In 1906, John Otto, a trail builder fell in love with Colorado’s red-rock canyons; five years later, they became a national monument and he became their custodian for $1 a month

In 1906, John Otto, a trail builder fell in love with Colorado’s red-rock canyons; five years later, they became a national monument and he became their custodian for $1 a month. Otto wanted the canyons south of Grand Junction to receive national recognition. He built trails by hand, guided visitors, raised support and wrote letters to government officials. His efforts continued until President William Howard Taft signed a proclamation establishing Colorado National Monument on May 24, 1911. Otto then became its first superintendent. He lived in the canyons for much of the year with his horse and burros while continuing his trail work.

How John Otto began promoting the Colorado canyons?

John Otto first saw the red-rock canyons south of Grand Junction in 1906. The landscape made a strong impression on him. He decided to remain in the area and build trails so more people could see the canyons.


In 1907, Otto wrote about his plans and said the canyons felt like the heart of the world to him. He said he intended to stay, build trails and promote the area because he believed it should become a national park.

Otto began working to gain public and political support. He organized fundraising campaigns and took people on tours of the proposed protected area. He also invited President Theodore Roosevelt and President William Howard Taft to visit the canyons. Neither president initially traveled to Colorado to see the area. Otto continued his efforts and kept writing letters.

President Taft eventually visited during the peach festival in 1909. Almost a year later, Otto wrote another letter to Taft. He reminded the president about his visit to the valley and mentioned the Peach Queen.

Otto again asked Taft to designate the area as a national park. He signed the letter as “John Otto, Trail Builder and Guide.” Other supporters later joined Otto. They sent letters to politicians in Washington asking for the protection of the canyons. On May 24, 1911, President Taft signed the proclamation establishing Colorado National Monument.

John Otto became the first custodian for $1 a month

After Colorado National Monument was established, John Otto became its first superintendent, also described as its first custodian. His monthly salary was $1. In 2022 money, that amount would be about $33 per month.

Otto lived alone in the canyons for much of the year. He stayed in a tent with his horse and burros. He built trails by hand and moved his camp as the work progressed. His work helped make the canyons easier for visitors to reach.

Otto also gave names to rock formations. He preferred names connected to American history. He explained that he wanted to use names from United States history whenever possible and avoid Biblical, foreign and fictional names. Some names connected to his work remain in use. These include Independence Monument and Liberty Cap.

Key details about Otto's work

• He began working in the canyons in 1906.
• He promoted national protection for the area.
• He raised money and took visitors through the canyons.
• He wrote repeatedly to government officials.
• President Taft visited the area in 1909.
• Colorado National Monument was established on May 24, 1911.
• Otto became its first superintendent.
• His salary was $1 per month.
• He lived in a tent with his horse and burros.
• He built trails by hand.
• He named several formations using American historical references.

John Otto and Beatrice Farnham married at Independence Monument

While working on the trails, Otto met Beatrice Farnham. She was an artist and worked as an interior decorator. Otto was not clear about how the two first met. However, he wrote enthusiastic letters to newspapers after they became engaged.

He referred to Farnham as his “partner” and described her as an artist and trail worker of the Southwest. He also said they intended to continue the work in the canyons. As an engagement present, Otto gave Beatrice a burro named Foxy. She said the animal would help carry her paint boxes and other equipment.

Farnham had worked as an artist and interior decorator. She had a contract to refurbish several rooms at the LaCourt Hotel in Grand Junction. The hotel later closed in 1967. The couple married on June 20 at the base of Independence Monument.

The wedding took place outdoors because the couple preferred the canyon setting to a church. They said their choice was based on their own principles. Otto also had views about marriage. He said he did not believe in the modern form of marriage but was marrying because he believed in obeying the law.

He also questioned the traditional requirement that wives promise to obey their husbands. Instead, Otto and Farnham said they would “love, honor, and cherish” each other. Before the ceremony, the couple and their guests ate tomato soup, roasted chicken, salads, breads, boiled tongue, coffee and lemonade. The wedding ceremony took place inside a circle made from roped evergreens and sunflowers. The words “truth, honor, love, and justice” were placed at the four directional points.

Otto and Farnham shared views on social issues

John Otto and Beatrice Farnham were both known for views that were outside some social expectations of their time. Otto supported workers' rights. His position was partly shaped by his experience as a miner in Washington. During one night shift, Otto and his mining partner narrowly escaped a tunnel collapse while blasting rock. The experience influenced his support for safer working conditions.

He also supported an eight-hour workday and other changes intended to improve conditions for workers. Otto supported women's voting rights and Prohibition. He also wrote about the effects of saloons and supported keeping them out of Grand Junction. Farnham also expressed views about American women and social class.

She criticized the “Four Hundred,” a list of New York's social elite that was first published in 1892 during the Gilded Age. Farnham wrote that women had more opportunity to maintain their self-respect in the West than in the drawing rooms of wealthy families in the East.

The marriage ended after one month

Despite sharing some views, Otto and Farnham's marriage did not last. Farnham later said that she had tried to live Otto's way but could not continue living with a man for whom even a cabin was an encumbrance. About one month after the wedding, Farnham left Colorado. She went to visit relatives and handle business matters in Boston. She did not return to Colorado National Monument.

On March 22, 1912, Otto publicly announced that they had separated. Farnham continued working as an artist, designer and sculptor. She also traveled to Jerusalem. Later, she moved with her mother to Patrick County, Virginia. There, she raised sheep and continued her artistic work. Beatrice Farnham died in Virginia in 1979 at the age of 103.

Otto left the monument after 16 years

John Otto continued working at Colorado National Monument for 16 years as its superintendent. In 1932, he left the Grand Valley and moved west. He settled in Yreka, California, where he lived in an old post office building. He painted the building red, white and blue.

Otto earned money by panning for gold on the Klamath River. He also worked in a mine near his home. People living near him described him as well-groomed and eccentric but harmless. His later life remained connected to outdoor work and mining.

John Otto died in 1952

John Otto died on June 19, 1952. He was 81 years old and died from a massive coronary. At the time of his death, he had clothing, tools, $44 in cash and four $25 war bonds. He did not have enough money for a proper headstone. Otto was therefore buried in a pauper's grave at Evergreen Cemetery in Yreka. Girdner Funeral Chapel waived its normal fees so that Otto could receive a funeral. His story later returned to Colorado through a memorial effort.

Volunteers created a memorial for John Otto

A group of volunteers from Grand Junction started the John Otto Memorial Headstone Project. The group wanted Otto to have a proper memorial at his gravesite. The volunteers raised money for a headstone. They later held a ceremony in Yreka on June 19, 2002. The ceremony took place exactly 50 years after Otto's death.

His memorial carries the words:

“Do your best for the west, the best for the world, the new day, get it going.”

The headstone identifies him as John Otto, promoter and first custodian of Colorado National Monument.

Why John Otto's story remains connected to Colorado National Monument?

John Otto's story is linked to the early history of Colorado National Monument. He arrived in the canyons before the national monument existed. He then spent years promoting the area, guiding visitors and building trails. His work continued after President Taft established the monument in 1911.

Otto lived in the landscape he worked to protect. His horse and burros were part of his daily life, and he moved his camp as he extended the trails. The trails helped visitors reach parts of the canyons that had previously been difficult to access. The names he gave to formations also remain part of the landscape's history. Independence Monument and Liberty Cap are among the formations associated with his naming approach.

His life also included mining, workers' rights, women's voting rights, Prohibition, marriage, art and life in the American West. His story ended in a pauper's grave in California, but volunteers later raised money for a memorial headstone. For Colorado National Monument, John Otto remains part of the site's early history as a trail builder, promoter and first custodian.