Keepin' the Peace
Blending historical detail, biographical sketches, and good-guy/bad-guy stories of the era, this book takes a look at a time when keeping the peace went hand-in-hand with civilizing a hard and vast wilderness. This work highlights the early days of law enforcement in Western Colorado, encompassing the brazen criminals, the intrepid lawmen, the inhumane jails, the merciless vigilante "neck-tie" parties, and the line that sometimes blurred and often disappeared between lawman and outlaw in America's wild and wooly West. This book captures the danger and excitment of western Colorado's past and promises to hold the attention of readers today.
- ISBN
- 978-1-932738-55-9
- Pages
- 160
- Category
- History
- Place
- Colorado
- Listed at
- $14.95
The price shown is the last one on record and is historic, not a current offer.
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About this book
Keepin' the Peace looks at the early days of law enforcement in Western Colorado. The catalogue description says it blends historical detail, biographical sketches, and good-guy and bad-guy stories, in a time when keeping the peace went hand in hand with civilizing a hard and vast wilderness.
Its cast, per the description, includes brazen criminals, intrepid lawmen, inhumane jails, and vigilante neck-tie parties. It also dwells on the line that sometimes blurred and often disappeared between lawman and outlaw. Judy Buffington Sammons is the credited author.
Who it is for
Keepin' the Peace is for readers of Western Colorado history who want the law and order side of the frontier: jails, lawmen, outlaws and vigilantes. It will suit local history shelves and anyone who enjoys biographical sketches set against the early settlement of the Western Slope region of the state.
Ways to use this book
Tracing a lawman or outlaw in your family tree
If a relative served as a deputy or ended up in a jail, start with the sheriff's office history, then ask the state archives which county and court records they hold. Bring names and approximate years.
Comparing the official story with the book's stories
Read the county's own jail history, then the book, and keep a list of where the tone differs. Official pages tend to give dates and names, while a book can give a wider picture.
Teaching a class on frontier justice
A teacher could pair excerpts with the county pages and ask students what a sheriff's office from 1883 would have needed. Sources like these keep the discussion tied to documented facts.
Go deeper
This book follows early law enforcement in western Colorado. Official county pages about sheriffs and jails, plus the state's archives, show what that history looked like in public records.
History of the Mesa County Sheriff's Office
A county page saying the office was founded in 1883, that Martin Florida was the first sheriff, and that William Innes became the first elected sheriff that November.
Mesa County Detention Facility history
A county page on the first jails in Mesa County, including a one room hewn log building from 1882 and a 1906 escape.
Colorado State Archives
The legal repository for selected state and local government records in Colorado.
Good to know
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