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 Society Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the so ...

br>
/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 ...

. She attended Bethany College in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat ...

and the Moravian Seminary in

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 19,3 ...

. 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 bought ...

'' 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 United ...

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'' (1916). 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 Thi ...

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 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 artist ...

in 1989 and its structures were restored by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

. 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)

External links

* * *
Caroline Lockhart Ranch
1981 profile of Caroline Lockhart by Mary Shivers Culpin for the National Park Service {{DEFAULTSORT:Lockhart, Caroline 1871 births 1962 deaths People from Ogle County, Illinois People from Cody, Wyoming 20th-century American novelists American women novelists Western (genre) writers The Denver Post people Moravian University alumni Journalists from Illinois Journalists from Kansas Journalists from Wyoming 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American journalists Novelists from Illinois American women non-fiction writers Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductees Ranchers from Montana Ranchers from Kansas People from Montana The Boston Post people