05/21/2026
“All good Americans are looking forward to the passage of the year 1876 with great interest; and it is not to be denied that they are animated by a new hopefulness. The financial failures that occur do not depress the business circles as they once did. There is a belief that we have seen the worst, that it is well that the rotten houses should go down, and that we shall, practically, start, during our Centennial, a new and prosperous national life.”
Centennial celebrations in 1876, during the time the Chambers lived at Rock Ledge Ranch, focused on the past, present, and future of the United States of America. In an article in the January 8, 1876 edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Centennial Commission called the whole country to a project that they argued “may be made one of the most important and enduring features of the Centennial Celebration:”
“It seems proper that the local celebrations of the Fourth of July, 1876, which will be held throughout the land, should be made to contribute to a permanent historical memorial of the Centennial Celebration. In each country provision should be made for the delivery of an address, tracing the history of that particular community for the past century, or from the time of its settlement.”
Other writers early in the year expressed an optimistic hopefulness that the Centennial would bring economic prosperity and national unity. The occasion of the Centennial was bringing new business to America, it was a presidential election year, and the Centennial exposition would bring people from all parts of the nation together. One writer wrote on January 1, 1876: “The nation is to be brought together as it has never been brought before during its history…We are now all members of a consolidated nationality, and this year, around the old family altar at Philadelphia, we expect to meet and embrace as brothers.” People across the nation placed great hope in the Centennial celebrations to unite the country and bring prosperity to all.
