Warren Armstrong Haggott

Warren Armstrong Haggott (May 18, 1864 – April 29, 1958) was a Republican politician, educator, jurist, and businessman who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Colorado from 1907 to 1909. He was born near Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio, where he attended the local common schools and Sidney Grammar School. He later pursued further studies at Xenia College in Xenia, Ohio, reflecting an early commitment to education that would shape the first phase of his career.

After completing his preparatory studies, Haggott enrolled at Valparaiso College in Valparaiso, Indiana, an institution known in that era for its teacher training programs. He was graduated from Valparaiso College in 1886. Immediately after graduation he moved into the field of public education, accepting a teaching position in Dallas County, Texas, where he taught school during 1886 and 1887. This early experience as a teacher in Texas provided him with practical grounding in public instruction at a time when the American West and Southwest were rapidly developing.

In 1887 Haggott moved to Idaho Springs, Colorado, a growing mining community in Clear Creek County. He continued his work in education, teaching school in Russell Gulch, Gilpin County, in 1887 and 1888. He then advanced to an administrative role as principal of the public school in Black Hawk, Colorado, serving there in 1888 and 1889. Demonstrating both educational leadership and organizational ability, he was appointed superintendent of public schools at Idaho Springs, Colorado, a position he held from 1890 to 1899. During nearly a decade as superintendent, he oversaw the development and administration of local public education in a mining region undergoing social and economic change.

While engaged in his educational work, Haggott studied law, preparing for admission to the bar. He was admitted to the bar in 1892, but he did not immediately abandon his educational responsibilities. After concluding his long tenure as superintendent, he commenced the active practice of law in 1899 at Idaho Springs, Colorado. His combined experience as an educator and attorney helped establish his reputation in local civic affairs and provided a foundation for his subsequent political career within the Republican Party.

Haggott entered statewide politics in the early twentieth century. He served as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Colorado from 1902 to 1903, a period during which he participated in the executive leadership of the state alongside the governor and gained broader exposure to legislative and administrative issues. In 1904 he further solidified his standing within the party by serving as chairman of the Republican State convention, a role that placed him at the center of party organization and candidate selection in Colorado.

Building on this political prominence, Haggott was elected as a Republican to the Sixtieth Congress and served as a U.S. Representative from Colorado from March 4, 1907, to March 3, 1909. His single term in the House of Representatives occurred during a significant period in American history, in the later years of the Progressive Era, when questions of economic regulation, resource development, and political reform were prominent in national debate. As a member of the House, he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Colorado constituents, contributing to the work of Congress during his one term in office. He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1908 for reelection to the Sixty-first Congress, bringing his congressional service to a close in March 1909.

After leaving Congress, Haggott continued his legal and public service career in Colorado. He moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1911, where he resumed the practice of law in the state’s principal urban and commercial center. In 1921 and 1922 he served as judge of the district court of the second judicial district of Colorado, presiding over a broad range of civil and criminal matters and adding judicial experience to his record of public service. His judicial tenure reflected the confidence placed in him by the legal community and the public.

In addition to his legal and judicial work, Haggott was active in business. He served as president of the Vermillion Oil Company from 1925 to 1944, participating in the development of the petroleum industry during a period when oil and gas were becoming increasingly important to the regional and national economy. After stepping down from his corporate leadership role, he continued to practice law until his retirement in 1951, marking more than half a century in the legal profession. Warren Armstrong Haggott died in Denver, Colorado, on April 29, 1958, and was buried in Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, closing a long life that encompassed service as an educator, attorney, lieutenant governor, congressman, judge, and business executive in Colorado’s formative years.