John W. Meldrum
Encyclopedia
Judge John W. Meldrum was a carpenter, a Wyoming politician and the first U.S. Commissioner
in Yellowstone National Park
, a position he held for 41 years (1894-1935).
in 1843. He trained as a wagonmaker at an early age. He served with the 14th New York Heavy Artillery
until September 1864 during the Civil War
. Shortly after the end of the war, he was in Arkansas working as a wagonmaker. In the spring of 1867 he moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming
Territory and then to Fort Collins, Colorado
where he worked on a ranch for two years. In 1870, Meldrum moved to Laramie, Wyoming
to open a meat market. For the next few years he work for various interests, including as a wagon maker for the Union Pacific Railroad
. It was during this time that Meldrum received his first political appointment as clerk of the district court. He also served two terms as a country commissioner, a term as chairman of the county commission and a term on the territorial council.
to be their delegate to Congress although he was defeated. In 1884 he became a delegate from Wyoming at the national Republican convention. After convention, he was appointed Surveyor General of Wyoming Territory
by President Chester A. Arthur
, a position he held until November 1885. In May, 1889 President Benjamin Harrison
appointed Meldrum as the Secretary of State for the Territory of Wyoming. He held that position until January 1891. Wyoming was granted statehood in July 1890. Elections for the new state government were held in September 1890. During those elections, Amos W. Barber
was elected Secretary of State and Francis E. Warren
the first Governor of Wyoming. Warren had already served two terms as Governor of the Territory of Wyoming.
Warren would not serve long as Wyoming's first governor as the newly elected legislature would elect him as Wyoming's first Senator. That move elevated Amos Barber to the position of governor while still retaining the Secretary of State position. Because Barber could not run both the Governor's and Secretary's offices, he appointed Meldrum as the Chief Clerk to the Secretary of State with full authority to run the Secretary's office.
Although a court clerk for many years, Meldrum was not formally trained in the law, but did read the law under the tutelage of the many judges he served. This informal training helped him receive the appointment as U.S. Commissioner to Yellowstone.
in the Pelican Valley section of the park. Unfortunately, there were no laws that would allow prosecution of Howell and he could only be temporarily detained and removed from the park. Shortly after his capture, Frank Jay Haynes
park photographer, Emerson Hough
noted western author and Billy Hofer, a noted backcountry guide encountered Scott and Howell as Howell was being escorted back to Fort Yellowstone
. Haines captured the encounter on film and Hough telegraphed a story back his publisher: Forest and Stream
. The story prompted George Bird Grinnell
, editor of Forest and Stream to lobby congress for a law to allow prosecution of crimes in Yellowstone. The result was the Lacey Act of 1884. Edgar Howell would later play a pivotable role in one of Judge Meldrum's most famous cases.
The passage of the Lacey Act of 1884 or An Act To protect the birds and animals in Yellowstone National Park, and to punish crimes in said park, and for other such purposes gave Yellowstone the status of a United States Judicial District of Wyoming thus creating the need for a U.S. Commissioner. The Act contained this provision:
(1878-1882). Hoyt visited Yellowstone on an official, month long inspection tour in 1881. When Hoyt returned, Meldrum learned from Hoyt's first-hand accounts of the wonders of the park. It sparked a desire on his part to visit the park someday.
Shortly after the passage of the act, Meldrum learned that Judge John Alden Riner
of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
would be the one to appoint the Commissioner. Meldrum approached Riner, whom he had worked with for many years, and asked for the appointment.
Riner appointed John W. Meldrum as the first U.S. Commissioner for Yellowstone National Park, effective June 20, 1884.
. His first night in the park was spent at the Fountain Hotel
near the Fountain Paint Pots
area of the Lower Geyser Basin. There he met Captain George S. Anderson, U.S. Army, the current park superintendent. Meldrum traveled to Mammoth Hot Springs
the next day and took up residence and an office in the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. One of Meldrum's first duties was to supervise the construction of the Commissioner's building, funded by the Lacey Act and designed by a local soldier. The Fort Yellowstone
Historic District application describes the building, which still stands today:
On August 14, 1897 two armed men held up a caravan of four stages and an Army ambulance enroute from Canyon to Mammoth. A total of $630 was stolen from park visitors. The resulting case: United States vs. Gus Smitzer, alias Little Gus; and George Reeb, alias Morphine Charley was the result of two weeks of interesting detective work by the U.S. Army, army scouts and Edgar Howell, the infamous poacher. Witness accounts were insufficient to identify and arrest the robbers so the Army was engaged find whatever evidence could be found near the crime. They located a variety of circumstancial evidence in an recently abandoned campsite just north of Grebe Lake
that tied the robbers to the scene. Edgar Howell was engaged to identify and find the robbers upon the advice of Frank Jay Haynes
who believed Howell was a good man and knew all the bad guys in Yellowstone. On August 30, 1897, Smitzer and Reeb were arrested and shortly thereafter Meldrum heard the evidence and bound them over for trial in the Federal court in Cheyenne, Wyoming
. In May 1898 they were convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. In recognition of Edgar Howell's contribution to the case, Meldrum awarded him $150 of the $750 reward put up by the Army and park transportation company
the Old Faithful Inn
architect whom she later married in 1911.
--Thomas J. Allen, Superintendent of Hot Springs National Park
; El T. Scoyen, Superintendent of Glacier National Park; J. W. Emmert, Assistant Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park; Herbert Maier
, Regional State Park officer; Ray C. Baxter, United States Commissioner, Rocky Mountain National Park
; and Walter Finn, Park Ranger, Rocky Mountain National Park
45°02′51"N 111°00′57"W in his honor.
United States magistrate judge
In the United States federal courts, magistrate judges are appointed to assist United States district court judges in the performance of their duties...
in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
, a position he held for 41 years (1894-1935).
Early life
John Meldrum was born in Caledonia, New YorkCaledonia, New York
Caledonia, New York may refer to:*Caledonia , New York, located in Livingston County*Caledonia , New York, located within the Town of Caledonia...
in 1843. He trained as a wagonmaker at an early age. He served with the 14th New York Heavy Artillery
14th Regiment (New York State Militia)
The 14th Regiment New York State Militia was a volunteer militia regiment from the City of Brooklyn, New York. It is primarily known for its service in the American Civil War from April 1861 to May 1864, although it later served in the Spanish American War and World War I .In the Civil War, the...
until September 1864 during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Shortly after the end of the war, he was in Arkansas working as a wagonmaker. In the spring of 1867 he moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
Territory and then to Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
where he worked on a ranch for two years. In 1870, Meldrum moved to Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....
to open a meat market. For the next few years he work for various interests, including as a wagon maker for the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
. It was during this time that Meldrum received his first political appointment as clerk of the district court. He also served two terms as a country commissioner, a term as chairman of the county commission and a term on the territorial council.
Wyoming politics
In 1882, John W. Meldrum was nominated by Wyoming RepublicansRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to be their delegate to Congress although he was defeated. In 1884 he became a delegate from Wyoming at the national Republican convention. After convention, he was appointed Surveyor General of Wyoming Territory
Wyoming Territory
The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital...
by President Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
, a position he held until November 1885. In May, 1889 President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
appointed Meldrum as the Secretary of State for the Territory of Wyoming. He held that position until January 1891. Wyoming was granted statehood in July 1890. Elections for the new state government were held in September 1890. During those elections, Amos W. Barber
Amos W. Barber
Dr. Amos Walker Barber was an American surgeon and politician. He was the second Governor of Wyoming after that state joined the Union in 1890....
was elected Secretary of State and Francis E. Warren
Francis E. Warren
Francis Emroy Warren was an American politician of the Republican Party best known for his years in the United States Senate representing Wyoming.-Early life and military service:...
the first Governor of Wyoming. Warren had already served two terms as Governor of the Territory of Wyoming.
Warren would not serve long as Wyoming's first governor as the newly elected legislature would elect him as Wyoming's first Senator. That move elevated Amos Barber to the position of governor while still retaining the Secretary of State position. Because Barber could not run both the Governor's and Secretary's offices, he appointed Meldrum as the Chief Clerk to the Secretary of State with full authority to run the Secretary's office.
Although a court clerk for many years, Meldrum was not formally trained in the law, but did read the law under the tutelage of the many judges he served. This informal training helped him receive the appointment as U.S. Commissioner to Yellowstone.
U.S. Commissioner in Yellowstone
In March 1894, Edgar Howell, a poacher from Cooke City, Montana was captured by Captain G. L. Scott, U.S. Army, and a patrol of soldiers for killing BisonBison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
in the Pelican Valley section of the park. Unfortunately, there were no laws that would allow prosecution of Howell and he could only be temporarily detained and removed from the park. Shortly after his capture, Frank Jay Haynes
Frank Jay Haynes
Frank Jay Haynes , known as F. Jay or the Professor, to almost all that knew him, was a professional photographer, publisher and entrepreneur from Minnesota who played a major role in documenting through photographs, the settlement and early history of the great Northwest...
park photographer, Emerson Hough
Emerson Hough
Emerson Hough was an American author best known for writing western stories and historical novels.-Career:Hough was born in Newton, Iowa on June 28, 1857. He was in Newton High School's first graduating class of three in 1875. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor's degree in...
noted western author and Billy Hofer, a noted backcountry guide encountered Scott and Howell as Howell was being escorted back to Fort Yellowstone
Fort Yellowstone
-See also:* Grand Loop Road Historic District* Lake Fish Hatchery Historic District* Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District* North Entrance Road Historic District* Roosevelt Lodge Historic District* Old Faithful Historic District* US Post Office-Yellowstone Main...
. Haines captured the encounter on film and Hough telegraphed a story back his publisher: Forest and Stream
Forest and Stream
Forest and Stream was a magazine featuring hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities. Founded in 1873, it was the ninth oldest magazine in the United States....
. The story prompted George Bird Grinnell
George Bird Grinnell
George Bird Grinnell was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1870 and a Ph.D. in 1880. Originally specializing in zoology, he became a prominent early conservationist and student...
, editor of Forest and Stream to lobby congress for a law to allow prosecution of crimes in Yellowstone. The result was the Lacey Act of 1884. Edgar Howell would later play a pivotable role in one of Judge Meldrum's most famous cases.
The passage of the Lacey Act of 1884 or An Act To protect the birds and animals in Yellowstone National Park, and to punish crimes in said park, and for other such purposes gave Yellowstone the status of a United States Judicial District of Wyoming thus creating the need for a U.S. Commissioner. The Act contained this provision:
The appointment
As a long standing member of the Republican party in Wyoming, Meldrum had become closely acquainted with many prominent Wyoming politicians. One of those was Wyoming Territorial Governor John Wesley HoytJohn Wesley Hoyt
Dr. John Wesley Hoyt was an American politician and educator.Born in Worthington, Ohio, in 1831, he graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University and attained a medical degree from Eclectic Medical Institute in Ohio. He moved to Wisconsin in 1857 and became active in politics...
(1878-1882). Hoyt visited Yellowstone on an official, month long inspection tour in 1881. When Hoyt returned, Meldrum learned from Hoyt's first-hand accounts of the wonders of the park. It sparked a desire on his part to visit the park someday.
Shortly after the passage of the act, Meldrum learned that Judge John Alden Riner
John Alden Riner
John Alden Riner was a United States federal judge.Born in Preble County, Ohio, Riner He received an LL.B. from the University of Michigan in 1879. He was in private practice in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory from 1879 to 1884. He was a city attorney for Cheyenne from 1881 to 1884...
of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
The United States District Court for the District of Wyoming is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Wyoming and those portions of Yellowstone National Park situated in Montana and Idaho...
would be the one to appoint the Commissioner. Meldrum approached Riner, whom he had worked with for many years, and asked for the appointment.
Riner appointed John W. Meldrum as the first U.S. Commissioner for Yellowstone National Park, effective June 20, 1884.
The Commissioner's office and residence
John W. Meldrum did not travel to Yellowstone until July 1894 making his way via train, coach, wagon and horseback from Laramie via Salt Lake City, Henry's Lake and the Madison RiverMadison River
The Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana form the Missouri River....
. His first night in the park was spent at the Fountain Hotel
Fountain Hotel
The Fountain Hotel is a historic former hotel in downtown St. Marys, Ohio, United States. Built in 1889 in a mixture of the Queen Anne and Victorian architectural styles, the hotel building sits in the 100 block of West Spring Street....
near the Fountain Paint Pots
Fountain Paint Pots
The Fountain Paint Pot is a mud pot located in Lower Geyser basin in Yellowstone National Park.The Fountain Paint Pot is named for the reds, yellows and browns of the mud in this area. The differing colors are derived from oxidation states of the iron in the mud. As with all hot springs, the heat...
area of the Lower Geyser Basin. There he met Captain George S. Anderson, U.S. Army, the current park superintendent. Meldrum traveled to Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate...
the next day and took up residence and an office in the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. One of Meldrum's first duties was to supervise the construction of the Commissioner's building, funded by the Lacey Act and designed by a local soldier. The Fort Yellowstone
Fort Yellowstone
-See also:* Grand Loop Road Historic District* Lake Fish Hatchery Historic District* Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District* North Entrance Road Historic District* Roosevelt Lodge Historic District* Old Faithful Historic District* US Post Office-Yellowstone Main...
Historic District application describes the building, which still stands today:
Famous cases
- The 1897 Canyon holdup
On August 14, 1897 two armed men held up a caravan of four stages and an Army ambulance enroute from Canyon to Mammoth. A total of $630 was stolen from park visitors. The resulting case: United States vs. Gus Smitzer, alias Little Gus; and George Reeb, alias Morphine Charley was the result of two weeks of interesting detective work by the U.S. Army, army scouts and Edgar Howell, the infamous poacher. Witness accounts were insufficient to identify and arrest the robbers so the Army was engaged find whatever evidence could be found near the crime. They located a variety of circumstancial evidence in an recently abandoned campsite just north of Grebe Lake
Grebe Lake
Grebe Lake is a backcountry lake in Yellowstone National Park most noted for it population of Arctic Grayling. Grebe Lake comprises the headwaters of the Gibbon River. Grebe Lake is located approximately north of the Norris-Canyon section of the Grand Loop Road. The trail to the lake passes...
that tied the robbers to the scene. Edgar Howell was engaged to identify and find the robbers upon the advice of Frank Jay Haynes
Frank Jay Haynes
Frank Jay Haynes , known as F. Jay or the Professor, to almost all that knew him, was a professional photographer, publisher and entrepreneur from Minnesota who played a major role in documenting through photographs, the settlement and early history of the great Northwest...
who believed Howell was a good man and knew all the bad guys in Yellowstone. On August 30, 1897, Smitzer and Reeb were arrested and shortly thereafter Meldrum heard the evidence and bound them over for trial in the Federal court in Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
. In May 1898 they were convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. In recognition of Edgar Howell's contribution to the case, Meldrum awarded him $150 of the $750 reward put up by the Army and park transportation company
- The Case of William Binkley
Interesting relations
While serving in Yellowstone, Meldrum's niece, Miss Louise Chase from New York visited him in the park in the early 1900s. There she met Robert ReamerRobert Reamer
Robert Reamer was an American architect, most noted for the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park. Reamer was born in and spent his early life in Oberlin, Ohio. He left home at the age of thirteen and went to work in an architect's office in Detroit as a draftsman...
the Old Faithful Inn
Old Faithful Inn
-Sources:*Barringer, Mark Daniel. Selling Yellowstone: Capitalism and the Construction of Nature, Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2002. ISBN 978-070061167-3...
architect whom she later married in 1911.
Death
John Meldrum was in poor health when he resigned his post at Yellowstone in 1935. In October 1935 he left the park to visit relatives in Wyoming and Denver, CO. He arrived in Denver in January 1936 to spend time with his niece, Miss Susie A. Meldrum. On February 24, 1936 he learned of the tragic death of Yellowstone superintendent and personal friend, Roger W. Toll, in a New Mexico traffic accident. He did not take the news well, became very depressed and died the morning of February 27, 1936. John W. Meldrum was cremated at Rogers Mortuary, Denver, Colorado on February 29th, 1936. His funeral was held at St. Johns Episcopal Cathedral. His pallbearers, each in uniform, all represented the National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
--Thomas J. Allen, Superintendent of Hot Springs National Park
Hot Springs National Park
Established from Hot Springs Reservation, Hot Springs National Park is a United States National Park in central Arkansas adjacent to the city of Hot Springs. Hot Springs Reservation was initially created by an act of the United States Congress on April 20, 1832, and the area was made a national...
; El T. Scoyen, Superintendent of Glacier National Park; J. W. Emmert, Assistant Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park; Herbert Maier
Herbert Maier
Herbert Maier was an American architect and public administrator, most notable as an architect for his work at Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks. Maier, as a consultant to the National Park Service, designed four trailside museums in Yellowstone, three of which survive as...
, Regional State Park officer; Ray C. Baxter, United States Commissioner, Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is a national park located in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Colorado.It features majestic mountain views, a variety of wildlife, varied climates and environments—from wooded forests to mountain tundra—and easy access to back-country trails...
; and Walter Finn, Park Ranger, Rocky Mountain National Park
Memorials
In 1962 the National Park Service named a peak located in the northwest corner of the park Meldrum MountainMeldrum Mountain
Meldrum Mountain el. is a mountain peak in the southwestern section of the Gallatin Range in the Montana portion of Yellowstone National Park. The mountain was named in 1962 by the National Park Service for Judge John W. Meldrum the first U.S. Commissioner in Yellowstone National Park, a...
45°02′51"N 111°00′57"W in his honor.