A pioneer mother accused of murdering one of her husbands isn’t a likely candidate for Women’s History Month, but then Josie Bassett wasn’t a typical pioneer, either.

She lived a lonely life between Colorado and Utah, built her own log cabin in what is now Dinosaur National Monument, and though she swore off men, moonshine, poaching deer and cattle rustling, she never quite gave them up.

Josie grew up on the Bassett Ranch in Northwest Colorado. Durango is close to the Four Corners, where four states meet. She grew up in the Three Corners where Utah, Wyoming and Colorado converge in a sheltered valley named Brown’s Park, one of the last places settled in the American West and a favorite hideout on the Outlaw Trail.

Frequently outshone by her tall, attractive, older sister, Ann Bassett, nicknamed Queen Anne, who could also ride and rope, Josie learned to hold her own. As suitors came calling for Queen Anne, at first Josie was the little sister who had to be tolerated, but as she matured, cowboys noticed her smile, her vivaciousness and a certain twinkle in her eye. Soon, hat in hand, they came calling on her, too.
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