David Lavender - Early Years

Early Years

David Lavender was born and raised on a cattle ranch 20 miles north of Telluride, Colorado, then a fading mining town. During his early years, he worked as a gold miner and a cowboy. He helped run his stepfather's cattle ranch until it closed during the Great Depression. His love of the outdoors led to his becoming an avid mountaineer and dedicated conservationist.

Although raised in the rustic mountains of western Colorado, Lavender came from a family that valued education. His grandfather was a Colorado supreme court judge, and both his parents were college-educated. Lavender attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, and later studied the law and liberal arts at Princeton University. He graduated in 1931, with a love of history and writing, but he returned to western Colorado to help his family run the their cattle ranch.