As the KKK reached its peak in Colorado, the Lincoln Hills Resort near Nederland was a haven for Black culture

Winx Lodge Circa 1925/ History Colorado

Between 1925 and 1965, Winks Panorama Lodge at the Gilpin County Lincoln Hills Resort was the only resort west of the Mississippi open and available to Black Americans. A community of family-owned cabins in Lincoln Hills existed along with The Lodge during the height of Ku Klux Klan activity and political power in Denver.

On this month’s Black Talk, KGNU’s Michele Simpson speaks with Denver Judge Gary Jackson, whose great-grandfather built his family’s cabin in 1926. Dr. Jeanette Patterson, Executive Director of Lincoln Hills Cares, and Terri Gentry, History Colorado’s Engagement Manager for Black Communities will join the conversation

and talk about the history and current programs offered at what some have referred to as kind of “Black Utopia.”

History Colorado/ Museum of Digital Learning: In the early 1920s, Denver entrepreneur Obrey Wendell Hamlet, known as “Wink,” set out to build a resort in Lincoln Hills. He and first wife Naomi broke ground on a three-story, six-bedroom lodge in 1925 and finished it three years later. They officially named it Wink’s Panorama, but everyone knew it as Wink’s Lodge. Wink’s Lodge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980

History Colorado/Museum of Digital Learning

Listen:

Black Talk: Lincoln Hills/Winks Lodge Conversation Alexis Kenyon

Alexis Kenyon

Alexis Kenyon is an experienced radio reporter with more than 15 years of experience creating compelling, sound-rich radio stories for news outlets across the country. Kenyon has master's degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism in radio broadcast and photojournalism. She has worked in KGNU's news department since 2021 as a reporter, editor, and daily news producer. In all her work, she strives to produce thought-provoking, trustworthy journalism that makes other people's stories feel personal. In addition to audio production, Kenyon runs KGNU's news internship program and oversees the department's digital engagement.