Salida, home to Colorado’s largest National Historic District, has more wild-west history than most towns, but the numerous individual stories have not received a complete investigation until now.
Steve Chapman, the historian for Salida Walking Tours and author of the Salida Sam books, launches a new series on June 3. Each volume focuses exclusively on one person or one incident from the past, offering the most in-depth examination ever of these fascinating tales.
Book one of this new series is MURDER! The Criminal Conspiracy and Coverup Behind the Slaying of Salida’s Most Famous Marshal.
“Over the past few years, researching for tours and the chronological book series (Salida Sam), I found more intriguing facts than could fit into the other formats,” said Chapman about the motivation behind writing the new series. “MURDER!, for instance. There is no denying that the slaying of Marshal Baxter Stingley in 1883 was more sinister than a random shootout with a wandering cowboy. Stingley was involved in a cattle theft ring, at least peripherally. He made enemies of powerful ranchers and businessmen in the region, and these men had him killed. There is no doubt about it. I believe this book proves a conspiracy to commit murder and a cover-up to ensure the killer never was caught.”
Through legal documents, census reports, Salida town council minutes, original newspaper articles from around the nation, rarely seen photographs, and a prosecutorial approach, Chapman lays out the life of Baxter Stingley from his birth in Missouri to his death in Salida. “It’s a fascinating, true story that shows how violent and tribal this valley was in the early days.”
The new books series launches June 3 with a live presentation and book signing, including prizes, at 6 p.m. June 3 at The Book Haven, 109 North F Street in Salida.
