There are no doubt other ghost stories to tell, but none that I know of would fill a column.

Wylie Graybeal was headed to Mancos when his wagon hit a rock and threw him forward out of his wagon seat. The wagon struck Wylie on the back of his head and broke his neck. He died instantly. He was only 40 years old and left behind three sons, the oldest of whom was only 12. Wylie was one of the original cowboys who settled in the Mancos Valley in the fall of 1876. Wylie married Anna Field who raised their three boys. Anna passed away in 1906 only eight years after Wylie died a violent death. Anna was one of the early teachers in Mancos.

Anna was a daughter of Newton Field. Newton came to Mancos in 1881. He practiced medicine in the valley until he was thrown from a horse late one evening about two miles north of Mancos when he was returning home from making house calls. He died five days later. His wife, Esther, died in 1893 and Newton passed away in 1896, two years before Wylie's death. Newton was 76 at the time of his death.

The earliest teacher in Mancos was Lizzie Allen, who was only 16 years old. At that time, the school was located to the south of town and was built of pine logs and the lumber for the floor and finishing was brought from major Cooper's mill at Parrot City.

When I was in the seventh grade, I overheard Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Ritter talking about a presence that wandered around in the high school building. I was young enough that I never took serious what they were saying and have never felt a presence in the high school.

George Perkins came to Mancos in 1922. He was the railroad agent from then until the railroad was abandoned in 1946. He died in February 1967 and left his estate to the Methodist church and the Mancos Masonic Lodge. His wife, Margaret Sutcliffe, was bitter because he left nothing to her. She passed away in September 1967 and has haunted their home, which became the Methodist parsonage, ever since. I found her presence to be very powerful and somewhat bitter.

In 1887, Mahala Jane Miller came to Mancos from Missouri in 1887 and began teaching in Mancos that same year.

She married Charles Kelly in 1892 and they had a son, Charles, who was born in 1893. He was continually in poor health until his death four years later. If there was anyone who had the right to haunt the school it was Charles, who never lived long enough to become a student in Mancos. Jane, Jenny Kelly and Charles Kelly, Sr. had twins Ira and Eileen in 1895.

Ira Kelly married Esther Cooper in 1921. They moved to what became known as the Kelly Ranch in 1927. Mary graduated from Mancos High and later attended the Barnes Business School in Denver. During the Depression of the 1930s, she worked with the American Legion Auxiliary providing hot lunches for school children. She was active in various organizations throughout her life. She passed away in 1969.

Ira had an industrious personality that was formed early on by his father, Charles Kelly. Ira was a fifty year member of the Mancos Masonic Lodge and, along with other offices, served as Worshipful Master. He was the chairman of the Mancos Water Conservancy District from its beginning until 1969. He served two terms as a Montezuma County Commissioner and was the Mancos school board president from 1939-1950. I enjoyed knowing Ira and always felt he was a friendly and powerfully positive person. He died in July 1972, three years after his wife Mary passed away. Most people have never felt the presence of someone who had died but in my own way I have sensed Mary and Ira have had a positive affect on the Mancos Valley ever since they passed away.

Darrel Ellis is a longtime historian of the Mancos Valley. Email him at dnrls@q.com.