Ellen L. Watson ("Cattle Kate")

Ellen L. Watson ("Cattle Kate") (HM1Q7B)

Location: Casper, WY 82604 Natrona County
Buy Wyoming State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 42° 50.171', W 106° 22.331'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 654 views
Inscription
On Saturday, July 20, 1889, Ellen L. Watson, popularly known as "Cattle Kate", was hanged with James Averell in Spring Canyon. The site is located 50 miles southwest of Casper near Independence Rock.

Ella and Jim had adjoining homesteads on Horse Creek which flows through the Pathfinder Ranch. This energetic couple had built up a sizeable (sic) herd of cattle, and Jim had established a road house on the Sweetwater River, located near the Oregon Trail and the Rawlins to Fort McKinney Stage Road.

One story of this hanging is that Jim Averell was a saloonkeeper who encouraged ranch hands to drink and carouse. Ella, in this story, raised a fine herd of cattle by exchanging her "favors" for young cattle "appropriated" by the ranch hands. The ranchers hung the two to rid the area of rustlers and troublemakers.

Another story claims Averell and Watson homesteaded on prime water rights and were honest law abiding citizens. Jim and Ella were hanged because the ranchers felt the land that was homesteaded was their own grazing land and wished to obtain the valuable water rights.
Details
HM NumberHM1Q7B
Tags
Placed ByNatrona County Historical Society
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Saturday, December 26th, 2015 at 1:01am PST -08:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)31N E 166021 N 0
Decimal Degrees42.83618333, -106.37218333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 42° 50.171', W 106° 22.331'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds42° 50' 10.26" N, 106° 22' 19.86" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)307
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling West
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 16-20 Fort Caspar Rd, Casper WY 82604, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?
© 2024  Historical Marker Project.  All Rights Reserved.
All registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
HMP is owned and operated by 3RiverDev (Fort Wayne, Indiana).
Terms and Conditions   |   Privacy Policy   |   Disclaimers   |   About   |   Contact Us