KID CURRY
OLD WEST OUTLAW KID CURRY BURIED IN GLENWOOD SPRINGS
Harvey Logan, most known by his alias Kid Curry, was once one of the country’s most wanted men. His story ended in Glenwood Springs where he is interred, not far from the grave marker of perhaps one of the most well-known gunfighters of all time— Doc Holliday. To visit Curry’s grave, follow the Doc Holliday Trail to Linwood Cemetery.
Every year over multiple weekends in October Glenwood Historical Society hosts the annual Ghost Walk at the cemetery, where talented actors portray characters from Glenwood Springs’ past, sometimes highlighting stories and characters related to Holliday and Curry.
WHO WAS KID CURRY?
Born Harvey Alexander Logan in 1867 in Richland Township, Iowa, Logan made a living as a cowboy on a ranch in Texas before embracing a life of crime. There he made friends with “Flat Nose” George Curry, whose name he later adopted as an alias.
Two of Curry’s vices likely led him astray; after getting paid, he was known to blow all his money on booze and women. When it became obvious that robbing banks and trains was more lucrative than honest work, Curry went all in.
Kid Curry rode with some of the West’s most notorious outlaws and gangs, including Tom “Black Jack” Ketchum and most famously with Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch gang.
By the time Curry arrived in western Colorado, he was the most wanted man in America. From 1884 until the time of his death in 1904, between nine and 15 murders were attributed to him, including the shooting of several lawmen. In 1901, Curry was captured, tried, convicted and sentenced to a long stretch of hard labor.
After two years of incarceration, he broke out of jail and continued his violent, lawless ways until he ended up heisting a train just west of Glenwood Springs, near Parachute, Colorado.
CURRY’S LAST STAND
Life on the lamb took Curry all over the west—Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. On June 7, 1904, Curry and two companions robbed the Denver and Rio Grande train outside of Parachute.
Their getaway plan included rowing a stolen boat across the Grand (now Colorado) River, where they had horses ready for their escape. When the horses tired, they stole fresh mounts from Rolla Gardner’s ranch. The outlaws kept up a fast pace but arrived on foot at the Banta Ranch near Mamm Creek, where they paid for breakfast then stole horses from the barn. They also cut the telephone wires, but Banta was quick to repair them and called his neighbor ranchers. He was able to raise a posse from Grand Junction to New Castle of about 40 men to chase the horse-thieving bandits.
After a two-day pursuit, on June 9, Gardner aimed his sights on Curry. The bullet found its mark and Curry was mortally wounded. As the posse closed in on him, Curry purportedly was heard telling one of his companions, “Don’t wait for me. I’m all in and might as well end it here.” Curry raised his revolver to his temple and pulled the trigger. Though he has a marker, Curry was buried in the Potter’s Field portion of Linwood Cemetery in Glenwood Springs.
Explore all of the historical things to do, learn and see in Glenwood Springs with a modern twist; there is something for everyone and a new adventure to be had every day!
*All photos on this page are courtesy of the Glenwood Springs Historical Society and Frontier Museum.
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