01/21/2026
Here’s a heartbreaking and spooky story for you from over the mountain in Ouray/Ridgeway.
Just after midnight, in the early morning of January 19th, 1884, Margaret and Michael Cuddigan were lynched in Ouray, Colorado. Margaret (Maggie) was the first woman lynched in the state. What follows is a sad and disturbing story.
In July of 1883, 10-year-old Mary Rose Matthews was put up for adoption after her mother died and her father was unable to care for her. She was adopted from the Catholics by the Cuddigans and brought to their ranch, which was located about 10 miles north of Ourary. Mary Rose was a very happy, vibrant, young girl.
In December, a priest from Denver arrived to check on the welfare of the girl. He noted that she still seemed to be in good spirits, but she had a few bruises on the back of her head that she claimed were from accidentally falling down the cellar stairs. She stated that the Cuddigans were treating her well.
However, on January 10th, a few ranchers spotted Mary Rose hunched near a haystack at the ranch; her hands were hidden, but they spotted that she had bruises on her face and she was without shoes. A few days later, it was reported that she had died, and the Cuddigans had quietly and mysteriously buried her on the property. Word quickly spread that she had died, and rumors were rampant that she had died due to their abuse. Her body was exhumed and brought to Ouray for examination.
What the coroner found is disturbing, to say the least. Both of Mary Rose's feet were frozen, with skin peeling from the feet up to the knees. Both of her hands were also frozen, with many small wounds and bruises on the forearms. On her head, it was found that she had received a severe blow from a blunt instrument, which showed a severe clot of blood in the brain. Bruises covered the rest of her body, and the coroner stated that had she been living her hands and feet would have needed amputating.
The Cuddigans and Maggie's brother, James Carroll were arrested. Michael and Maggie were quickly convicted by the coroner's jury of the crime, but it was found that James was not around the home during the time of Mary Rose's death. Word of a potential lynching quickly spread.
After midnight of January 19th, guards were placed along the main street when a vigilante group of about 50 armed men came. The Cuddigans were housed in the Delmonico Hotel, when the vigilantes overpowered the sheriff and his men who were watching over the Cuddigans. The Cuddigans were swiftly brought down Third Street, and once they reached Tommy Andres' cabin, Michael was hanged from a ridge pole on the cabin, while a visibly pregnant Maggie was hanged from a small tree across the street. She is the first woman hanged in Colorado.
James Carroll was taken by buggy to the outskirts of town, and a noose was thrown around his neck. The vigilantes threatened to hang him, and even lifted him, strangling for a few seconds before they realized he was innocent of the crime. They let him go, telling him to leave the town and never be seen again.
The Cuddigan's bodies were displayed in town for a couple of days, and the Catholic church refused to bury them in the town cemetery. They are buried on their ranch property.
Initially, the local Catholics took charge of Mary Rose's body and gave her a respectful burial in Cedar Hill Cemetery. Unfortunately, not long after, her body was exhumed and sent to Denver, where some reports state she was paraded around Denver to thousands of people, showing the abuses that had been done to her. She was finally laid to rest at the Calvary Cemetery in Denver on February 2nd, 1884. (The Calvary Cemetery stood where the Denver Botanic Gardens reside. The remains should have been transferred to Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheat Ridge.) There are reports that her spirit may haunt the former Cuddigan Ranch property. A young girl is seen, but when people try to reach her, she disappears.
