Death Valley Region: Book III a Chorological & Pictorial History

This timeframe saw a decline in mining, the blossoming of tourism, movie makers and stars, authors, photographers, and monument builders. It began with the great Leadfield mining swindle and construction of tourist facilities at Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, and Shoshone. It saw the creation of Death Valley National Monument, improvements by the boys of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and an upgrade to a National Park. There was pistol-packing, mine owner Louise Grantham, Short Fuse Louie who blew himself up, saloon keeper Chris Wicht who had a big nose, Henry Ashford who owned a gold mine and didn’t bathe, the hauntingly lovely Julia Pelley, Charlie Manson and his flotsam of humanity, Cranky Casey who swatted a record 122 horseflies in one day, and the duo of Death Valley Scotty and Albert Johnson. This is the final book of the trilogy on the Death Valley region’s history.