World Agriculture Directory: the home of the world's largest agriculture database. Fastest way to find events, farms and agribusiness that suit your needs. Agriculture Event Directory

Cattlemen Hall of FameBeef cattle barons, cowboys, breeders and builders from around the world

Cattle Barons and Land Owners

John Wesley Prowers: Freighter, Merchant and the Cattleman of Boggsville

He began as a wagon teamster for William Bent and ended as the largest cattleman on the lower Arkansas River.

Who Was John Wesley Prowers?

John Wesley Prowers was the first large cattleman on the lower Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado. The Bent County Heritage Center biography calls his the area's first cattle operation, and credits him with bringing Hereford cattle to the region.

His story also runs through the history of Sand Creek, since his wife, Amache, was the daughter of a Cheyenne chief killed in the massacre there in 1864.

From Westport to Bent's New Fort

Prowers was born January 29, 1838, near Westport, Missouri. His father died when he was two, and he left home at 18 after clashing with his stepfather. He worked as a clerk for Robert Miller, agent of the Upper Arkansas Indian Agency, hauling supplies to William Bent's New Fort on the Arkansas River.

He then spent seven years as a teamster for Bent and made 22 trips from Missouri trading posts to the West. The work gave him the trade routes and the connections that he used later.

Marriage to Amache and the Caddoa Ranch

In 1861 he married Amache Ochinee, called Walking Woman, daughter of a Cheyenne sub-chief. The National Park Service profile of Ameohtse'e Prowers says they bought their first cattle in 1862, and the Bent County Heritage biography says that in 1863 they bought the Caddoa buildings upstream from Bent's New Fort, ran a stagecoach station, boarded military mules and livestock in winter and grew vegetables for the fort.

On November 28, 1864, soldiers under Colonel John Chivington held the Prowers family and ranch hands for about two and a half days while Amache's father and others were killed at Sand Creek. The NPS says the hostage-taking was meant to keep them from warning the camp.

Boggsville and a Growing Herd

After Sand Creek the family moved to Boggsville and expanded the ranch. The 1865 Treaties of the Little Arkansas granted 160-acre allotments to Amache, her sisters and her mother, and the NPS says John expanded the ranch partly by buying allotments from other Sand Creek survivors and descendants.

Herd sizes vary by source. Bent County Heritage says the herd grew to more than 10,000 head by the 1880s, the NPS says about 15,000 by 1881, and Cowboy State Daily's comparison of Colorado's two cattle empires reports a herd of about 70,000 on more than 400,000 acres. Sources differ widely, so the larger figure should be treated with caution. He built a two-story adobe house with 18-inch walls, with the family upstairs and the store, a school and county offices below.

The Key to Prowers's Success

Prowers combined freight, trade and cattle, and his marriage tied him to the Cheyenne community and to the land.

The record also includes costs. His business growth was linked to the Sand Creek aftermath, and the land he bought included allotments from survivors. The sources state those facts without much detail.

  • He learned the trade routes as a teamster, with 22 trips west from Missouri.
  • He started in services: a stagecoach station, a store and winter boarding for army livestock.
  • He bred for the prairie, crossing hardy cattle and, per sources, shorthorn and Hereford bulls.
  • He assembled land, including allotments bought from Sand Creek survivors.
  • He added processing and finance, co-founding a meat-packing plant with Charles Goodnight in 1873 and helping establish the Bent County Bank and a commission house.
  • He built irrigation, credited with Robert Bent for the first successful ditch from the Purgatoire River.

Public Life, Wildlife and the Move to Las Animas

When Bent County was formed in 1870 he was elected its first county commissioner. After the railroads arrived in 1873 he moved to West Las Animas, built a new house and a large general store, and served in the territorial legislature in 1873 and the state legislature in 1880. He lost a 1883 run for lieutenant governor.

In 1880 he released three does and two bucks of white-tail deer near his ranch, and their descendants still live in the area. His prairie chicken introduction failed.

Death, Legacy and Amache

Prowers developed throat cancer in late 1883 or early 1884, sought treatment in Kansas City and died February 14, 1884, at his sister's home. He is buried at Las Animas Cemetery. Prowers County is named for him.

Amache outlived him, moved to Boston in 1890 and died in 1905. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2018, and the World War II Granada Relocation Center was nicknamed Amache for her. For more, see the ranching section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about Arkansas River ranching. The two sources also differ on how many children they had: the NPS says nine and Cowboy State Daily says seven.

Timeline

  1. 1838Born January 29 near Westport, Missouri
  2. 1861Marries Amache Ochinee
  3. 1863Buys the Caddoa buildings with Amache and starts a stage station
  4. 1864Family held hostage on November 28 during the Sand Creek Massacre
  5. 1870Elected first Bent County commissioner
  6. 1873Moves to West Las Animas; co-founds a packing plant with Charles Goodnight
  7. 1880Releases white-tail deer near his ranch; serves in state legislature
  8. 1884Dies in Kansas City on February 14

Frequently asked questions

Who was John Wesley Prowers?

John Wesley Prowers (1838 to 1884) was a Missouri-born freighter, merchant and cattleman who built the first large cattle operation in southeastern Colorado and for whom Prowers County is named.

Who was Amache Prowers?

Amache, or Ameohtse'e Ochinee, was a Cheyenne woman and John Prowers's wife. Her father was killed at Sand Creek, and the WWII Granada Relocation Center was nicknamed Amache for her.

How many cattle did Prowers have?

Sources differ: Bent County Heritage says more than 10,000 by the 1880s, the National Park Service says about 15,000 by 1881, and Cowboy State Daily reports about 70,000.

What was Boggsville?

Boggsville was a settlement in Bent County, Colorado, where Prowers built a two-story adobe house, a store and a stage station after Sand Creek.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

More from the hall