By Mike Bowen, co-author, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site
Some of you may remember the Creaghe packing plant in Lamar that was owned by Lawrence Creaghe. He is included in our genealogy research. He was the grandson of St. George Creaghe—George had a connection to Sand Creek with his sons Dick and Jack.
In July of 1908, four veteran Sand Creek soldiers held a reunion and attempted to mark the spot of the Indian village and battle site. They got off the train at Kit Carson and made their way down Sand Creek. One of their stops was the St. George Creaghe Ranch. It is not known how far down Sand Creek they went.
We have been very interested in the location of the Creaghe Ranch. We’ve discovered a homesteader’s dugout on our ranch but are unsure if it was part of his ranch. The Creaghe Ranch may not have been on what is now the Bowen Meadow Ranch. If anyone has any information to the location of the Creaghe Ranch, please let us know.
From our book:
Paul humped his shoulders against the storm of argument and drove on down the creek. They eventually reached the Creaghe ranch. They were destined to become better acquainted.
The two Creaghe boys and their cowpunchers rode up. Dick Creaghe was the prankster. Paul’s introductions were simple.
“Here’s some of them old soldiers that knocked h—l out of the Injuns that time.” “Oh, yes, an’ a reporter,” he said…
“Did Mr. Creaghe know where the battle was fought?” Coffin said.
“Indeed, yes! Most certainly. Right down there…”
We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site
Where did they conclude the site was located? Read the full account in our book.
Genealogy research was a helpful tool in learning about those that were at Sand Creek. All we care about with Sand Creek is the truth. The location of the artifacts helps us understand where things happened and it also tells the story about what happened. Not everything we’ve heard about that 1864 event over the years is true.
Traditionally, the Sand Creek story says the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians were camped below the bluff where the monument used to sit. However, no artifacts have been found below the bluff. Our book goes into great detail about how Chuck and Sheri Bowen discovered well over 4,000 village and battle artifacts which reveals the location of the event in 1864. They found their Sand Creek artifacts starting about two miles up the creek from where the monument sat.
See some of the artifacts here: https://www.thelostsandcreek.com/index.php/artifacts/
Browse this website to learn more about our book and this incredible discovery!
You can get our book here: https://www.thelostsandcreek.com/#buythebook
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To learn how we used genealogy accounts in our Sand Creek research, see our blog here: https://www.thelostsandcreek.com/index.php/2023/03/08/how-was-genealogy-used-in-sand-creek-research/
Check out more website blogs here: https://www.thelostsandcreek.com/index.php/blog/
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