Emma Crawford and the Coffin Races ~ Julie Lence

 

Manitou Springs/Pikes Peak

 At the base of Pikes Peak (America’s Mountain in Colorado Springs, Colorado) sits the small town of Manitou Springs. Restaurants ranging from 5 Star dining to a candy & hotdog stand line the streets. Shops hawking anything from Christmas baubles to cowboy décor entertain tourists almost year round, and locals know the hot springs put Manitou on the map. While I won’t say for sure that many come to town for a dip in the springs today, I can say there is one attraction that draws the crowds, both locals and tourists alike, every year and that is the Emma Crawford Coffin Races.

Born March 24, 1863 in Massachusetts, Emma Crawford realized her talent for music at a young age. Her mother was a pianist and music teacher and is credited with helping Emma nurture her talent. By the age of 12, Emma was giving her own piano lessons and public recitals. By 15, she rendered the music of great masters with perfection and was also skilled in playing the violin, viola, cello and the mandolin. But all wasn’t sunshine and happiness for Emma. She developed an illness believed to be tuberculosis before the age of seven, and in 1889, she and her mother moved to Manitou Springs in the hopes the mountain air and hot springs would benefit Emma’s condition. At the time, Emma was engaged to New York engineer, William Hildebrand, who was working on the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad.

Nature was Emma’s second greatest interest, with spirituality close on its heels. Reports indicate Emma (wearing a red dress) climbed Red Mountain, which she nicknamed Red Chief to honor the American Indians, Like other spiritualists in her day, she believed a spirit guide from the Indian world would protect her and that a spirit guide had the power to heal her health problems. Most didn’t believe that in her condition she could climb the mountain, but she swore she did and even left her scarf tied to a small pine tree at the summit. Her friend Bill Crosby is reported to have climbed the mountain the following day to find Emma’s scarf footprints.

Emma succumbed to her health problems on December 4, 1891. Before that, she made it clear she wished to be buried on the mountain’s summit.  William Hildebrand tried to get a deed for the burial site but was denied. Emma was buried on the mountain only in a different location. Afterward, her grave was moved to the west side of the mountain and covered with a concrete slab; this was during the time Red Mountain incline built a power house and depot on the summit. Over time, the slope eroded and Emma’s coffin slid down the mountain into the canyon. In August 1929, human remains and a handle to a coffin were found. It was later determined the remains were Emma. At this time, the authorities were unable to locate any of Emma’s relatives, so Bill Crosby took responsibility for her. She was buried in an unmarked grave. In 2004, Historic Manitou Springs, Inc. finally erected a headstone near the unmarked grave.

In 1994, Manitou Springs was looking for new ways to promote tours and decided to incorporate Emma into their Halloween promotions, thus the coffin races began. Held on a Saturday close to Halloween, a parade kicks off the race. Teams consisting of five members (Emma and 4 mourners in costume), have to push a coffin down the street, all vying for ‘Coffin Race Winner’,  ‘Best Emma’, ‘Best Coffin’, ‘Best Entourage’, and the recently added, ‘Coffin Cup’.  The event is a lot of fun and one I hope to someday attend.