AV Hunter — The Man and His Vision

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A.V. Hunter — The Man and His Vision
When we think about the American West, mythic visions spring to mind of
fortunes won and lost against the backdrop of tumbleweed strewn frontier towns.
Of larger-than-life gun-toting heroes and black-garbed bank robbers, of
wealthy train barons and the Pony Express. We think of such colorful characters
as Doc Holliday, Wild Bill Hickok, “The Unsinkable” Molly Brown and A.V.
Hunter. A.V. Hunter? Despite his enduring legacy, few people today have
heard of A.V. Hunter. Yet, everyone is familiar with his Colorado contemporaries.
A.V. Hunter 1881
In 1878, the mining boom was in full swing in the Colorado Territory town of
Leadville, or Oro City as it was known then. With its promise of striking it rich,
the town drew hopefuls from every walk of life, including a 32 year-old
banker from Colorado Springs named A.V. Hunter, who moved to Leadville to
establish a bank.
Born Absalom Valentine Hunter on November 24, 1846
in Lincoln County, Missouri, about 50 miles north of St.
Louis on the Mississippi River, A.V. Hunter, as he came
to be known, would become one of the most successful
businessmen of late 19th-century Colorado. The Hunter
fortune grew substantially out of the fabulously rich
depths of several Leadville mines that produced silver,
lead, copper, and gold. By the turn of the century,
Mr. Hunter owned a successful bank, one of the most
elegant homes in town, and portions of the mines in the
surrounding hillsides. Even to this day, the Trust’s assets
still include an interest in a gold and silver mine.
Courtesy of Denver Public Library, Western History Collection
Little Johnny Mine 1880
A highly respected, scrupulous businessman, A.V. Hunter was honorable, direct, and meticulous. Some
considered him avaricious, while others saw him as a paragon of social responsibility and duty. However
you look at it, Hunter is an enigmatic figure.
A.V. Hunter (left) in his Carbonate National Bank
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A.V. Hunter —
In 1911, at age 65, Mr. Hunter and his wife, Estelle, moved to Denver where he assumed the presidency of
the First National Bank. They left their Leadville home—which was regarded as the finest and most tastefully decorated one in town, filled with rare objects of art and paintings—to take up residence at The Brown
Palace Hotel.
A.V. Hunter was a titan on the Colorado business scene. With a huge influence on the state’s development
through his banking and mining interests, he was closely involved with many of the other great industrialists
and financiers of his day. Unlike his flamboyant contemporaries, such as his oft times business rival Horace
Tabor, whose every move was designed to win fame, Mr. Hunter preferred to keep a low profile and avoid
publicity whenever possible. He amassed a small fortune quietly, and in his fashion, he quietly passed it on.
A self-made millionaire, Mr. Hunter never forgot the
lean years, and he served as an example to many.
When he died in August 1924, at age 78, he left half
his fortune to establish the A.V. Hunter Trust. Mr.
Hunter was very specific in regard to how he wanted
the funds in the Trust to be allocated—the targeted
recipients being youth, seniors, the disabled and the
indigent. Since its inception, the Trust has made grant
distributions of more than $60 million to charitable
projects located throughout the Centennial State.
A.V. Hunter c.1910
Despite accumulating great wealth, Mr. Hunter made no
effort to leave behind monuments to himself. He wrote
no books or journals, seldom was interviewed by the
newspapers and was captured in only a handful of
photographs, most of which have never entered the
public domain. Even today, no building or civic project
bears his name. Yet through his business success and
goodwill, A.V. Hunter created his enduring charitable
trust—the lasting legacy of a great man.
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