John L. Dailey was the co-founder of the Rocky Mountain News, along sides William Byers. The newspaper was founded on April 23, 1859. John Lewis Dailey was a pioneer Denver, Colo. publisher, printer, businessman, and politician. He was born on Nov. 29, 1833 in Tiffin, Ohio. Dailey came with the William N. Byers party to Denver (1859) and co-founded The Rocky Mountain News with Byers, Dr. George Monell, and Thomas Gibson. He later sold his interest in the News to Byers (1870) and began his own printing and binding business, Dailey, Baker & Smart. Dailey became Arapahoe County treasurer (1877-1883) and in the 1880s went into a real estate loan and investment company with his brother, WIlliam M. Dailey (1836-1890). Both John and William Daily had were members of Company A of the 3rd Colorado Cavalry under the command of John M. Chivington during the Sand Creek Massacre (1864). (1)
.
Through a presidential land grant of 160 acres (1865), Dailey later developed the Broadway Terrace subdivision in the Baker neighborhood in South Denver. The family home was once located at 425 Broadway. John Dailey was married to Melisa Brown Rounds (ca. 1846-1866) and Helen A. (Manley) Woodbury (1838-1908). He died in Denver, Colo. on Jan. 3, 1908(1). About 1918, John Dailey’s original residence at 425 Broadway was carved into seven units and called it “Woodlawn Apartments”. For awhile, a gas filling station occupied the NW corner next to the dailey house. In 1961, Dairyland Mutual Insurance bought the apartment, tore the house down, and replaced it with a modern office building. Fentress Bradburn architecture firm moved into the offices in 1992. Another developer came and invested $50 million to build the Watermark luxury apartments.(2)
Sources: (1) https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/data/13307245
(2) The Ghosts of South Broadway”- Phil Goodstein
Image Source: The Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, Call Number X-26391
