In honor of Black History Month......

My favorite black history maker is George Washington Carver.  I have several blog posts just about him.  His entire life fascinates me, everything he did was amazing.

This year I was looking for a unique black history maker who contributed greatly but is lesser known, and I hit the jackpot.  Mr. Bass Reeves first black lawman (cowboy) west of the Mississippi.



Bass was born a slave in 1838 in Crawford County, Arkansas.  His owner was William Steele Reeves (Arkansas legislator).  In 1846, William Reeves relocated his household to Texas.  William Reeves' son, George, was named colonel in the Confederate army when the Civil War broke out and George took Bass with him to war.  Bass found an opportunity to escape and took off west and ended up in Indian Territory making him a fugitive but luckily, all slaves were freed in 1865 so he did not have to run too long.


Bass lived with the Creek and Seminole Indians.  He learned their languages and customs and how to live off the land.  Eventually Bass set up a home in Van Buren, Arkansas and was officially the first black to ever settle the land.  He married Ms. Nellie Jennie and together they raised ten children in an eight room house which Bass built himself.

Isaac C. Parker was appointed federal judge of Indian Territory in 1875.  Prior to this, the government
had no jurisdiction over Indian Territory which became a hiding ground for outlaws during the civil war.

Parker sent U.S. Marshal James F. Fagan along with 200 deputies to round up these outlaws.  Fagan had heard stories of Bass and how he too was once a fugitive and had great knowledge of the land and offered him a job as a U.S. Deputy Marshal.

His orders were to bring back the outlaws-dead or alive.  Bass was quite intimidating standing six feet, two inches tall, wearing a black hat, riding a large white stallion, and packing two Colt 45s.  He is said to have brought in over 3,000 felons.

It is said that Bass tried to follow the letter of the law and bring in the outlaws alive and well.  He took his job very seriously.  In fact, his own son, Benny Reeves, was charged with murdering his wife.  None of the other deputies wanted to bring in Bass' son out of fear of what Bass would do to them but as difficult as it was, Bass went and arrested his own son.  He always wanted to do what was right.  His son ended up spending 22 years in Leavenworth prison.

In 1907, law enforcement was the responsibility of the state police and 70-year-old Bass joined the Muskogee Oklahoma Police Department as a patrolman.

Bass Died January 12, 1910 from complications of Bright's Disease (a type of kidney disease).  I found an interesting statement which stated no one really knows where he is buried.  He was originally buried at Old Agency Cemetery but because it was not kept up, his family had him moved.  Many believe he is buried at Booker T. Washington Cemetery on North Highway 69, Muskogee but no one is sure about this fact.  A mystery in life, a mystery in death.

In May 2012, a bronze status of Reeves on a horse was dedicated in Fort Smith's Pendergraft Park.  The statue was paid for all by donation to the Bass Reeves Legacy Initiative and ultimately ended up costing a whopping $300,000 and stands 7 meters high, that is massive!  Over 1,000 people attended the unveiling ceremony of the statue.

Another interesting fact I learned is that one in four cowboys were actually African-American.  I had never heard that before.  My grandfather always watched John Wayne and then there was Clint Eastwood, James Stuart, Sam Elliot, and The Lone Ranger.

Speaking of The Lone Ranger, even though the character was played by a white man, it is strongly believed that The Lone Ranger was actually inspired by Bass Reeves.  For example, Bass' calling card was to give out silver dollars, The Lone Ranger gave out silver bullets.  And then there is the black mask The Lone Ranger wears.  It is believed since black people in that time wore an invisible mask in a world that largely ignored them, Reeves also wore that invisible mask, and that is a symbolic link between the two.

We will probably never know if The Lone Ranger was actually Bass Reeves but historians have concluded he is the closest real life person to possess the characteristics of the character, The Lone Ranger.  Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!

Bass Reeves was a great man, a part of the fabric of our country.

"Thar's Ghosts in Them Thar Hills."

Dahlonega gold rush.
Click image for image source.

Actually the saying goes "Thar's Gold in Them Thar Hills."  Them Thar hills as in Dahlonega, Georgia which has a history-packed with gold, literally!

Background for Dahlonega.

The name Dahlonega comes from the Cherokee Indian word talonega which means yellow or gold. It is because of this talonega that the Cherokee Indians and the Creek Indians were forced to leave because the white miners and settlers wanted that thar gold. They were forced out of the Cherokee Nation and onto the infamous Trail of Tears in 1838.

Image Dahlonega
Gold rush days.

Dahlonega, Georgia is the site of the first US gold rush which occurred 20 years before the California gold rush which took place in 1849.

So what does Dahlonega have to do with what I am posting?  It is because I think my new obsession for finding out if the places we go are haunted has gotten the better of me. I start with a small topic and it just spirals out of control on me and I cannot stop looking up info.

For example, we just went to a play at the Holly Theater a few weekends ago, we have been there a million times before, my kids have taken classes there, been in plays there, we have supported many friends in their plays over the years so we are very familiar with the Holly Theater but I did a little research on the Holly Theater which in turn, opened a big can of worms about Dahlonega, and yielded some pretty fascinating facts and stories.

Turns out, you guessed it, the Holly theater is haunted and why wouldn't it be?  The theater has been around since early 1948.  It was restored to its current state in 1990s.  Apparently, there are ghosts in the basement, on the balcony, and on the stage.  It seems that the ghost here are on the friendlier side as they like to turn on music randomly, play with the lights, and just mingle around in the auditorium. There have been reports of shadowy figures, the curtain falling mysteriously, and a sink in the bathroom overflowing with water while no one visible was in the bathroom.

Another presumed haunting is by Edwin Booth.  Edwin Booth was a successful Shakespearean actor back in the 1880s.  He was also the brother of President Lincoln killer John Wilkes Booth.  The ghost of Mr. Booth likes to play tricks while rehearsals are going on.

Besides The Holly Theater, Dahlonega is also known to have a rich history in hauntings, all things ghostly, and things that go bump in the night.  There are detailed reports, eye witness accounts, and pictures that document the proof.

Another famous, fabulous Dahlonega haunt is The Mount Hope Cemetery  which dates back to pre-Civil War times.

Mount Hope is the resting place of Confederate Officer William Pierce Price formerly US States Congressman and State Legislator.

There are over 1000 people buried at Mount Hope including several RevolutionaryWar Veterans, other politicians, a former slave who also served in the Union Army, and Civil War soldiers.  It is rumored that a few of these Civil War Veterans are playing cards and roaming around at night in the cemetery.

The Ghost of Dr. Nicholas Howard, a former Confederate surgeon is also buried at Mount Hope.  Dr. Howard's grave site is unique in that it is covered by a massive mound of bricks.

Dr. Nicholas Howard.
Click the pic for image
source.

It is suggested that the bricks were to protect the grave from wild animals digging up his remains since his grave was on the shallow side but another theory suggests it is to keep the good doctor from coming back.

Obviously the bricks did not do the trick as Dr. Howard is a frequent roamer of the cemetery.  Some say he is still practicing his medical specialty.  We may never know but it is pretty interesting in my opinion.

There is not a lot of sources to extract information about Dr. Howard but here is a great one.

Slot and tab grave
markers in North Georgia.

Another interesting piece of info to file away in your Georgia history bank is that in The Mount Hope Cemetery is home to many slot and tab grave markers which are only found in this part of the country.  We will have to stop off and check these out.

This photo was taken by Madelyn Anthony
in 1953.  She captured what is said to be
the ghost of a woman in a long white dress with
an antique bicycle and a boy hiding behind
a tree.  This is considered at least one
of the most famous photos taken of ghosts in Dalonega.

This is Betsy.
She died in 1884 at the age of 8.

These ghost lore and tales are just a few of the many haunted delights that Dahlonega has to offer.  There are several haunted tours and walks you can take part in.  We will definitely be checking out the Ghost Tours this Halloween.  Read more about those here.  The walking ghost tour also looks fabulous.  You can find that here.  Another fun thing to do is the gold mines.  We have been in the mines several times over the years, and I am completely freaked out by them.  I certainly do not want to be in an underground mine with a ghost friendly or not.

If you are interested in seeing mysteriously missing chess pieces from outdoor chess boards, girls in long, white dresses playing in rooms, ghosts that bang pots and pans throughout the restaurants on the square, or see the peek-a-boo boy in store windows, pull up a chair in the square and chat with the locals, that is if you can find a chair.  It is said that these playful ghost will even move the chairs.

The Historic Holly Theater in Dahlonega Georgia.
More about Mount Hope Cemetery.
Georgia On My Mind.
Haunted places in Georgia.Here is a list of the Veterans buried at Mount Hope Cemetery.