Colorado’s Governors: William L. Knous

Our series on Colorado’s governors continues with William L. Knous, Colorado’s 31st governor. Governor Knous served two terms from 1947-1950. As part of the State Publications Library’s effort to digitize governors’ addresses, Governor Knous’s 1947 and 1949 inaugural addresses are available in our digital collection.

Early life

William Lee Knous was born in Ouray in 1889 into a mining family. Knous also worked in the mines before leaving to attend law school at the University of Colorado, returning to Ouray to practice law after graduating. As the mining industry began to fade, he moved to Rochester, New York in 1916. The move east only lasted a year until Knous and his family were back on the Western Slope; Knous joined a Montrose law firm, focusing on mining and irrigation law.

Political career

Knous’s move to Montrose also marked his foray into politics. He served as the president of the Chamber of Commerce, mayor of Montrose, city attorney, and deputy district attorney before being elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1929. In 1931, he was elected to the state senate and served a six-year term, with two of those years as the senate President Pro Tempore. In 1936, Knous was elected to be a Colorado Supreme Court Justice and moved to Denver with his wife and three sons.

The experience and connections that Knous gained through his years in politics helped him become the first Democrat in ten years to be elected governor. In his 1947 inaugural speech, Knous lamented the lack of state funding dedicated to schools and higher education, laying out a plan to distribute more state dollars towards education. He also emphasized the need for a robust state highway system, which led to a feud with the State Highway Engineer, Mark Watrous, that lasted through Knous’s two terms. To this end, Knous spent most of his second inaugural address outlining his plan for reorganizing the State Highway Department.

Overall, Knous was a popular governor who was able to successfully collaborate with both Democrats and Republicans. He won every county aside from Washington in his 1948 reelection campaign. Knous is the only person to have occupied the highest seat in the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the Colorado state government.

Life after politics

Knous resigned from the governorship in 1950 when President Harry S. Truman appointed him U.S. District Judge of Colorado, an appointment he maintained for the rest of his life. Governor Knous died in 1959 and is interred at the Fairmount Mausoleum.