Elias M. Ammons

Elias Milton Ammons (July 28, 1860 – May 20, 1925) served as the 19th governor of Colorado from 1913 to 1915. He is perhaps best remembered for ordering National Guard troops into Ludlow, Colorado during the Colorado Coalfield War, which resulted in the Ludlow Massacre. He was also instrumental in starting the National Western Stock Show, which is still active. His son, Teller Ammons, was also governor of Colorado.

Early life On July 28, 1860, Ammons was born in Macon County, North Carolina. Ammons' parents were Jehu R. and Margaret Ammons. His father was a Baptist minister, and his mother was descended from the Pennsylvania Dutch.

In 1871, Ammons and his family moved to Denver, Colorado. Ammons graduated from East High School in Denver in 1880.

Career In 1886, at age 26, Ammons started a successful cattle ranch in Douglas County, Colorado, south of Denver.

Legislative In 1890, running as a Republican, Ammons was elected unopposed to the Colorado House of Representatives from Douglas County. He was re-elected, again unopposed, in 1892. After leaving the Colorado House, Ammons became a Democrat and served in the Colorado State Senate from 1898 to 1902.

Governorship In 1912, Ammons was elected Governor of Colorado. He defeated five other candidates--Edward P. Costigan, Clifford C. Parks, Charles A. Ashelstrom, John Henry Ketchum, and Jonathan U. Billings--with 42.9% of the vote. His term as governor lasted from January 14, 1913 to January 12, 1915.

Ammons was elected on an anti-conservation platform and was against federal control of Colorado lands. He believed strongly in the sovereignty of the states and worried that the federal government was encroaching on the political independence of Colorado. Further, he was concerned that federal land reservation would stunt Colorado's economic growth.

Ammons retired from public service upon the end of his term as governor in 1915.

Ammons' son Bruce became a rancher in Grand County, Colorado. Daughter Elizabeth became an accomplished equestrienne; she married Henry Louis Larsen and later became the First Lady of American Samoa and First Lady of Guam. Another son, Teller Ammons, followed in his father's footsteps and became Governor of Colorado.

Ammons died May 20, 1925 in Denver. He was interred at Denver's Fairmont Cemetery.