Rheumatism.  He suffered from pneumonia in January of 1905 and was rushed to the hospital. Coincidentally,  he passed from Rheumatism of the Heart after being ill for 10 days in 1907. He left behind his son John in Los Angeles, and a Daughter Mrs. James H. Wright who was also from Los Angeles. They received a telegram of his death and were noted to be traveling to attend the services.  Services were said to have been held at Lakeside Cemetery in the paper, but he is buried in Greenwood. I checked Lakeside Cemetery in Canon City and there is no record of him or his son Frank, so I believe this was an error in that article. 

There were many articles about his brother James Pennington handling his estate after his death. I didn’t pursue the rest of the stories on his remaining family any further as this article is about Uncle Tom and his son Frank. It seems that there was as little more to this story than I expected, and perhaps more will come of this, though it sounds like the rest of his family moved to California. For the sake of honoring the father and son, I will leave it as unknown to me for the moment.

The family plot faces the back of the cemetery and has, in my humble opinion, the best view in the cemetery. Especially back then before power lines and quarries began on that background. The Pennington base stone faces the rear of the cemetery and I only noticed it in December after having been at this cemetery many times in the past. It’s pretty hidden and you need to step back to see it. This bedstead is so beautiful though it is fading with time a bit, the scroll work is beginning to lose the test of time. The carvings are not as prominent as they once were I am sure. 

May they rest in peace. 

Thomas “Uncle Tom” Pennington 

Born April 29th, 1838 in England. 

Died April 26th, 1907 in Cañon City, He was almost 69 years old. His stone reads “At Rest”

Frank Pennington 

Son of Thomas and Louisa Pennington

Born in 1876, Aged 21 years

Died May 26th, 1897 in Cañon City, Colorado