Her father and brothers worked the mines near Central City, Colorado, and earned enough money to buy a stage station.
A plaque installed on the Loveland High School by the Namaqua chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to honor her influence.
[7][9] They traveled in a wagon train across Native American tribes' land, limiting their ability to hunt.
An old chief came to Milner and played with one of her curls, after which she stayed with her father on the wagon seat, which caused the man to smile.
Making soap, washing clothes in a bucket, performing farming and homesteading chores, and learning how to shoot a weapon were other things that pioneering women had to do.
[7] Joseph Milner and his sons worked in the mines near Central City and saved enough money to buy a stage station near what is now Longmont on the St. Vrain Creek.
[9][12] The next year, she taught at a one-room log schoolhouse along the Big Thompson River,[7] becoming the first public school teacher in Larimer County, Colorado.
[13] Milner Smith earned money to pay for books and other items by charging for admission to spelling bees and debates.
He was among the soldiers who "slaughtered scores of helpless Indian women, children, and old men" at the Sand Creek Massacre, "an incident that haunted and sickened him for the rest of his life".
[9] Smith operated a boardinghouse, Big Thompson House,[15] in Loveland, but she had a hard time making enough to support her family.
She lost her position because she was not considered "stylish enough", and some people, including former students, protested the action with the school board.
[9] She homesteaded a dairy farm and later operated it as aranch[16][e] at Buckhorn Creek, near Masonville and her brother Ben's ranch.
[16] In 1880, it was reported "to be in extremely backward condition" and was subject to mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and flooding of Buckhorn Creek.
[23][24] The Namaqua chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated a memorial tablet at the front entrance of the Loveland High School in honor of her.
[7] She received the recognition because her students became "conspicuous leaders in the political, educational, and business life of Northern Colorado"—and because of her contributions to the growth of the Buckhorn area.