Breen,_Colorado Knowpia

Breen is an unincorporated community on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in La Plata County, Colorado, United States.^[1]

History edit

A post office called Breen was established in 1901, and remained in operation until 1954.^[2] The community was named after Dr. Thomas Breen, a local educator.^[3] Thomas Breen was accused by Polly Pry for the Denver Post in 1903 of sexual abuse of students and staff at Fort Lewis Indian Boarding School.^[4] Specific cases of impregnating a student or staff (documents not clear) were also reported, ending in the child being taken from the mother.^[4]

References edit

^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Breen, Colorado
^ "Post offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
^ Dawson, John Frank (1954). Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 11.
^ ^a ^b Norton, Holly (June 30, 2023). "FEDERAL INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS IN COLORADO: 1880-1920". History Colorado. Colorado State Government. p. 63.