Does anyone know who the town of Gillett, Colorado was named after?

Family tradition says John W. GILLETT "Went to the gold fields of Colorado by 1860 and was never heard from again." Could he be the town father?

Would appreciate any reference to the naming of Gillett, Colorado

No info on who. But, it is listed as a Post Office, established in 1894.
There several other places named Gillett through out Colorado.
Good Hunting,
Frank

In the Cripple Creek District Directory of 1900, the following paragraph is by way of introduction:

"A nicely located town on the Midland Terminal railroad, five miles northwest of Cripple Creek by wagon road and ten miles north of Victor by railroad. The location of large ore reduction works and the home of many miners and prospectors. Gillett has good churches, schools and public improvements. From the names given below 1,200 people would be a fair estimate of population."

There are no listings for Gillet in the directory, other than various businesses. I have not been able to find anything on the founder of the town at this point. Teller County has only been in existance since 1899.

I found a book online at the web site for Pikes Peak Library District, Special Collections in the 1905 Carnegie Library http://rmoa.unm.edu/docviewer.php?docId=cocppmss0166.xml

Collection Summary
Title Albert E. Carlton - William K. Gillett, Correspondence
Dates (Inclusive) 1896-1916
Abstract Correspondence consisting primarily of letters, memos, and telegrams between Albert E. Carlton of the Colorado Trading and Transfer Company and William K. Gillett of the Midland Terminal Railway Company largely concerning railway and trading company business in what is now Teller and El Paso Counties, Colorado. Items date from December, 1896 to May 1916, with the bulk of the correspondence occurring between 1896 and 1902.
Collection Number MSS 0166
Size 2 boxes (.8 cubic feet)

There is a notation as follows:

"W. K. Gillett was auditor of the Midland Terminal Railway when it received its name in 1893. He became the major stockholder and in 1898 became president and general manager, a position he held until 1905. The town of Gillett, Colorado, through which the railroad ran, was named for him, as was the first Midland Terminal Railway engine, #1."

I think this will answer your question.
Eellitta