Caroline Cameron Lockhart (1871–1962) was an American journalist and writer.
Biography
Caroline Lockhart was born in Eagle Point, Illinois on February 24, 1871.University of Wyoming American Heritage Center biography /ref>John Clayton, 'The Old West's Female Champion: Caroline Lockhart and Wyoming's Cowboy Heritage', Wyoming State Historical Societybr> /ref> She grew up on a ranch in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
.
A failed actress, she became a reporter for ''
The Boston Post
''The Boston Post'' was a daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The ''Post'' was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G. Greene and William Beals.
Edwin Grozier bough ...
'' and later for the ''
Philadelphia Bulletin
The ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' was a daily evening newspaper published from 1847 to 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the largest circulation newspaper in Philadelphia for 76 years and was once the largest evening newspaper in the United ...
''. She also started writing short stories. In 1904, she moved to
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in Northwest Wyoming and the seat of government of Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after Colonel William Frederick " Buffalo Bill" Cody for his part in the founding of Cody in 1896.
The population was 10,066 at ...
to write a feature article about the
Blackfoot Indians
The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...
, and settled there. She started writing novels and her second novel, ''The Lady Doc'', was based on life in Cody. In 1918–1919, she lived in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
and worked as a reporter for ''
The Denver Post
''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
''. In 1919, her novel ''The Fighting Shepherdess'', loosely based on the life of sheepherder Lucy Morrison Moore, was made into a 1920 movie starring
Anita Stewart
Anita Stewart (born Anna Marie Stewart; February 7, 1895 – May 4, 1961) was an American actress and film producer of the early silent film era.
Early years
Anita Stewart was born in Brooklyn, New York as Anna Marie Stewart on February 7, 18 ...
, with uncredited script adaptation by Lenore J. Coffee. So was her early novel, ''
The Man from Bitter Roots
''The Man from Bitter Roots'' is a lost 1916 American silent Western film directed by Oscar Apfel and starring William Farnum. It was produced and released by the Fox Film Corporation. She also met with
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...
about adapting ''The Dude Wrangler'', which was filmed in 1930.
From 1920 to 1925, she owned the newspaper ''Park County Enterprise'', and it was renamed the ''
Cody Enterprise
The ''Cody Enterprise'' is a newspaper in Cody, Wyoming.
History
It was established by Buffalo Bill and John Peake in 1899.Brian Hurlbut, ''Insiders' Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton'', Globe Pequot, 2011, p. 327; online atGoogle Books/ref>Ri ...
'' in 1921. From 1920 to 1926, she served as President of the Cody Stampede Board. In 1926, she bought a ranch in Dryhead, Montana, now part of the
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is a national recreation area established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, following the construction of the Yellowtail Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation. It straddles the border between Wyomin ...
where she lived until 1950. She still spent her winters in Cody, where she eventually retired. She died on July 25, 1962. The
Caroline Lockhart Ranch
The Caroline Lockhart Ranch was established in 1926 by Caroline Lockhart, who purchased a homestead near Davis Creek at the foot of the Pryor Mountains in Carbon County, Montana, while in her fifties. Lockhart expanded the ranch, adding buildi ...
was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1989 and its structures were restored by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
. In 2018, the
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneering fortitude. The museum is an educ ...
inducted her.
Bibliography
Novels
*''Me-Smith'' (1911)
*''The Lady Doc'' (1912)
*''The Full of the Moon'' (1914)
*''The Man From Bitter Roots'' (1915)
*''The Fighting Shepherdess'' (1919)
*''The Dude Wrangler'' (1921)
*''The Old West and the New'' (1933)
References
Secondary sources
*Hicks, Lucille Patrick. ''Caroline Lockhart: Liberated Lady'' (Pioneer Printing, 1984)
*Yates, Norris. ''Caroline Lockhart'' (Boise State University Western Writers Series, 1994)
*Furman, Necah Stewart. ''Caroline Lockhart: Her Life and Legacy'' (University of Washington Press, 1994)
*Nicholas, Liza. ''Becoming Western: Stories of Culture And Identity in the Cowboy State'' (University of Nebraska Press, 2006)
*Clayton, John. ''The Cowboy Girl: The Life of Caroline Lockhart'' (University of Nebraska Press, 2007)