Joseph J. Jones was born on January 31, 1869 in Mahaska County, Iowa. He is the oldest son of Price and Dorcas Long Jones. He had one brother Alva. In 1880 the family moved to Kansas and in 1881 to Pitkin County, Colorado where he worked for the railroad, at the age of thirteen. After the death of his father in 1882 he left home to make his own way, working on farms in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, returning to Colorado in 1887 to live in Denver. He only stayed a short time and then went to Rawlins, Wyoming to work on the McIntosh horse ranch. In 1892 he moved to Routt County and settled a ranch near Hayden. He was a member of Carley & Jones mercantile firm until 1896 when he took the job of foreman for J. L. Norvell. In 1898 he bought the Ed Smith ranch, raising cattle, horses and hay and grain. Joseph married Ada Honnold on June 11, 1895. They had one son, Gilbert, who died as a young man. Joseph was elected Sheriff in 1901 and served two terms of office. It is said of his term of office "he is honest, fearless and attentive". On January 6, 1931 Joe Jones and his ranch hand, Earl Hopkins, were shot and killed by E. J. Farmer. There apparently had been a dispute over the price of some hay but the matter had been thought to have been settled by arbitration. Joe and Earl had arrived near Axial Basin to get a load of hay to feed cattle. It appears that Farmer was waiting for Jones at the stack yard when Jones and Hopkins arrived by sled. With few or no words E. J. Farmer shot Jones and then Hopkins. Farmer was arrested and taken to Glenwood Springs, fearing mob violence, as Joe J. Jones was a well known and well liked person of the community. E. J. Farmer was tried and found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang. Joseph Jones is buried in the Craig Cemetery.

Resources:
Routt County Republican, January 9, 1931
"Progressive Men of Western Colorado"
Ayliffe Jones Zehner

© 2004 Joyce Cusick nacpinc@hotmail.com