"John Prey "Jp" Lower, son of George and Catherine Lower. He was an old west Colorado pioneer gunsmith & firearms retailer. His store was called "Sportsmens Depot". He was well known in the day. He was friends of Sam Colt & Col Sharp who were makers of their respective famous firearms. He also knew Remington, Smith and Wesson, Christian Sharps and Winchester. Many famous people bought or had firearms repaired at his shop in Denver, such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Kit Carson, George and Tom Custer and many others famous and not. Many well known American Indians would come to his store to trade for firearms. He was a crack shot and it was said at one time he could hit a dime tossed in the air at 30 feet. He was said to be the first firearms retailer west of the Mississippi back when he started out in Denver. He was born in 1833 in Philadelphia and grew up having a love of firearms. This desire eventually led him as a young man to a very young and growing Denver in Colorado territory not yet a state of the union and without a firearms dealer in what must of been a badly needed commodity to say the least! So JP would start his own store selling firearms and fulfill his passion. He must of thanked his lucky stars for this oportunity that was bestowed on him to be in just the right time and place in history. Many of the weapons would have his name proudley displayed on the side. If transported back in time to his store it would be wonderous to see the tale unfold and the people who shopped there or to venture in for gun repair or ammo or the latest upgraded weapon in a day and age when walking the streets with a loaded firearm was common. It makes ones mind wonder. People coming from miles around just to venture into his store after hours on horseback and then tieing and watering their horse just out front of his store. He surly must of had hours of stories to tell of the people who delt with him to buy and trade weapons within his shop walls and then test the weapon out back before laws were made in the new town. They might talk and smoke or chew tobacco and spit in the can. He died August 22nd 1917 and by then so much had changed in the lifetime since begining in Denver. Much indeed. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Denver Colorado. I happened opon his grave one day while I was photographing graves there. I did not know at the time that his was one that held such high esteem and wonder. I surly would have loved to hear his tales, yet I feel as if he led me there to him as I remember back to this pulling or suggestive draw and strange almost, yes, curious feeling I got. Later I would look him up thinking there might be something to this feeling and I was correct feeling I had almost uncontroled excitment finding out or rediscovering a ledgend, yet now sadly unknown. Laugh if you will but it is true. It is an honor to tell a very short few tales of the man wondering about the many what must of been thousands he took with him to the grave. He is buried along side his family in a modest grave also telling me of himself to not being a braggart to draw attention. No I should think not. This was a man of high esteem, pride with honor and modest maner, yet a man that must of had hundreds at his funeral and thousands who walked the creaky wood floors in his Denver firearms store and all would revere his name back in the day. Sadly he would outlive his son George, daughters Kate and Fannie and wife Fannie in his 84 years on this earth. They are resting beside him. Rest in peace JP."
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=35385263Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
