A Hell-Raising Cowpoke Turned Businessman Long John Dunn Left His Mark On Taos

Summary

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hroughout Taos County he was just plain "Long John," or "Juan Largo" to the Spanish-speaking New Mexicans. Long John Dunn was Taos' first stagecoach driver. Creating a passenger and freight delivery service, he helped reconstruct a major road, helped rebuild a crucial bridge and delivered the mail, too. He also owned the first automobile in Taos.

The 6-foot-4-inch Dunn came from a mold that might well be the picture-perfect stereotype for any Western movie character: cigar- smoking cowboy (naturally), saloon owner (of course), gambler (goes with the territory), stagecoach driver/entrepreneur with a sharp tongue that delivered his through-the-nose voice.

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A Hell-Raising Cowpoke Turned Businessman Long John Dunn Left His Mark On Taos

Much like the road and bridges he helped rebuild, his journey to Taos was rough, unpredictable and fraught with ups and downs. Born on a cow ranch near Refugio, Texas, April 26, 1861, his father was a rancher and a Confederate Army soldier during the Civil War. Dunn was uneducated, as there were no public schools in the area at the time. His parents died when he was still a child. An uncle by marriage finis...

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