Post copyright by Doris McCraw
The Lake County War, full of
vigilantes, traveling preachers, judges, criminals and chaos. To this
day the true story isn't fully known. Into this mix is Charles
Nachtrieb, early settler in the area. While I knew of the Lake County
War, I was unaware of Nachtrieb until research on his daughter, Dr.
Josephine Dunlop, brought his story to my attention.
Mr. Nachtreib, born April 20, 1833 in
Germany, arrived in the Lake County area around 1859. He was a
candidate from Lake County to the convention to admit Colorado as a
state in 1865, which was approved by the voters. Although a
constitution was adopted, President Andrew Johnson rejected the
petition in 1866. (Colorado was not admitted as a state until 1876,
becoming known as the Centennial State)
In addition to having a business along
with being postmaster in Nathrop, Colorado, Nachtrieb also owned land
in Gunnison County where his large ranch was located. (Nathrop is an
Anglicized version of Nachtrieb). He is also credited with having the
first grist mill west of the Mississippi.
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| An old school in Nathrop. |
In 1879, Nachtrieb, along with Otto
Mears and Issac Gothelf filed article of incorporation with the state
for the Poncho (Poncha), Marshall and Gunnison toll road. The toll
road was expected to cost twenty-five thousand dollars and run from
Poncha Creek in Chaffee County to the Gunnison River. Apparently
there was a verbal agreement between Mears and Nachtrieb that Mears
would build from the Gunnison side to the top of Poncha Pass and
Nachtrieb would build from the Lake County side. This arrangement
came about due to the above mentioned grist mill and the farming,
especially wheat, along with the higher price paid in places like Oro
City and other mining communities in the area.
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On October 3, 1881, according to
newspapers of the time, a man named Burt (Bert) Remington shot and
killed Nachtrieb in his store. Some reports say he was a disgruntled
former employee. Remington escaped and the search was on. On Thursday
October 6, 1881, Governor Pitkin issue a proclamation and offered a
reward of $300 dollars for the arrest of Remington. Nachtrieb was
forty-nine at the time of his death.
How does the Lake County War fit into
all of this?
In 1874 Elijah Gibbs and George
Harrington quarreled over property, fencing and water. About fifteen
days later, one of Harrington's outbuildings was set of fire and when
he went to deal with the blaze he was shot and killed. Due to the
quarrel Gibbs had with Harrington, he was the prime suspect. Tempers
and gossip fueled the incident and soon Gibbs was marked for a
lynching. Cooler heads prevailed and they were bound over for trial.
With emotions running so high, a change of venue put the trial in
Denver. There Gibbs and his hired hand McClish were found not guilty.
McClish left the area, but Gibbs returned to his home in Lake County
(Now part of Chaffee County).
Things appeared to return to normal,
but in January of 1875 the vigilantes got a warrant for assault, for
the first quarrel and went after Gibbs. Gibbs, along with others made
a run over South Park and ended up in Colorado City. The sheriff
secured warrants and followed them to Denver. Gibbs and his cohorts
left the Denver hotel, where the sheriff allowed them to stay, due to
implied lynching stories put out by the papers in Denver.
At the end of January of that year the
Committee of Safety organized in response to Gibbs and the Regulators
he was purported to be a part of. This Safety committee, composed of
most of the prominent men in the region, including Nachtrieb,
intended to rid Lake County of all suspected murderers, cattle
thieves, land grabbers and any other undesirables. In following
through with their agenda, the flames grew greater. Anyone coming
into the area was questioned, and if they were determined to be
'undesirable' they were asked to leave. One of the men questioned was
Judge Elias Dyer, son of the itinerant preacher 'Father' Dyer. He
took exception to being told to resign, when he told his inquisitors
he believed Gibbs was not guilty. Dyer eventually returned to the
area and while holding court was shot and killed. There were those
who said Dyer, by his actions, brought about his own demise, while
others said the opposite.
Judge Dyer, in writing his thoughts in
the matter, indicated that the man who killed Charles Nachtrieb was
the nephew of Mr. Harrington, the man whose murder started the whole
affair. To this day, the who, whats and wherefores are hidden in time
and memories. Story after story offers conflicting information. In
the end, was Charles Nachtrieb killed over 'wages' or the 'war'. We
may never know. The Lake County War, a year long, impacted the lives
of so many. Like the death of Charles Nachtrieb, we may never know
the whole true story.
What I've shared is just a small part
of the story of Charles Nachtrieb and the Lake County War. For more
on the War, the book by Don and Jean Griswold, “History of
Leadville and Lake County Colorado” is a good place to start. There
is additional information by Gayle Gresham, whose great great
grandfather was also involved, in the book “Rush to the Rockies”
published by the PPLD as part of the Regional History Series.
Until next time, happy writing,
research and reading. Doris McCraw/Angela Raines
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| http://www.amazon.com/Home-His-Heart-Angela-Raines-ebook/dp/B00LU3HZEK/ |
