5 Fascinating books That Include History of the SE Colorado Region & Cattle (of course!)
The Jones Brothers (Stephen, Peyton and James) started one of the most notable of the early cattle operations in the region. Establishing a ranch headquarters in the Nine Mile Bottom at Higbee, their enterprise was known as the JJ Ranch. The Jones Brothers had come to the Purgatoire River region from Texas, although their family was originally from Scotland. Their story is told in a vivid local history, The JJ Ranch on the Purgatory River, by Frances Bollacker Keck. The Jones brothers’ JJ Ranch story is illustrative of the practice common to early large cattle operations, in which the ranchers controlled a great deal of the public domain by filing on only those parcels that contained access to water. Founded in 1869, by 1879 the JJ Ranch controlled about 960,000 acres of land, although they only held title to about 18,000. (http://coloradopreservation.org/crsurvey/ranching/sites/rch_contexts_openrange.html)
Charles Goodnight; Cowman and Plainsman
By J. Evetts Haley
An exciting story of a Texas Ranger, adventurer, and immigration officer who became a symbol of his age while gambling with death in the wild frontier regions of Texas, Arizona, and Old and New Mexico. Charles Goodnight knew the West of Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Dick Wooton, St. Vrain, and Lucien Maxwell. He ranged a country as vast as Bridger ranged. He rode with the boldness of Fremont, guided by the craft of Carson. His vigorous zest for life enabled him to live intensely and amply, and in this book by J. Evetts Haley, himself no stranger to the West, provides a fully readable and important western biography, vividly told, thrilling, witty, and completely authentic.
A Place Called Baca By Ike Osteen
This book is written by a local who grew up in Baca County. The book includes history on many aspects of life in Baca County and historical events, but also discusses the historical ranches of the area. One of the best features of the book is the map that is included as a pull-out. It shows the old trails, old townsites, post offices, schools, and historic ranches. The map is a treasure. If you can find this book it is worth picking up as a piece of local lore. It can be occasionally be found on Amazon if you’re lucky.
The Western Cattle Trail 1874-1897; Its Rise, Collapse and Revival By Gary and Margaret Kraisinger
On Page 37 the book discusses the 1875 New Goodnight Trail which was the later version of the Goodnight Loving Trail that came up through Baca County to Carrizo Springs from the Kenton, OK area.
The book is a well researched look at the Western Cattle Trail and the vast amount of use it received during its time.
Lost Trails of the Cimarron By Harry E. Chrisman
Lost Trails of the Cimarron is Harry Chrisman’s folk history of nineteenth-century Cimarron country - southwestern Kansas, southeastern Colorado, and the neutral strip of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. Buffalo hunters entered the area in violation of the Medicine Lodge Treaty, followed by cowboys and settlers who formed a vast economy based on grass and beef, the beginnings of prominent cattle ranches such as Westmoreland-Hitch Outfit. Chrisman details the history of the outlaws and ruffians of "No Man’s Land" and trail drives to Dodge City and beyond. Numerous illustrations accompany the anecdotes and stories of various frontier personalities.
This book is fabulous. It has many stories of the region plus an awesome map in the front that shows which historical brands were to be found where!
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