Mother Featherlegs monument

The Mother Featherlegs monument is located 10 miles south of Lusk on Niobrara County Road 54. The 3,500-pound granite stone was erected in 1964 and stands near the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage route.

Charlotte Shephard, known as “Mother Featherlegs,” established a roadhouse and brothel on the Cheyenne-Deadwood road, where cowboys and stage passengers could rest for the night. The men responded to her attentions and began calling her “Mother.” The pantalettes she often wore made her legs appear feathered like a chicken, hence “Featherlegs.” In 1879, the body of Mother Featherlegs was found a few miles outside Silver Springs. She was thought to have been murdered by her companion, trapper “Dangerous Dick” Davis.