Art for Lunch: Nate Champion and the Johnson County War, 1892 – a lecture and slide presentation
September 3, 2025, 12:15 pm
Warren’s years of research reveal why Western scholars consider Nate Champion to be one of the unsung heroes of American history. As a young Texan cowhand, he travels to Wyoming to stake his claim as an independent rancher. Nate finds himself thrown into the crucible of the Johnson County War. This program reveals one of America’s most egregious acts of insurrection and how one man unknowingly prevented the crime of the century and became a martyr to the common laborer. Join us to find out about how the government’s free-range policy inspired chaos and lawlessness among ranchers all over the West.
Short Author Bio:
Mark Warren is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Georgia.
At Medicine Bow, his nationally renowned wilderness school in the mountains of Dahlonega, GA, he teaches nature classes and primitive survival skills. In 1980, The National Wildlife Federation named him Georgia’s Conservation Educator of the Year. In 1998 Mark became the U.S. National Champion in whitewater canoeing, and in 1999 he won the World Championship Longbow title.
Mark has written extensively about nature for local and national magazines and has researched Western frontier history for more than 50 years presenting at museums and cultural centers around the country. He has 18 traditionally published books. He has been honored by the Spur Awards, The Historical Novel Society, the Will Rogers Medallion Awards, The New Mexico – Arizona Book Awards, and in 2022 Mark was honored with a Georgia Author of the Year Award for his book Song of the Horseman (Literary Fiction Finalist.)
