Third Mayor of Denver. He is remembered as a Colorado pioneer, coming from Wisconsin on May 26, 1859 on the first stage coach to Denver. Born the son and grandson of Lutheran ministers, he was born in a log cabin in Ohio. After he received a privileged education, he was admitted to the bar of the Court of Common Pleas in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in 1843 and later admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State of Pennsylvania. After practicing law successfully for 6 years, he joined the California gold rush of 1849 before the "Pike's Peak or Bust" gold rush in Colorado in 1859. He never found gold. After settling in Denver, he became political, serving as the first postmaster in 1859. He was the President of the Denver District 1 Board of Education from 1862 to 1866. He was a founder of Denver University in 1864. As a philanthropist, he donated land for schools. He served as the third Mayor of Denver from 1863 to 1864. While he was mayor, a telegraph system was established in the city and the capital of Colorado was moved from Golden to Denver. He had goals of a street railway system for the city along with an irrigation system for water. After being mayor, he was a territorial probate judge for Denver. Later he was chief justice of Colorado territorial supreme court before returning to a private law practice. He was a successful judge with stories told of the wit in his courtroom, yet his courtroom decisions are still current in 21st century law books.. In 1876 he was elected as a representative from Arapahoe County to the first general assembly of the newly admitted State of Colorado. He was re-elected for a second term. He served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1880 and a State Senator, serving from 1889 to 1894. With most men in Colorado strongly against female suffrage, he supported it. He was secretary of the C-C Land and Cattle Company in 1886. At one time he was considered a wealthy man, but in 1893 legal action was supposedly taken against him involving taxes, and the subject was re-addressed in 1905. In 1907, his home was lost to taxes, and he and his wife were forced to move into a nearby modest house. He died the following November of 1908. According to his obituary, which listed many of his accomplishments, he married a school classmate, Sarah McLaughlin, and the couple had three sons and a daughter. A ten-page biography "Amos Steck: The Best Beloved Man Who Ever Saw the Rockies" by William H. Robinson was published in the January of 1933 edition of the "Denver Law Review." This publication states he was the second mayor of Denver but all other sources state he was the third. Amos Steck Elementary School in Denver is named in his honor.