Johnnie Jones

This is the homestead cabin of Johnnie Jones, located on the Red Fork of the Powder River. Johnnie is on the left, and Billy Brock, his neighbor, is on the right. The woman seated is Annie Brock Jones, Johnnie's wife, their child, and a dog.
Johnnie's brother, Orley "Ranger" Jones, homesteaded with him, but he was murdered in the lead up to the Johnson County Invasion in 1892 while hauling lumber for a floor for this cabin. It is said he bled out on the boards, which were still installed in the cabin.
The Jones family lived in this cabin, with additions, for two generations before selling the ranch. Their homestead still stands today and is well-maintained and used.

When World War I ended, on November 11, 1918, community picnics and other events were held to welcome back the soldiers and celebrate the end of the war. This one was at the Jones Ranch on Red Fork, west of Kaycee. Orley Jones (bottom left) and Jim Rinker (bottom right) served in the war, as did the sons of their neighbors. The ladies shown with World War I banners are Annie Jones, Mrs. Andy Carr, and Mrs. Rinker.
The "war to end all wars" cost 9-11 million lives just in battle, not counting deaths from starvation and disease, over 15 million casualties, and approximately 13 million civilians died. The war did not end all wars, rather it ushered in an even greater conflict just 11 years later.

                               

Orley Jones                                                                                 Jim Rinker

 

Annie Jones, Mrs. Andy Carr, and Mrs. Rinker

This is Orley and Albert Jones, sons of Johnnie Jones, using a mechanized saw that Johnnie built. Johnnie was a tinkerer and blacksmith, who made everything from spurs to other machines and tools. The Jones ranch was on Red Fork, and Johnnie's brother, Orley "Ranger" Jones, was shot while traveling from Buffalo back to the ranch on November 28, 1891, by big cattlemen elements during the Johnson County War.
The saw is at the Hoofprints of the past museum on display today.

---