Wooton, Richens Lacy "Uncle Dick" (1816 � 1893)
Richens L. Wooton came west from Virginia in the 1830s, serving in the Mexican War. He settled in what is now the area of the Colorado/New Mexico border. He was a mountain man, buffalo hunter and entrepreneur.
He was responsible for building the toll road over Raton Pass. He owned a buffalo ranch near present day Pueblo and is credited with the first cross-breeding of buffalo and cattle, and herding sheep over the Continental Divide to California. He is best known for providing food and �Taos Lightning� to the early settlers of Denver on the occasion of that city�s first Christmas, in 1858.
A real opportunist, Wooton�s generosity was calculated. He was the hero of Denver and dubbed �Uncle Dick.� He opened a merchandise store the next day and became the leading merchant of the city. He retired to his Colorado beginnings near Trinidad. He opened a toll road over Raton Pass, along the Santa Fe Trail.
He is buried in Trinidad Catholic Cemetery in Lot 29, next to his fourth wife. There is a marker.
From "From the Grave, A Roadside Guide to Colorado's Pioneer Cemeteries," by Linda Wommack, published by Caxton Press, Caldwell, Idaho in 1998
