The Colorado gold rush brought thousands of people into Denver in the mid-1800s, with 100,000 people in the Denver area by the 1890’s. With the economy booming on gold and silver production, the 1893 Silver Crash dealt a big blow to the city. Denver residents, looking for alternatives to replace the struggling mining industry, looked to the plains. Colorado’s expansive flat lands made farming and ranching stand out as an obvious choice.
Determined to be the prominent city for agriculture and cattle, Denver leaders convinced the delegates for the National Stock Growers to hold their 1898 convention in Denver. The convention brought top names in cattle and agriculture from across the country. Local newspapers advertised the event weeks in advance, with the most enthusiastic headlines around the “Grand Barbecue”, an event promising “6 tons of meat”. A massive feast was prepared featuring 2 bear, 150 possum, 5 elk, 4 buffalo and a “feast of quail”. Included in the free meal were loaves of bread, “troughs of gravy”, 250 pounds of coffee, and barrels of free beer supplied by Zang’s Brewery.
Expecting 20,000 people, the event was quickly overrun with 30,000 people who broke through the retaining rope and rushed the food tables. Chaos ensued with terrified servers throwing meat and loaves of bread into the crowd. Tables were overturned and destroyed, fights broke out and countless barrels of beer stolen. Police, fearing an all-out riot, responded with force, but people continued to flow into the area in search of the free food.
Despite newspapers filled with tales of the disastrous event, one fatality and a lengthy list of stolen items, convention organizers voted the very next day to hold the 1899 National Stock Growers’ Convention in Denver. They also held the Grand Barbecue again, but this time the newspapers made little mention of the upcoming event. Seven years later, in 1906, the convention became the National Western Stock Show and would be held annually, establishing a Denver tradition for a 117 years.
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