Nevada Genealogy Trails Carson City Ex-Governor R. K. Colcord Biography

EX-GOVERNOR R. K. COLCORD
There lives a man in Nevada who was elected Governor on the Republican ticket. This may seem astonishing in these days, but it is true nevertheless. R. K. Colcord, assayer in charge of the United States Mint at Carson City, has the honor. In the days before the fusion of the silver men and the Democrats the Republicans were in control, and it was during that time that Colcord was elected.

Former Governor Colcord has been a prominent figure in this western country. He was born in Maine, April 25, 1837. He studied engineering in his youth and went to California in 1856 to engage in placer mining and mill and bridge building. He came to Nevada in 1863 and located on the Comstock in Virginia during the height of the gold excitement. He remained there for eight years building some of the big mills. He was manager of the mines and mills at Bodie, just across the line in California, for seven years and held a similar position for five years in Aurora, the sister town on the Nevada side of the state line.

Governor Colcord has been a leader in the Republican party in the state for years. He was elected Governor in 1891 and served until 1895, when he went back to his mining work. He was appointed superintendent of the mint in 1898 by President McKinley. The mint is now conducted as a government assay office."

I am a miner," says the former Governor, "and I tell you it is the most satisfactory and cheerful calling in the world. I will not stop as long as I have a cent. Legitimate? Why, it is just as legitimate as raising wheat."

Source:
Who's who in Nevada By Bessie Beatty 1907
Contributed by Barbara Z.