Sheriffs of Delta County Colorado

This is the story of Delta County, Colorado sheriffs. This is part of the story of a people moving west, of explorers, of the U.S. Army mapping the mountains and passes. Of men who dreamed of railroads. Of men who dreamed of a new life. Of men and women who brought sheep, cattle and horses and more important, wives and sons and daughters. Men who dreamed of gold or silver that could change their lives. Some never found the riches, but still made good lives with what they had. Other...
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This is the story of Delta County, Colorado sheriffs. This is part of the story of a people moving west, of explorers, of the U.S. Army mapping the mountains and passes. Of men who dreamed of railroads. Of men who dreamed of a new life. Of men and women who brought sheep, cattle and horses and more important, wives and sons and daughters. Men who dreamed of gold or silver that could change their lives. Some never found the riches, but still made good lives with what they had. Other men had gone on before them. The Old Spanish Trail once passed through this land and now in places is overlapped by a modern high-speed, four-lane highway. In 1776, two Franciscan Friars, Escalante and Dominguez, led an expedition searching for a shorter way to California from Santa Fe. First there were horse and mule pack trails, then wagon roads. Then came the narrow gauge railroad. Then came the transcontinental rail system and the standard gauge rail. Then cattlemen and sheep men who fought for range. Then the Forest Service and rangers who tried to keep the peace. Homesteaders. Then the Bureau of Land Management. Now ranchers graze sheep and cattle together, side by side and the old sheep wars are all but forgotten except in stories, some myth, some true. Newspapers tell the story. Early, old musty newspapers. Now, mostly on rolls of microfilm. Sometimes that is the only story, whether true or not. But that is the only story written, even if it is from the viewpoint of the paper, the editor, or the reporter. Some stories were saved by family. Old priceless stories. Old priceless photos. Historical Societies preserve these remnants of the past. The old people, pioneers, early comers, seem to keep dying. Dying is a part of life, not the end. Others come after and take their place as they should. These are the stories of sheriffs and others. These are the threads of a fabric, a fabric of history that makes up some of the stories and tales of Delta County, Colorado.