Historic Tales of Colorado's Grand Valley: Heroes, Heroines, Hucksters and Hooligans

by Kate Ruland-Thorne

Overview

Colorado's Grand Valley has an extensive geological and human history going back millennia. Franciscan priests worked in tandem with the native Ute people to plot passage through the territory, opening the valley to unprecedented settlement. The region became the playground of enterprising visionaries, murderous outlaws, hooligans and harlots alike. From the gruesome Meeker massacre and its tragic consequences for the Ute nation to the mysterious murder of Sam McMullin and a showdown with the Ku Klux Klan in 1925, uncover the engrossing stories of an unyielding land. Author Kate Ruland-Thorne recounts many of the defining and damning moments throughout Grand Valley history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467136297
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	09/05/2016
Series:	American Chronicles
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	612,467
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

A Southern Methodist University alumn, Kate Ruland-Thorne's thirty-year career in journalism has included roles at the Denver Post, Directions magazine, Sedona Red Rock News, Sedona magazine and Art-Talk (Arizona). She has served as president of the Sedona Historical Society, vice president of the Denver Women's Press Club, owner of Sedona Books and Music, local TV and radio show host in Sedona and feature writer for Grand Valley Magazine. This is her tenth book on regional history.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

1 Once Upon a Time in the Grand Valley 11

2 In Search of the Old Spanish Trail 16

3 The Outrage of Josephine Meeker 20

4 It Started with a Dream 28

5 Enos Throop Hotchkiss: Saga of a Western Slope Pioneer 33

6 Charlie Glass and the Range War Vendetta 38

7 Madams, Murder and Mayhem in Grand Junction's Own "Barbary Coast" 43

8 Bootleg Whiskey and Shooting Woolies: DeBeque's Early Years 47

9 Florence Harris Fuller: Cattle Queen of the Colorado Plateau 50

10 Cowboy Karma 54

11 Kid Curry 60

12 Diamond Jack 63

13 Mack and the Two Little Engines That Could 67

14 The Bank That Went Through the Mail 70

15 Everything by the Carload: A Look Back at Loma 72

16 Palisade's Hard Luck Mine 76

17 One Hundred Years of the Fruita Fall Festival 81

18 The Melrose Hotel: A Haunted Haven for the Weary 84

19 Showdown with the Ku Klux Klan 87

20 Stone by Stone: The Epic Story Behind a Historic Grand Junction Home 93

21 Who Killed Sam McMullin? 100

22 A BB Gun for Roxy 105

23 Rusty Brousc: Colorado's King of Poop 111

24 Cesspools, .Alkali and Intimidation: Grand Junction's Teller Institute 115

25 On a Roll: The History of" Colorado Mesa University 122

26 The Battling Bastards of Bataan 127

27 Maverick in Uniform 132

Bibliography 137

Index 139

About the Author 143

Editorial Reviews

"In "Historic Tales of Colorado's Grand Valley: Heroes, Heroines, Hucksters and Hooligans," author Kate Ruland-Thorne portrays some of the more colorful characters to call western Colorado home." Grand Junction Sentinel

From the Publisher