They Called It Pearson: The History of Mata Ortiz and the Casas Grandes Valley

They Called It Pearson chronicles the great events swirling around the Casas Grandes Valley and Mata Ortiz before it became a famous pottery center. Beginning in prehistoric times with the extensive Casas Grandes Pueblo culture, the story extends through Spanish exploration, Apache domination, commercial exploitation, foreign invasion, the Mormon diaspora, and two revolutions. Larger-than-life characters dominate the scene including the world's richest man, the world's largest ranch owner, a civil and electrical engineering genius, General John "Black Jack" Pershing, and Mexico's most famous rebel, Pancho Villa. Numerous published and unpublished works in Spanish and English refer to parts of the tumultuous history of this remote corner of Chihuahua but none tell the whole story. This book combines these scattered references to the Casas Grandes Valley and Mata Ortiz into one comprehensive narrative that describes momentous events that shaped the future of both Mexico and the United States.