Thanks to our vast history that includes everything from the Gold Rush to the railroad and our first Native American residents, Colorado has countless fascinating places to visit, as well as many spots that are allegedly haunted. No, we aren’t talking about the Stanley Hotel, folks, but rather the haunting Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in Colorado:
Located in the small Eastern Plains towns of Eads, the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site may seem peaceful and beautiful at first glance but houses one of the bloodiest times in Colorado history.
"The Sand Creek Massacre: profound, symbolic, spiritual, controversial, a site unlike any other in America," states the National Park Service, which took place on November 29, 1864, and is considered not only a changing time in Colorado but the nation as a whole.
After years of tensions between Colorado's white settlers and Native Americans over territorial disputes and the recent murders of Cheyenne Indians in Kansas, things came to a violent and historical head, resulting in the massacre.
As tensions started to rise, then Colorado governor John Evans invited the Native Americans to a safe area, which was accepted by some but rejected by others who would later come face to face to U.S. Army Colonel John Chivington and 700 men from the Colorado Territory militia.
Upon the militia's arrival, the remaining Cheyenne and Arapaho Native Americans were blindsided and ambushed, with some 70-160 men, women, and children either killed or ambushed, and their village ransacked.
After the massacre, official investigations concluded that the militia and government's actions were heinous and unacceptable, which lead to the signing of the Treaty of the Little Arkansas, which granted the Native Americans access to the lands south of the Arkansas River, as well as restitution to the survivors of Sand Creek.
When you visit the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site today, keep your eyes and ears peeled, as it is said that you can see apparitions of wandering men, women, and children in and around the grounds, as well as hear the sound of agonizing screams.
