Written by Frederick Browne Doolittle, as an unpublished manuscript in 1971, the paper provides insights into the early history of Aspen.

Prologue:

After reviewing Josiah Edward Spurr’s “Aspen Mining District, Colorado, Caroline Bancroft’s. “Famous
Aspen” and Luke Short’s “The Danger Hole” it occurred to me that I might supply some personal recollections
not published in the foregoing.
I was born in Aspen on May 14, 1900. My Mother was the oldest daughter of Colonel -Edward F. Browne who brought his family to Aspen in 1886 via stage coach over Independence pass. My Mother recalls her thrilling experience when, as 13-year old Tempie Browne, she was allowed to ride on the high seat with the stage driver. My Father, Clarence E. Doolittle, came to Aspen in 1886 via stage coach over Taylor pass, as electrical engineer for the Aspen Electric Company,
he having graduated from Cornell University in 1885. I went to both the Washington and Lincoln schools, some grades in each, and to the Aspen High School. Although I was away much of the time attending the University of Colorado from which I graduated in 1922 and working the following year for the General Electric Company in Schenectady, New York, I considered Aspen my home town until my family moved to California in October 1923.