Dead Mexican Park - The Story Behind the Name:
One story on the origin of this place name is that it was so named because two Mexican sheep hearders were murdered in their camp at this location about 1913 by a drunken camp mover who had gambled theri wages and his own in a poker game at Columbine. On his return to camp about midnight he decided the easiest way out was to kill both herders in their beds, which he did. Then he ate supper and put all the camp on fire and the herders on top of everything. Stanley Brock, Ranger, saw the smoke and the next morning rode in to investigate. He found the herders bodies partially consumed by fire. The camp mover had pulled out but was later captured by Emery Clark, the Sherrif of Routt County. He was brought to trial the following spring at Steamboat Springs but had made so many friends during the months that he was a "trusty" that he only got 5 years in Canon City.
After he had been released from Canon City he herded on the White River and met his death in the same manner that he had used to dispose of the herders at Dead Mexican park. Elmer Stevenson, Ranger at Yampa, saw the smoke and found the body, burned in two over the camp fire.
Reference: The History of the Routt National Forest 1905-1975. |
