William McGaa

Who is William McGaa?

William McGaa was a mountain man and one of the early figures in the history of the Colorado settlement of St. Charles. Born in Scotland, he immigrated to the United States and was living with the Arapaho under the name Jack Jones by the time of the Colorado Gold Rush.

McGaa claimed an upper-class ancestry. He declared he was the son of the Lord Mayor of London and had a family estate in Scotland, Glenarm.

William Larimer worked with McGaa, who camped on the bank of Cherry Creek, to acquire the land for the town of St. Charles from the local Native Americans, the official owners of the land as recognized in 1851 by the Fort Laramie Treaty. This was possible because McGaa claimed various native wives and therefore represented that he had the authority to make the land transfer.

As a reward to the Native Americans, McGaa supposedly named several Denver streets in their honor. Wazee and Wewatta Streets are named for his wives. Champa is also acknowledged as one of McGaa's Indian names, although its exact etymology is uncertain; one source claims it is the Sioux word for "chokecherry." McGaa also named Glenarm Street after his alleged family castle and after himself, McGaa Street.