My Books
I've written five books on Local History in Fremont County, Colorado.
The History of Penrose, Colorado 2021
Pioneer Women of Beaver Creek 2009
Forgotten Cemeteries of Beaver Creek 2008
Down Memory Lane with the Beaver Creek Folks 2007
San Juan Bautista Cemetery 2007
Scroll down for a look at each one.
All are available on Amazon
My NEWEST book Forgotten Female Felons will be out late 2024
My latest book The Early History of Penrose Colorado was almost 16 years in the making! Over those long years, I hiked many dusty roads, gently touched broken fragments of pottery, gazed at old foundation ruins, and waded through Beaver Creek too any times to mention.
This is my fourth book on Local history in Fremont County, Colorado. It's certainly the longest (427 pages), has the most photographs (hundreds) and is a true labor of love.
Scroll down to see my previous Local History books and to see my latest work-in-progress "Forgotten Female Felons" a book of historical fiction short stories.
From the back cover:
"The lush banks of Beaver Creek were a welcome sight to twenty-two pioneer families from Appanoose County, Iowa. They settled in Eastern Fremont County in the early 1860s, where they farmed, ranched, and raised their families. At the turn of the century, Spencer Penrose, businessman and investor from Colorado Springs, bought water rights on the creek. The Schaeffer Dam was built, water was diverted, and the new town of Penrose was born in 1909.
"Join historian Skye Stuart on a journey through time as she tells the colorful stories of the Toof brothers, who built a small empire on Lower Beaver Creek and Lafayette Coffman, a dashing Civil War veteran. Meet Anna Belle Callen, an early suffragette and feel the energy at the once-bustling Glendale Stagecoach Inn. Learn about the magnificent engineering feat of building the Schaeffer Dam and the devastating Beaver Creek Flood of 1921. One-room schoolhouses, thriving apple orchards, forgotten cemeteries, a short-lived railroad, and community celebrations such as the annual Apple Day festivities are all part of this captivating book celebrating the history of Penrose, Colorado."
My book is $25 and is available on Amazon .
If you want a signed copy, with the free 8 x 10 color photo of Glendale, the cost is $31 to mail it to you, payable through PayPal.
These twenty-five pioneer women traveled across the plains, courageously raised their families, and are all buried above the lonely banks of Beaver Creek in Fremont County, Colorado. Mary Coffman came to Colorado as a young girl with her parents, while Elizabeth Banta homesteaded with her husband. Sarah Hughes was a skilled midwife and Martha Kelley baked biscuits for the Indians when she was a teenager. Prussian-born Augusta Woodriff came to Beaver Creek to farm its fertile banks while Adah Toof taught school and lost two husbands while living on Beaver Creek.
Many of these pioneer women died in childbirth. Mariah Flesher was barely sixteen years old when she gave birth, died, and was buried next to her infant daughter. Sarah Tillery died just a week before the 1880 Census was taken. The pioneer women on Beaver Creek left a legacy of faith, courage, and perseverance; gifts that women today also possess. As women, we share the common threads of home, faith, and family. My desire in writing this book is to honor these courageous pioneer women of Beaver Creek and to carry their legacy in my heart.
FOREWORD by Kathy Uhland, the great-great-granddaughter of Mary Hall Lackey, and several other pioneer women buried in the forgotten cemeteries of Beaver Creek.
available on Amazon $15
In the late 1800s three cemeteries were established along the waters of Beaver Creek, near Penrose, in Fremont County, Colorado. Though miles apart, each one was built on a hill with the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop and the clear rushing creek below.
The three cemeteries, Upper Beaver, Middle Beaver and Lower Beaver were the final resting place for many of the pioneer families who settled along Beaver Creek. Upper and Lower beaver Creek cemeteries are still “active” meaning that burials still take place, while Middle Beaver is now inaccessible and inactive
These silent cemeteries cast their spell over Sherry Skye Stuart, who spent hours hiking, photodocumenting, and researching the people who are laid to rest in each one. Their stories will tug at your heart and invite you to explore these forgotten cemeteries.
“Our ancestors are not just faded names on a lonely tombstone. They lived, breathed, loved, laughed, worked, struggled, suffered, and endured. Because of their unsung efforts, we each have an opportunity to make our world a better place, by building on the heritage our ancestors left to us.” Sherry Skye Stuart
available on Amazon $15
"Down Memory Lane with the Beaver Creek Folks"
was written by Della Goode Lancaster, who grew up
on Beaver Creek in the early 1900s. Her gift for detail and storytelling makes this area come alive.
I was given permission from Della's grand-daughter to edit the book and publish it. I was honored to be a conduit for Della's voice to be heard over a hundred years later.
available on Amazon for $10
"San Juan Bautista Cemetery"
In the early 1900’s the San Juan Bautista Cemetery was established southeast of Florence, Colorado, as a place for the Mexican Catholics to be buried. Some say this was because of prejudice on the part of non - Mexicans, while others say the Penitentes needed
a place to bury their dead.
Nearly four hundred people have been buried in San Juan Bautista, most of whom were Mexican, Catholic, infants, or who had no where else to be buried. Many of the graves are unmarked, with only a white cross to show that they were buried somewhere in the cemetery.
The San Juan Bautitsta Cemetery Association lovingly tends the cemetery and hosts a Memorial Day ceremony each year to honor and to remember those who are buried in the cemetery.
Using numerous lists of names, standing tombstones, Church and mortuary records,
obituaries, and with a lot of determination and research.
Sherry Skye Stuart has compiled an exhaustive list of those who are buried in San Juan Bautista Cemetery, with its history,photos, and resources.
available on Amazon for $12
\