Mesa Verde

Who saved Mesa Verde? Women did. Who created the national park? Women did. Women to the Rescue is their story. From the 1890’s into 1906, a group of determined, dedicated women did all in their power to preserve the ruins, make the public aware, and arouse Congress to action to establish a park. Then, at the moment of victory, they split into two factions and that is the rest of the story.

Following in the wake of what one noted scientist called “transients who neither revered nor cared for the ruins as symbols of the past,” the Wetherill family became the earliest students of Mesa Verde. Their careful excavations and record-keeping helped preserve key information, leading to a deeper understanding of the people who built and occupied the cliff dwellings. As devout Quakers, they felt they were predestined to protect the prehistoric sites from wanton destruction – a role that would not be assumed by the government or other major institutions until years later. Based on decades of meticulous research, author Fred Blackburn sets the record straight on these early protectors of Mesa Verde.