EDITOR’S NOTE: This fall will mark the 140th anniversary of the official founding of the Town of Meeker (and this newspaper). In light of that upcoming event, we’ll be sharing town history and stories about the town’s founders in the coming weeks.
When someone on the Front Range asks, “Where’s Meeker?” the second question is “Why is it called Meeker?” If you answered, “It all started with Nathan Meeker,” you would be half right. I can recommend a dozen history books, but I will try to give you the CliffsNotes version.
Actually, the Ute Indians got along just fine without Europeans for hundreds of years. An occasional trader or Spanish missionary might wander through what would later be known as Northwest Colorado.
The Western Expansion brought gold prospectors to the new (1861) Colorado Territory. This was not good news for the original occupants. In the hopes that violence could be averted, a new treaty pushed the White River Bands of Utes into Northwest Colorado.
Colorado was granted statehood in 1876 from a U.S. government barely 100 years old itself. Which is why we printed “Centennial State” on license plates for a while.
A new agency was built on the river called “White.” It was very imaginatively named the White River Agency. Several ‘helpful’ agents preceded Nathan Meeker, an idealistic man from the Greeley Colony. Depending on your point of view in history, you can either boo, hiss, or cheer his failed efforts. Nathan managed to set in motion events that led to the 1879 Milk Creek battle and got himself killed at what is now known as Powell Park.
In response, the U.S. Army set up camp along the White River in the middle of the Ute Reservation. Once again our government came up with a catchy name, “The Camp on the White River.”
The Utes were forced onto reservations in Utah, and the U.S. Army withdrew from the area in the Fall of 1883. The surplus government buildings were auctioned off for $35-$90 each to incoming settlers. There was no shortage of parties interested in filling the space vacated by the Utes and Army. Many thought that this would be a great place to create a town, especially since it came with ready-made buildings. It was only 145 miles from the nearest railroad, the Union Pacific in Rawlins, Wyoming. It had no crops to sustain the new town. It was a week’s wagon travel to buy a screwdriver and no TV. What it did have was Hugus & Adams Company, Mercantile occupying one of the Army surplus adobe barracks. Kevin Costner declared “Build a mercantile and they will come!” Well, he might say something like that, if he was around. The intrepid group of entrepreneurs renamed the old Camp on the White River “Meeker,” in the honor of entrepreneurial Agent Nathan Meeker, which did offer some originality in the way of names. Next week I will cover the formation of The Meeker Townsite Company.
Sources: This Is What I Remember Books; Rio Blanco Historical Society; the Brennan family; Stephanie Withrow Oldland; US Postal Archives; Coloradohistoricalnewspapers.org; Mike and Jackie Brennan; Rio Blanco County Clerk; Ridgeway family; Dan at the Northwest Colorado Museum; Meeker Herald; Coloradohistoricalnewspapers.org.
