Camp Weld, Sand Creek, Burnham Yard and Land Patents

While Article 6 of the October 1865 Treaty of the Little Arkansas promised reparations to Sand Creek Massacre survivors—which never came—federal land patents were issued in the following months across the Camp Weld and Burnham Yard area. Several involved men connected to the history of the Sand Creek Massacre.

Those include Alexander Cameron Hunt, who acquired a 160-acre federal land patent in February 1866 for a tract that now encompasses much of the historic Burnham Yard. Serving as U.S. Marshal for Colorado Territory during the massacre — and later as Territorial Governor — Hunt testified before Congress about atrocities committed at Sand Creek.

In November 1865, Langdon Clark received a U.S. land patent for land covering much of what is now the La Alma Lincoln Park neighborhood. He was a member of Company A, Third Colorado Cavalry, a Denver-based unit that participated in the Sand Creek Massacre. His 160-acre land patent lies immediately east of the railyard. A month later, Elisha Milleson claimed a U.S. land patent under pre-emption rights after serving in Company A, Third Colorado Cavalry. His 40-acre land patent covered the western edge of Burnham Yard and likely much of Camp Weld’s historic footprint.