Chaffee County Historic Resources Survey Series
By Fay Golson for The Chaffee County Heritage Area Advisory Board
To conclude the account of the Love Ranch, the third property in the Chaffee County Historic Resource Survey and featured in last month’s Colorado Central, Jo Love’s importance to the ranch will be disclosed. Although their marriage was brief, her dedication to her husband, Mark Love, was a significant influence on her life.
Being registered as a Colorado State Guide, Mark guided hunters and fishermen through the mountains. Theodore Roosevelt and Zane Grey were reportedly just a few of his notable clients. In a photograph supplied by Antony Mayo, Mark is shown seated with Buffalo Bill Cody and an unidentified man. The 1910 census reveals Mark’s place of residency as Glenwood Springs and his occupation as a tourist guide. A year after their marriage the Loves acquired the ranch and converted it into a cabin camp for summer vacationers. The camp consisted of three guest cabins and the main house.
Mark continued to work as a hunting guide and wrangler, and he taught Jo many of the skills required for mountain survival. His death in September 1930 was caused by a horse falling on him and pinning him. It was a staggering blow for Jo. The Douthit brochure states: “There followed for Jo a time of great sorrow, resentment and hurt. At last, however, out of this pain came the seed for what was to bear the woman most of us came to know.” These qualities included a consuming interest in the world and those in it, her generous and spontaneous laughter, and her oneness with the natural world.
Jo turned her energy to the development of the Love Ranch. She worked by washing linens, cleaning cabins, chopping wood and occasionally serving meals at the Allie Bell Mine near Hancock as well as the Mary Murphy Mine near the ranch. “The hardships mellowed Jo and gave her increasing empathy for other people’s troubles. As she aged, she shared her experiences with others, so her place became a home away from home for her guests.”
Cabins were added and filled with guests, many of which were renown in their careers. Writers, artists and professionals in all areas found comfort and inspiration at the ranch. The notable Menninger brothers of the Topeka, Kansas clinic, and Roots author, Alex Haley, are among many. Jo and Haley became good friends over the years and were often seen strolling the grounds of the Love Ranch while in deep conversation. In a letter to Jo dated March 11, 1966, Haley writes: “The cabin, the locale, which you and the photographs describe, are lovely, Jo. Lovelier yet is the warm invitation …. A place like yours could make all the difference with a book, a play, whatever … I’d guess mid-September, for probably two weeks to a month, I could do there with you, some really vital finishing work on “Before This Anger,” which, with luck, I’ll then have in the near-finish stage.” The book he refers to is the working title for “Roots: The Saga of an American Family.” In a letter from 1970, he writes about a trip to Africa with his researcher and friend, George Sims: “I have decided that the perfect way, atmospherically, for this particular book to be finished of its writing is on board a ship sailing from Africa to the United States.”
Jo supported civil rights and contributed regularly to the cause with cash and clothing, according to Stella Bailey. Books and artwork by African-American artists were distributed throughout her cabins.
To supplement her income during her declining years, Jo layed out four subdivisions known as the Jo Love Ranch subdivision. After her death in 1976, the land passed to new owners. Of the five parcels covered in the Chaffee County Historic Resources Survey, only one is still owned by a family relative. Two parcels are now private dwelling and two are available for rental. Spread among the parcels are the original ranch house and seven cabins, all of which contribute to the historic significance. The majority of the cabins are log and slab log construction with gable or shed roofs covered with asphalt composition shingles and multi-pane windows.
This property is a prime example of a small guest operation located in the scenic area between the Chalk Cliffs and Chalk Creek. It continues to attract visitors from around the world.
We took summer vacation at Love Ranch for many years. Our grandparents caught their first breakfast together from the back porch of Honeymooner, and so did our parents. I have such fond memories of Jo Love, and Love Ranch.
July 16, 2014 While on a car trip last week from Breckenridge, Colorado down to the Cebolla River north of Lake City, as I approached Salida I began to think back to August , 1946 when at the age of 6 I travelled with my Mother and Dad from Liberty, Texas to Jo Love’s ranch. It was our first long vacation as a family after World War Two. Jo Love was a friend of my great aunt Eula Patrick Blount who lived in Salida. “Sister” was from Palestine, Texas and had come to Salida with her husband Milton Blount (he worked for the railroad and was at one time city or country treasurer in Salida). “Sister” and Jo were both widowed early in their marriages without children. “Sister” and Mickey lived on G Street in Salida and also had a cabin on Chalk Creek. I only had time to do some brief exploration, using my I Phone, and never located Jo’s ranch precisely although I see it shows on the internet. I remember it well, even though 68 years have gone by. We stayed in the main house (July, 1946) and a young woman named Pat from St. Louis was in one of the cabins. She did portraits in charcoal and did one of me. In the other cabin were two young teenage brothers whom I recall accidentally firing a 410 into the ceiling of their cabin while cleaning their guns. Seems like there was a heart on the gate. We drove somewhere to take showers — maybe at Mt. Princeton. We went up on St. Elmo. My Dad fished in the river. He smoked and I remember him being a little short winded up on St. Elmo. We all ate meals in Jo’s house, where we stayed. I think there was an out house although their may have also been indoor plumbing. I shot a pistol at targets. It was a very wonderful 2 weeks. For some reason my great aunt Eula was not in Colorado when we visited. She taught piano and lived in a 4 plex apartment a block off the main street in Salida, according to the phone book in the public library in Salida— after leaving G Street. I see that Jo Love lived until 1976. “Sister” returned to Texas from the high altitudes in the 1950’s and lived with her sister Auntie Pat Patrick Jackson (husband Ben Jackson) in Kerrville, Texas west of San Antonio until about 1967, about the time that she and Auntie Pat and Uncle Ben died. They are all buried just north of Kerrville, along with Jane Jackson Plumly Meredith originally from Beaumont, Texas, who wrote “Harmony Hall” (about her step grandmother’s family back in North Carolina.) I still remember how good the breakfasts and fish for dinner tasted. It was a very happy time for my parents and me. I remember Jo Love smiling and laughing and having a sense of humor that my parents enjoyed. My mother was pregnant with my sister Jan Johnson Galitz of Canby, Oregon. Jan lived in Denver at one point and painted Sister’s cabin on Chalk Creek after Jan and mother found the cabin when mother was on vacation in Colorado in the 1970’s probably. “Sister” shared the same sense of humor as Jo. “Sister” (Eula Patrick Blount) had grown up in Palestine, Texas (East Texas) with my grandmother Jane, Sister Eula, Sister Pat, and Sister Alie (Alie Thresto whose grand daughter Delia Wages lives in Memphis, Tennessee but knows little of her Patrick Texas family history. I look forward to returning to the Salida area and finding the exact ranch house. From age 6 I can picture very well the main Jo Love ranch house, the cabins, and river, the gate and the mountains surrounding the property. Sister regretted very much having to leave the mountains and her friends, including her fellow widow Jo Love. Dale Johnson dalepjohnson@att.net 214-526-5511 214-704-4612