Old Concho: History and Folklore [Hardcover]

"The stories in this book are written about what is now called "Old Concho" and the surrounding area. At one time Concho was a small but very important and powerful village. It still stands as one of the oldest villages in Arizona. The exact date of the settlement in Concho is unknown, but historians place the date between 1856 and 1860. In the late eighteen hundreds the Village of Concho had an estimated population of 3,000 people. The early settlers were mostly sheepherders and at one time the sheep population numbered 100,000. The wool from the sheep made Concho the sheep kingdom of Arizona. The history and folklore written in this book have been passed down from generation to generation. In Old Concho History and Folkore, the author has compiled a collection of these stories. Some are based on factual events while others are interesting stories that have survived the telling from parent to children to grandchildren. We hope the reader will find interesting the everyday life experiences of the early arrivals to Old Concho, the first patron saint, the ritual of the Penitentes, and the arrival of Father Badilla. Stories of saints performing miracles, a devil obstructing a passage over a bridge, ghosts seen in the dark of night and of LaLlorna roaming the hills at night calling for her lost children all make for a fascinating reading. The courage of Hipolito, captured at an early age by Indians, and the perseverance of thirteen-year-old Elana whose entire family, traveling in a covered wagon on their way to Arizona, died in San Antonio of smallpox are two of the many interesting stories in Old Concho History and Folklore. The brief biographies of some of the early village keepers make for a better understanding of the past culture and the effect that this culture has had on the current generation." RKV-190a.OldConchoHistry&Flkore