The women I study left behind an extraordinary record — in archives, in portraits, in the rooms they built and the societies they shaped. I have spent my career learning to read it properly.
Books
The Queen of Denver: Louise Sneed Hill and the Emergence of Modern High Society
2020
The definitive account of Louise Sneed Hill — the Southern-born social arbiter who remade Denver society in her own image and, in doing so, changed what American high society could look like west of Chicago. I remain the leading historian on her life and legacy.
Available at most authorized retailers and directly from the author.
Charles Davis Vail: The Highway Engineer Who Transformed Colorado Roads
2019 · co-authored with Dr. Thomas J. Noel — "Dr. Colorado"
The life and legacy of Charles Davis Vail, the engineer whose vision quite literally shaped the roads of Colorado. Co-authored with the pre-eminent historian of Colorado history, Dr. Thomas J. Noel — a scholar whose command of the state's past is, as his nickname suggests, without equal.
Theses & Dissertations
Changing of the Guard: Louise Sneed Hill and the Emergence of Modern High Society in Gilded Age Denver
University of Colorado · 2019
Further Information →
Published Articles & Essays
Denver's Dowager Queen: Louise Sneed Hill and Gilded Age Denver's Sacred Thirty-Six Colorado Heritage · Spring 2019
Alice Hale Hill · Bulkeley Wells · Country Club Historic District · Crawford and Louise Hill Mansion · Crawford Hill · Denver Country Club · Kate Ferretti · Katharine Grafton Patterson · Lena Stoiber · Louise Bethel Sneed Hill · Mary Hauck Elitch Long · Mary Lord Pease Carr · Nathaniel P. Hill · William Gray Evans Colorado Encyclopedia
The Dazzling Doyenne of Gilded Age Denver: Louise Sneed Hill, A Biography University of Colorado Historical Studies Journal · Spring 2018
Louise Sneed Hill The Denver Posse of Westerners Roundup · Fall 2018
Podcasts
The Gilded Gentleman Podcast — Episode 108
Queen of Denver — The Life and Times of Louise Sneed Hill · 2025-06-01
Listen to this episode →
The Gilded Age was by no means simply an East Coast phenomenon. Wealth, position, and social structure evolved across the country as railroads and improved technology pushed the country west. Denver, Colorado, grew from a “tavern town” at the foothills of the Rockies to an important Western center for commerce and society. Social Denver was largely ruled by the Southern-born Louise Sneed Hill whose very different and modern vision for how society could work paved a path for much more, including new and more modern roles for women.
Click the button below to tune in as Carl Raymond and I take a fascinating look into a true Western woman of the Gilded Age.
The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast — Episode 177
Unveiling the True Legacy of Louise Sneed Hill · 2024-03-01
Listen to this episode →
Join Jennie and Dianne on an enlightening journey through history with the author of "The Queen of Denver: Louise Sneed Hill and the Emergence of Modern High Society" Shelby Carr. In this captivating follow-up to Episode 127, Shelby, who is the leading historian on Louise Sneed Hill, joins us to set the record straight and correct misconceptions about the woman who took charge of Denver's high society social circles that included the who's who of Denver's wealthiest and most influential people at the turn of the 20th century. With her expertise in American history and genealogical research, Shelby sheds light on the Ordinary Extraordinary woman behind the legend uncovering the truth and celebrating her enduring contributions to history.
Video
Shelby on Colorado & Company Channel 9
Shelby's interview discussing her research on the Colorado State Capitol restoration and preservation.
3 Minute Thesis Competition — Inaugural Champion
Shelby's winning presentation of her thesis in 3 minutes for the pilot program of the Three Minute Thesis Competition on the CU Denver campus.
The Queen of Denver: Louise Sneed Hill and the Emergence of Modern High Society by Shelby Carr
Released September 7th, 2020
Special Thanks To:
Videographer/Editor: Zachary Egan
Director: Kaleigh Nitz
Pianist: John Kite
The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa
The Crawford Hill Mansion
Lectures & Presentations
That's Not Her Name: the Gibson Girl, the New Woman, and issues with umbrella terminology in defining a generation of British and American women 1870-1914 (Women in Civil and Religious Communities Panel) Crossing Currents, History PGR Conference, University of Edinburgh · 2026-05-13
Louise Sneed Hill and Gilded Age New York City Daughters of the American Revolution, Mary Washington Colonial Chapter · 2021-06-17
The Queen of Denver: Louise Sneed Hill Questers, Colorado Springs · 2021-05-12
Fall Benefit Keynote (Keynote Speaker) Colonial Dames of America · 2020-10-16
Denver's Dowager Queen: Louise Sneed Hill and the Sacred 36 (Guest Speaker) Colonial Dames of America 17th Century · 2020-01-17
Saving Places Conference 2019 — The Crawford Hill Mansion Colorado Preservation Inc.
Colorado Women Lecture: Louise Sneed Hill Center for Colorado Women's History, Byers-Evans House · 2019-09-28
Louise Sneed Hill and Gilded Age Denver's Sacred 36 Colorado Corral of Westerners · 2019-11-14
Denver's Dowager Queen, Louise Sneed Hill The Hill Family Conference · 2019-05-05
Rocky Mountain Interdisciplinary History Conference 2019 — Women in the West Panel University of Colorado at Boulder
The Dazzling Doyenne of Gilded Age Denver: Louise Sneed Hill The Denver Posse of Westerners · 2018-09-26
Saving Places Conference 2018 — The Colorado State Capitol: Restoring and Preserving the Heart of the State Colorado Preservation Inc.
Editorial & Teaching
Head Editor University of Colorado Historical Studies Journal · 2019
Assistant Editor University of Colorado Historical Studies Journal · 2018
Graduate Teaching Assistant, AMST 0862 & AMST 0801 Temple University · 2022
Graduate Teaching Assistant, HIST 3349 Social Movements University of Colorado Denver · 2019
Graduate Research Assistant, Research with Dr. Thomas Noel University of Colorado Denver · 2019
Honours & Awards
Ward Family Prize in Public History University of Colorado · 2021
Three Minute Thesis — Inaugural Champion University of Colorado Denver · 2018 — As the sole Master's candidate competing against four PhD candidates.
Outstanding Officer of the Year Golden Key International Honour Society (CU Denver Chapter) · 2019 — Vice President, Marketing & Communications, CU Denver Chapter 2018–2019.
The Viola Vestal Coulter Colorado History Scholarship Summer/Fall 2018
Phi Alpha Theta History Honours Society University of Colorado Denver
The National Society of Collegiate Scholars University of Colorado Denver
Lineage Society & Professional Service
2nd Vice Regent Daughters of the American Revolution, Mary Washington Colonial Chapter · 2025–2028
Registrar General Order of the Merovingian Dynasty · 2023–2027
Patrooness (Board Member) Society of Daughters of Holland Dames · 2025–2029
Registrar New York State Chapter, Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America
Postgraduate Member Royal Historical Society
Book Award Committee The Colonial Dames of America · 2022–2025
Junior Dames Committee The Colonial Dames of America · 2018–2025
Board Member Fort Mifflin on the Delaware · 2022
Board Member Denver Woman's Press Club · 2021–2022 — Archives Committee and Digital Asset Committee