Saguache County CO Archives Biographies.....Hurt, James L. May 26, 1854 - ?
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Judy Crook jlcrook@rof.net March 8, 2006, 8:37 am

Author: Progressive Men of Western Colorado

     Left an orphan by the death of his father when the son was but thirteen,

and by that of his mother half a year earlier, James L. Hurt, of Center,

Saguache county, ill prepared as he was for the battle of life, took up his

burden courageously and has bravely borne it ever since, making his own way in

this struggling world, but using all his opportunities to good purpose and

making his every effort tell to his advantage.  He was born on May 26, 1854,

near the town of Roanoke, Howard county, Missouri, and is the son of Thomas A.

and Miranda (Lee) Hurt, who also were born and reared in Missouri, and remained

there until death, that of the mother occurring in September, 1867, and that of

the father in February, 1868.  The father was a farmer and dealer in live stock,

shipping numbers of cattle, horses and other stock to Eastern markets, and was

successful in his business until the outbreak of the Civil war called him to the

service of his section, when he joined the Confederate army under Capt. William

McCowan.  His military service broke up his business and as the whole South

suffered severely in the war, he died too soon after its close to pass the

critical period of that part of the country, and retrieve his fortunes.  Four of

the children survive their parents, William, John R., James L. and Mrs. W. K.

Manis.  The father was an earnest and devoted Democrat in political faith and

took an active interest in the affairs of his party.  James L. was educated in

the country district schools and the high school at Roanoke, Missouri, and after

the death of his parents he secured employment in farming and raising stock in

his native state, where he remained until 1881, when he came to Colorado,

proceeding almost immediately to the San Luis valley and locating in Saguache

county.  He purchased the interest of W.T. Downing in a mercantile

establishment, Mr. Downing being a partner in the business with Samuel Jewell. 

Messrs. Hurt and Jewell carried on the enterprise with fair success until 1885,

when they sold it and turned their attention to raising sheep and cattle.  This

they did together until 1891, and in that year Mr. Hurt bought Mr. Jewell’s

interest in the business and has since conducted it extensively alone.  He has

been a large and active shipper to various markets and has made a pronounced

success of his industry.  By 1885 he had acquired four hundred and eighty acres

of land, and in 1898 he bought two additional ranches, those of Bedell and

Wilson, comprising two thousand six hundred acres, and by subsequent purchases

he has increased his holdings to four thousand acres, all good land and well

advanced in cultivation.  He introduced mules into the neighborhood and has

since raised them and horses in large numbers, running also large herds of

cattle, and making every effort to secure the best grades and output in each. 

His favorite breeds of cattle are the Galloway and the Polled Angus, and of

horses the Percheron.  In 1897, realizing the need of a town in his vicinity, he

located the townsite of Center, he then owning the quarter section of the land

on which it is plotted, and he now has the finest residence in the town.  When

he moved into this valley there was not a house or even a fence stake where

Center has since grown to a promising size and importance, and the only house

between Crestone and Alamosa was one owned by George Taylor and used as a

half-way road house.  Mr. Hurt has greatly improved his original farm, the

others being improved when he bought them, and has made it one of the most

valuable and attractive of its size in the county.  He has been steadily

prosperous in all his undertakings, and is esteemed as one of the best business

men in his section.  He is third-degree Mason, with membership in Vulcan lodge,

No. 432, at Hooper.  He also belongs to the order of Woodmen of the World.  In

politics he was for years a populist, and as such was twice elected to the

legislature, but he is now a stanch Republican.  He is a prominent and

influential citizen, well known throughout a wide extent of country and held in

the highest regard everywhere.  Having endured many trials and hardships in his

early life, he knows how to sympathize and judicially aid others in like

circumstances, and is ever genial and generous.  On February 26, 1885, he was

married to Miss Ida B. Reed, a native of Johnson county, Missouri, reared in

Colorado.  Her parents are Thomas D. and Mary E. Reed, natives of Delaware who

moved to Missouri and afterward to Colorado, remaining in this state until 1900,

then changing their residence to California, where they are now living.  The

father farmed and raised stock in Missouri, and in Colorado mined and

prospected.  Mr. and Mrs. Hurt have three children, Thomas C., Minnie P. and

Lulu B.   

Additional Comments:
From Progressive Men of Western Colorado.  Chicago:  A.W. Bowen & Co., 1905

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