Margaret "Molly" Brown (July 18, 1867 – October 26, 1932) was an American socialite, philanthropist, and activist who became famous due to her survival of the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, after exhorting the crew of Lifeboat No. 6 to return to look for survivors. She became known after her death as The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
Born Margaret Tobin in Hannibal, Missouri. At age 18, Margaret relocated to Leadville, Colorado with her sister, and got a job in a department store. It was here she met and married James Joseph Brown (1854–1922), nicknamed J.J., an enterprising, self-educated man. Brown had always planned to marry a rich man but she married J.J. for love. She said, “I wanted a rich man, but I loved Jim Brown. I thought about how I wanted comfort for my father and how I had determined to stay single until a man presented himself who could give to the tired old man the things I longed for him. Jim was as poor as we were, and had no better chance in life. I loved Jim, but he was poor. Finally, I decided that I'd be better off with a poor man whom I loved than with a wealthy one whose money had attracted me. So I married Jim Brown.” The family acquired great wealth anyway when J.J.'s engineering efforts proved instrumental in the production of a substantial ore seam at the Little Jonny Mine of his employers, Ibex Mining Company, and he was awarded 12,500 shares of stock and a seat on the board.
In Leadville, Margaret first became involved with the women's suffrage issue, helping to establish the Colorado chapter of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and working in soup kitchens to assist miners' families. In 1894, the Browns moved to Denver, Colorado, which gave the family more social opportunities. Margaret became a charter member of the Denver Woman's Club, whose mission was the improvement of women's lives by continuing education and philanthropy. Adjusting to the trappings of a society lady, Brown became well-immersed in the arts and fluent in French, German, and Russian. In 1909 she ran for the U.S. Senate.
Margaret was conveyed to the passenger liner RMS Titanic as a first class passenger aboard the tender SS Nomadic at Cherbourg, France. The Titanic sank early on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg the night before. Margaret helped others board the lifeboats but was finally convinced to leave the ship in Lifeboat No. 6. She would later be regarded as a heroine for her efforts to get Lifeboat 6 to go back to search for survivors. Molly Brown was dubbed "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" by historians because she helped in the ship's evacuation, taking an oar herself in her lifeboat and protesting for the lifeboat to go back to try to save more people.
Located on Marshall's Corner-Woodsville Road, the Skyview Preserve was primarily used for agriculture in the past. The preserve is made up of meadows and forest and the trail winds through both and passes by portions of the Woodsville Brook and the Stony Brook. Along the trail that runs through the meadows, you will see a variety of wildflowers and small trees. You may also see numerous birds and insects, especially in summer and fall. Parts of the trail can be muddy, especially after heavy rains. Please stay on the established trails as much as possible, keep pets leashed, and do your part to preserve this beautiful tract of land by remembering to Cache In – Trash Out.
Please note that hunting is allowed in the Preserve on certain dates during the Fall and Winter; check the notice at the entrance to the Preserve for more detailed information.
For more information on WJC events and caches, please visit www.wnjc.org.
