Buchtel Family Papers

Henry Augustus Buchtel was born September 30, 1847, near Akron, Ohio, to Dr. Jonathan B. and Eliza Newcomer Buchtel. The family moved to Indiana in 1848, where Henry spent his youth. He attended Asbury (now DePauw) University in Greencastle, Indiana, for one year, after which he worked in a wholesale drug-house in Chicago, and then in a wholesale and retail grocery business in South Bend, Indiana. Finding himself drawn to the ministry, he returned... to Asbury University to finish his studies to become a Methodist minister.

He received his A.B. degree in 1872. Soon after graduation he married Mary Stevenson, and began his ministry as a missionary to Bulgaria. He returned to Indiana to take a pastorate in Zionsville, and subsequently served churches in Greencastle, Knightstown, Richmond and Lafayette, Indiana. In 1885 he was called to be the minister at the Evans Chapel in Denver, Colorado. During his five-year pastorate in Denver, he built Trinity Church and substantially increased the size of the congregation. He returned East in 1891 to serve churches in New York and New Jersey. In 1899 he was called by the University of Denver to serve as Chancellor, which post he began on January 1, 1900. When Buchtel assumed the position of Chancellor, the University of Denver was greatly in debt. Buchtel worked diligently to rectify the situation, touring the state giving speeches and sermons, and becoming involved in the Denver Chamber of Commerce. Within three years he had raised enough money to cover the University's debt, and had more than doubled the student body. Buchtel's tenure at the University was also marked by an aggressive building campaign. He oversaw the construction of the Library (funded by Andrew Carnegie), Science Hall, the Memorial Chapel (later named Buchtel Chapel), and the Gymnasium. In 1906, Buchtel was persuaded to run for Governor of Colorado on the Republican ticket. Political infighting in the Democratic Party leadership helped to ensure Buchtel's victory. He served the state from 1907 to 1909, while continuing to work as Chancellor of the University. Despite his successful term as Governor, he declined to run again in 1909, electing to devote his full energies to the University of Denver. Buchtel suffered a stroke in 1920 that forced his retirement from his position as Chancellor. He died four years later, on October 22, 1924.