Lizzy isn't quite five feet tall and "just a bit of a thing" as they say, but that doesn't keep her from becoming a blacksmith in England, emigrating to America, becoming the first woman resident of the rough and tumble silver mining town of Rico, Colorado where she ran her own dairy or moving on from there to become the first beef-cattlewoman in Southwest Colorado. Lizzy and her third husband Henry (which she pronounced 'Enry in her cockney accent) Knight, formerly her son-in-law, homesteaded and raised her granddaughter Edith in the newly settled Disappointment Valley. They prospered: 'Enry with farming, brokering livestock trades in that booming cattle country and being the postmaster of the valley's first post office; Lizzy with her own herd, a small store and becoming the unofficial banker for the valley. The Knight homestead became the center for commerce and social interaction in the valley. Their original cabin still stands and is now a historic site. Their great, great, great grandchildren still call the valley home.

Disappointment Valley is a land of unsurpassed beauty, as belies its name. Located on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains in Southwestern Colorado, it is also rugged and isolated. The name, no doubt, discouraged many and contributed to the strong-willed and self-sufficient character of the Valley's pioneers. The nearly boundless grazing, from high mountian summer pasture to low pinon and cedar (juniper) winter pasture, made it prime cattle ranching country. The ranching pioneers incluced Southerners displaced by the Civil War; Northerners seeking new frontiers; and immigrants from England, Canada, Ireland and Denmark. While their backgrounds were diverse, they shared a strong spirit of independence. They often flaunted tradition and defied outside authority, gaining them a reputation as "lawless." They weren't lawless, but they preferred to settle their own affairs. They chose to forgo the acceptance and ammenities of society for the sake of personal freedom. This is their story. It has been compiled from legends, records and photographs provided by descendents of the settlers, and by research of existing public records. It chronicles events as they were perceived by those who lived in the Disappointment Country during the turbulent era of 1879 to 1929.