Hannah Connell Barker

Hannah Connell Barker (1844–1918) was an early resident of Boulder, Colorado. Barker was a teacher, civic leader, businesswoman and land developer in an era when industrious women were not commonly recognized for their contributions. Among other things, Barker served as a teacher; as director of the Boulder Bank; and was instrumental in platting and developing significant parts of the City of Boulder. She also owned the land that was used for the construction of Barker Meadow Reservoir, Boulder’s primary source of water.

Born as Hannah Connell, Barker and her family emigrated from Ireland to Springfield, Massachusetts in 1852. After spending time in Massachusetts and Iowa, she crossed the Great Plains with two other early immigrants to Boulder County, Colorado: her lifelong friend, Mary Davidson, and Davidson’s husband, William. Barker settled in Ward, Colorado, not far from the City of Boulder. There, beginning in the mid-1860s, she taught school, providing a civilizing influence on the children of local miners. In 1869, Barker moved to Boulder, where she became one of the first female teachers in the local school district.

In 1877, she married Ezra Barker, a local businessman with extensive real estate holdings. Ezra Barker owned a number of mining and ranching interests, including a ranch in Boulder Canyon near the town of Nederland, Colorado. In the early years of the 20th Century, the Central Colorado Power Company wanted to buy the ranch to build a hydroelectric dam, which would have flooded the property and created a sizable reservoir. The City of Boulder's account of the construction of the dam and the creation of the reservoir indicates that Barker refused to sell the land and was eventually forced to part with the land after the city commenced condemnation proceedings—a legal action similar to the present-day legal procedure of eminent domain. Thus, in 1907, after commencement of the condemnation proceeding, Barker sold the land adjacent to Nederland for the construction of the Barker Meadow Reservoir.

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