In the April 9, 1920 edition of the Moffat County Bell, Streeter announced construction would soon start on the 30-mile stretch of rail from Craig to Mt. Streeter. There was some grading done by Ed O’Neill, contractor, but it didn’t last long. Money was running out. The bubble burst for the A.B.D. sometime in November of 1920. M. T. Streeter resigned as president and A.B.D. arranged for the creditors to be paid before shutting down. On Dec. 1, 1920, A.B.D. halted production and the operations were leased out to multiple individuals. On March 30, 1921, contractor J. V. Stryker announced that they were beginning the railway survey from Wamsutter, Wyoming, to Craig, Mt. Streeter and beyond to Meeker. In July, Stryker’s railroad construction outfit arrived in Craig and proceeded to set up tents in Mt. Streeter. At the same time, there is evidence that Mr. Streeter and A.B.D. got an infusion of new cash. Stockholders met and elected a whole new board with Streeter replaced as president by H.W. Myers. The big promotion of the town, Mt. Streeter, didn’t stop with the change in A.B.D. leadership. A.W. Myer’s name is signed on the town plat filed Aug. 20, 1921, with the state of Colorado. Terry Mobley showed me the plat map with 166 blocks available for use. The Mt. Streeter Railway was platted through the middle of town. Milk Creek is shown also flowing through town.
I wonder how many stock shares were sold before people realized there was never going to be a railroad? Things got lean once again for A.B.D. On July 19, 1922, a Public notice of Dissolution of the Mt. Streeter State Bank was published in Craig. Joseph S. Collom, the same person who first owned the mine, was listed as president of the defunct bank. Within a week, M.T. Streeter departed for Denver for the new election of A.B.D. officers. Messrs. Morris and Phalin purchased some assets of the bankrupt A.B.D. at a Sheriff’s sale. On May 19, 1923, furniture, equipment, fittings, parts and contents from the buildings owned by A.B.D. company were offered up at a big auction held in Mt. Streeter. Ernest Oldland served as clerk for the auctioneer. Everything inside the bank, hotel, lodging house, garage, pool parlor, blacksmith, carpenter and paint shops were all up for sale. Even the uniforms and instruments used by the town band were up for grabs.
The Meeker Herald reported news of the auction being interrupted at 2 p.m. by the untimely collapse of the second-story floor above the garage building. The upper story had previously been used for the dance floor and recreation area for the residents. The room was crowded with about 100 people observing the auction. Some were sitting in the windows and others milling about when the floor began to quake. The floor and beams collapsed in a V shape to the concrete garage floor below. Men and women were trapped in the rubble. Miraculously, no one was killed. Several people suffered broken bones. It was fortunate that Dr. Brewer and druggist Al Strehlke were in the crowd bidding. The two rendered first-aid. The severest injuries were treated in Meeker. In true West spirit, everyone not bandaged resumed the auction bidding. a bank, general store, machine shop, blacksmith shop, hotel, boarding houses, and pool hall boasting modern concrete walks. The Jan. 28, 1920, Craig Empire had an extensive, two-page advertisement touting the 26 identified veins of the Collum coal mine and value of the A.B.D. They may have been an early version of the TV infomercial. By June of 1920, a barbershop, post office, and butcher shop were finished, all awaiting the railway. Dan at the Museum of Northwestern Colorado sent me a copy of a 16-page A.B.D. prospectus of the Streeter Smokeless Coal and proposed railway system. It was a slick promotion of the ideal mining town, complete with pictures of shops, concrete walkways, and a map of the railway system “under construction.”
In reality the railway seemed to be always “under construction.” There were some graded rail beds in the city of Mt. Streeter and some rail equipment, far from any rail head. This creative infomercial concluded with an invitation to invest. “DOES 8 PER CENT APPEAL TO YOU WHERE THERE IS POSITIVELY NO SPECULATIVE FEATURE? WHERE THE ASSETS are many times greater than the capitalization of the Company?”
By ED PECK
Very interesting article! Thank you!