Muskogee's Congenial Fire Chief

John Lloyd Templeton was not the first professional fire chief in Muskogee. However, he was among the most beloved.

In 1905, there had been yet another fire in Muskogee that reminded everyone of the Great Fire of 1899. Though Muskogee could not make all of the changes at once to modernize the rebuilt town, it was making strides as fast as possible.

That year, Muskogee was looking for a leader to upgrade the town fire department. A committee of the city council recommended the move along with adding a new fire station on the east side of town. Mayor F. B. Fite accepted the report and instructed the committee to write other towns for their recommendations of candidates for the job.

The Chicago Fire Chief was one of the contacts Muskogee sought advice from in its search. Chicago recommended John Lloyd Templeton. Templeton had served as fire chief in Council Bluff, Iowa. A change in the town's political leadership caused his dismissal. (There was no Civil Service then.) When he received the offer from Muskogee, Council Bluff was a town of 25,000 while Muskogee had less than 15,000 people. Buildings in Council Bluff were already standing eight stories tall. Muskogee's tallest buildings were three stories shorter at the time.

Muskogee's City Council offered Templeton the job and he accepted. It helped that Muskogee already had a larger department of full-time firemen than did Council Bluff. He became Muskogee's first, full-time professional fire chief.

He served as the town's fire chief for most of the next decade. Everyone continued to call him "Chief" after a retirement brought on by medical reasons.

The Vin Fiz airplane flew into Muskogee on October 16th, 1911. Pilot Calbraith Rodgers was making America's first coast-to-coast flight. Multiple crashes and increment weather made the timing of his arrival uncertain.

Chief Templeton devised a plan for spreading the word of the Vin Fiz's arrival. He planned to ring the town's 800-pound fire alarm bell as a signal. Templeton kept this idea secret.

Rodgers' landing shortly after nine o'clock in the morning received a great turnout. Everyone in Muskogee enjoyed the trick fire alarm while being relieved at the same time that there was no fire.

During the First World War, the always young-at-heart former fire chief began his involvement with the Boy Scouts of America, a nascent organization less than a decade old. Templeton often went hiking down forested paths with the younger scouts. The boys always enjoyed his cheerfulness.

Maurice Bebb was just beginning his flower shop when "Chief" Templeton dropped in one morning. He was searching for some small flowers to hand out. The two quickly became friends and thereafter the tall, sprightly gentleman and the young businessman were co-conspirators.

"Hello, Sunshine" was Templeton's greeting for women about town. The luckier ones received small flowers from the Bebb shop to brighten up their day. Receptionists and sales clerks were frequently cheered by his gifts.

Late in life, Templeton became active in the theater. No, not as an actor. He went to the Ritz Theater every Saturday to supervise the Mickey Mouse Club programs. The children just loved him.

Even good stories have endings. Pneumonia killed eighty-year-old John Lloyd Templeton in 1936. A large turnout at the funeral reminded the town of its loss. He rests in Greenhill Cemetery.

Early Day Marshals In Indian Territory

Thomas E. Lacy was a Deputy United States Marshal. He testified in 1874 that he lived in Muskogee two years earlier. Deputy Marshal David L. Winton hired him on October 18, 1872. Marshal Winton wanted help in arresting one Williard S. Robinson.

At the time Winton asked Lacy to ride with him, Lacy was attending court in Fort Smith. This was several years before Isaac Parker began his famous tenure on the bench.

Winton and Lacy were in their early 30's. Lacy was born in Wisconsin of Scot-Irish parents. The two lawmen left the federal courthouse and first rode to Lacy's home in Muskogee.

At this time, deputy marshals were allowed to earn ten cents a mile for every mile they traveled. This was the same rate paid for delivering the mail. For example, Winton and Lacy received $8.50 just for riding to Muskogee. A year and a half later, an inquiry asked questions about the money paid for the lawmen's mileage on this trip. Questions were also asked about the marshals' services.

In the early 1870's, deputy marshals submitted their claims for expenses without close scrutiny. The court clerk accepted the testimony of the marshal in most cases. If a question arose, the clerk asked the marshal personally for an explanation. An adequate answer prompted the clerk to approve the claim. After all, there was no way of monitoring how far a marshal rode in chasing a criminal.

While riding in Indian Territory, marshals were hearing about crimes not yet reported to the federal court. Sometimes the marshals arrested the criminal without a warrant in hand. Upon turning the crook over to the jailer in Fort Smith, the marshal had a warrant drawn up belatedly.

Trying to do their duty and to save the court additional expense, the marshals were operating outside of the law when they arrested someone without a warrant. To ride to Fort Smith just to obtain a warrant seemed counter-productive to the deputy marshals. Apparently, the federal judge agreed.

While in Muskogee, Winton hired a man named Smith to ride with the posse. He needed another guard because he expected to be making several arrests on this trip.

Winton made inquiries in Muskogee and learned that Robinson had been seen north of town. The lawmen found Robinson near the Katy railroad bridge across the Arkansas River and took him into custody without any problem.

After arresting Robinson, the lawmen rode almost to the Kansas state line. In the northern part of the Cherokee Nation, they arrested William Phillips. On the way back to Fort Smith, the posse arrested a man named Tibbits, Morris Tucker and Grace Musgrove.

Lacy testified that he claimed service for twenty-eight days on this trip. He said he actually was away for 38 days. Winton had warrants for Robinson, Phillips and Tibbits. But, Lacy said, there were no warrants for Tucker and Musgrove.

Lacy's testimony shows that judges and the courts relied heavily on the character of the American lawman in seeing that justice was carried out in the days following the Civil War.

Indian Territory's First Fire Engine

The all volunteer fire department personnel felt frustrated. Despite their best efforts months earlier, Muskogee's downtown business district burnt to the ground in the Great Fire of February, 1899. Their collective effort, even when aided by a bucket brigade, had shown only limited success.

During the fire, a manual pumper and a hose cart saw belated action that morning. Firemen unrolled the hose from reels on the hose cart. There was over five hundred feet to be stretched down the hill to the Katy Pond. By the time the firemen had the hose line ready, many of Muskogee's buildings were beyond saving.

That frosty morning, two volunteer firemen quickly worked up a sweat at the pump wagon. Their heaving up and down on the pump handles brought little water up from the railroad pond. Most of the pump cart's effort went for drawing the pond water up the 20 to 30 feet of higher elevation where the buildings were burning.

By the time the water reached the fire hose nozzle, there was little pressure left for fighting fires. As a consequence, the water squirted out the nozzle a mere three feet. Though it was better than nothing, the fire department's best effort was insufficient for even slowing down the raging inferno engulfing building after building.

A month and a half after the rebuilding began, members of the fire department turned their thoughts to improving their fire fighting capabilities. It was clear from their efforts in February that manual pumping would not work for Muskogee's location on a hill. They needed a mechanical pumper.

Following discussions among themselves, the firemen decided that a steam fire engine was called for in the future. Muskogee's fire department was then not a part of the city's government. It was little more than a club with civic responsibilities.

The firemen established a committee to investigate the cost and availability of a fire engine the group could purchase. They found the price for a good steam powered pumping fire engine was beyond their means. The firemen then turned to the city for help.

It took several months for the city council to explore the subject and to agree on the purchase of a fire engine. In late September, the council came to an agreement. They then instructed Mayor Patrick J. Byrne to order a new engine from the La France Fire Engine Company of Elmira, New York.

The advertisement shows a picture of the fire engine the company sold in 1899. The cost was between $4-5,000. Pretty soon everyone began calling the town's fire engine, the "Pat Byrne" in the mayor's honor. It was the first fire engine in the Indian Territory.

Two horses pulled the Pat Byrne fire engine. One fireman rode in the front driving the team. Another fireman rode in the back ready to operate the pump.

In August, 1900, the Katy stock yards north of town caught fire. The fire engine and hose cart responded to the call. The volunteer firemen laid several hundred feet of hose and manned the hose and steam pumper with success.

The "Pat Byrne" fire engine marked the turning point in the territory. From the moment it became available, residents and merchants began limiting the damage caused by fires.

Muskogee's First Hanging

In 1898, the United States Prison stood on the west side of North Denison Street (approximately North Third Street today) in Muskogee. The scaffold was inside the wooden fence that surrounded the jail yard and cell block. On July 1st, there was a double hanging in the prison yard in Muskogee.

Henry Whitfield went by the alias of Charles Perkins. Or maybe it was the other way around. His name is uncertain. Yet, his cold blooded murder of a farmer hints at a violent past.

Perkins had gone to the home of Nancy Adkins who lived south of Wagoner with her mother. On December 2nd, 1897, George Miller was also there.

The conflict between the two men vying for Nancy's affections became heated. Finally, Miller told Perkins that he was not treating Nancy right. He then told Perkins to leave.

After leaving the house, Perkins waited in the front yard until Miller came out of the Adkins home.

Perkins stopped Miller in his tracks by telling him "Now, I said I would kill you and I am going to do it." Miller was unable to prevent Perkins from drawing his weapon and was shot twice in the body.

William H. Twine represented Perkins in the US Court. Perkins claimed that he was about 55 years old. He said his Tennessee relatives and friends had abandoned him and that he did not care to live.

The second felon hung that July day was K. B. Brooks. Judge John R. Thomas sentenced him to hang for an atrocious assault of a young girl in the vicinity of Hudson, Indian Territory. Solomon Combs, living in the northeast corner of the Cherokee Nation, hired Brooks to help with the farming. On the 28th of October, 1897, Combs left for Coffeyville, Kansas on business.

Combs left behind three daughters between the ages of five and sixteen years of age. Brooks stole into the cabin that night where the three girls were sleeping. Lulu, the oldest, thought he was kinfolk and called out to her sister to light a lamp.

Brooks tried to assault Lulu. While she was fighting back, the two younger girls ran outside and hid behind a tree. Brooks then knocked Lulu unconscious and ran outside to find the hiding girls. The frightened girls fled to a neighboring cabin occupied by the John Hicks family.

Unable to find the younger girls, Brooks returned to the house where he found a dazed Lulu stumbling in the yard. He then struck her three more times, reportedly almost killing her.

He then fled to a farm about three miles away. The next morning the farm owner spotted blood on Brooks' hands and spread the word. By that time, neighbors of the Combs family were up in arms. Brooks' capture followed shortly thereafter.

Whitfield and Brooks were both sentenced to death by hanging. Judge Thomas set their date of execution as July 1st, 1898.

On the appointed day, US Marshal Leo Bennett read the death warrant for both convicts at 9:00. The sentenced men walked to the gallows and then up the steps to the platform. Perkins admitted his guilt, but claimed he acted in self defense.

Brooks gave a long monologue, but never admitted his guilt. He said he was resigned to his fate. A Baptist minister prayed with him. Then both convicts were hung at 9:30. This was the first hanging performed in Muskogee.

Cyrus Brown Was Hung in Muskogee

The Courts Act of 1889 changed how the United States District Courts handled criminal cases arising in Indian Territory. As a result of this legislation, the first district courts were established in the territory. This was the first effort for removing jurisdiction over criminal cases occurring in Indian Territory from the US District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

The Fort Smith court had jurisdiction over Indian Territory starting in 1817. However, many capital cases were being overturned upon appeal to the US Supreme Court. New federal legislation passed Congress in 1895 removing the last control over territorial cases exerted by the Fort Smith court.

The transfer of authority occurred on September 1, 1896. This date marked the beginning when it first became possible to hang someone in Indian Territory for a sentence levied by a local federal court.

It took less than a year for the first death sentence that likely would lead to a Muskogee hanging. Cyrus A. Brown was accused of murdering a fisherman named Daniel Cuthbert about October 10th, 1896. Brown was sick and without shelter when he stumbled into Cuthbert's camp. Cuthbert lived on a houseboat tied up to the Arkansas River embankment near Webbers Falls.

Cuthbert, an elderly man, gave Brown shelter from the elements. Brown repaid the kindness by killing Cuthbert in order to obtain the boat and fishing tackle. After murdering his benefactor, Brown weighed Cuthbert down with rocks and tossed him into the Arkansas River.

US Deputy Marshal Rutherford arrested Brown and Johnson (or Johnston) Morgan within weeks of the murder. Morgan's role in the episode is unknown. He was released from custody a month after his arrest.

The trial occurred in Muskogee on July 16th and 17^th, 1897. Even the Dallas Morning News predicted the death sentence. The Dallas reporter said "This is the first conviction for murder since full jurisdiction was given to the territory court."

Three days later Judge John R. Thomas, sitting in the US District Court in Muskogee for the Northern District of Indian Territory, sentenced Cyrus Brown to death by hanging. Brown was destined to be the first man hung by the federal court in the territory. Judge Thomas set the date as February 25th, 1897 between sunrise and sunset.

But Brown was not going to the gallows willingly. He appealed his case. Just weeks before his date with the hangman's noose, Justice Brewer of the US Supreme Court overturned Brown's conviction. Brown remained in the Muskogee jail awaiting a retrial.

The US Supreme Court reversed itself in October, 1898 by dismissing its previous decision overturning Brown's conviction. However, there was another trial in Muskogee since the previous sentence date had passed. Judge John R. Thomas again sentenced Cyrus A. Brown to hang following the new trial.

The felon smoked a cigar and shunned last rites. On August 25th, 1899, Cyrus Brown walked up the gallows stairs. His last words were "I see one ____ ____ fellow out among the spectators I would like to get even with before I leave here."

The gallows door dropped from under his feet at 8:45. An examiner pronounced him dead shortly before the nine o'clock hour began. He missed being the first man hung in Muskogee by over a year.

Muskogee's First Union Lockout

The Great Fire of 1899 brought about many changes in Muskogee. These changes were the product of the local businessmen committing substantial sums to rebuilding their businesses. The fire turned out to be one of the major turning points in the town's history.

Surveying the smoldering ruins, businessmen decided to rebuild using modern construction techniques. First and foremost, businessmen wanted fireproof construction. That meant building with brick and mortar.

The massive reconstruction of buildings in Muskogee had no single overseer. The unanimity of the businessmen's opinion made one unnecessary. As soon as the designs were finished, contractors began hiring trained workers.

Tradesmen migrated to Muskogee to take advantage of the increasing number of construction jobs. Craftsmen coming from larger American cities also brought with them the customs and practices of unionism.

Pretty soon, chapters of different unions had members in Muskogee. There were many different chapters in 1903. These included the United Brotherhood of Carpenters' and Joiners' Union, #1072, the Muskogee Typographical Union, #184, the Sheet Metal Workers' Union, #282, United Association of Plumbers and Steam Fitters, the Hod Carriers' Union #83, and the Muskogee Bricklayers and Masons Union, #5. Even cooks and barbers soon had their own unions in Muskogee.

Mr. A. R. Welton, in 1904, wrote to the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paper Hangers of America that "we succeeded in getting all the contractors here to sign our [wage] scale without any trouble. At present things are running harmoniously." Peace between contractors and laborers would change within a year.

Thomas Leach was a member of the American Federation of Labor (the "AFL" in AFL-CIO). He wrote that "Union men in building crafts work the eight hour day, the unorganized work ten hour days for less wages." Unions were protesting contractors hiring non-union labor at construction sites. Unions were also agitating that unskilled labor be paid more.

By 1905, Muskogee workers were among the most unionized in the American Southwest. It was estimated that there were as many as two thousand union members in town.

The business owners and contractors formed a Master Builders' Association when they reached the breaking point. According to J. W. Adams, the unions then formed a Structural Building Trades Council in opposition. The builders association finally called for a lockout on the night of April 16, 1905. The lockout blocked union construction workers from returning to work the next day.

The Master Builders' Association also threatened to bring in a thousand new workers from out of town. W. I. Maxwell was a carpenter and a member of a local union. He wrote to discourage new workers from coming. He said, "Muskogee was a congested town for workers of many trades. Local contractors preferred hiring local workers. New workers coming to the booming town should expect high expenses for rooms, boarding and all living expenses in general."

Maxwell continued by totaling up the accomplishments of unions. He said "better wages and shorter hours mean a higher social life and a higher civilization." At the same time, he continued, "Trade unions have infused into their members a new spirit of independence and self-respect."

Muskogee construction sites lost a thousand unionized workers overnight to the lockout. Within days, however, over half of these were back at work. The problem for unions was the large number of workers who were willing to work.

Webbers Falls Museum Getting Grant

The Webbers Falls Museum announces the bequest of a grant from the Cherokee Nation. Linda Miller, museum board member and treasurer, says that the grant is for $10,000. The money is coming from the Community Organization Training and Technical Assistance (COTTA) program.

COTTA assists communities in the fourteen county tribal jurisdictional area. Its mission is to improve community services provided by local organizations, especially improving the diversification of local resources. The design of COTTA is to facilitate partnerships between the Cherokee Nation and the communities.

The Webbers Falls Museum will use the funds for purchasing equipment and software to record the recollections of southern Muskogee County residents. The equipment includes a video camera, editing software, a tripod and light fixtures for illuminating subjects.

Michael Peters, drama teacher in the Tahlequah High School, will work with the museum in creating videos for use in schools. These videos will teach students about life in early Webbers Falls.

One video story that the museum will hopefully tell is about "The Cataract." This was one of Webbers Falls' early newspapers. In naming his newspaper "The Cataract," the new editor drew upon a deep knowledge of the English language. In addition to being a name for an eye ailment, cataract also means "a waterfall, properly a large one falling over a precipice."

The Cataract's political philosophy was neither a Republican, nor a Democrat leaning newspaper. Such unaffiliated newspapers were called "Independent" rags.

Webbers Falls had a population of something just short of 500 residents in 1897 when June McCarrell first laid eyes on the town. His newspaper was only fifteen inches by twenty-two inches in size. The hand-operated press measured only slightly more than thirty inches wide.

The farming community and civic leaders avidly welcomed the four-page newspaper at first. The one dollar annual subscription was competitive with the weekly newspapers of that day. The inside pages were likely pre-printed advertisements for patent medicines and general national and international news.

June McCarrell, the editor, was born in Alabama just before our nation's celebration of its centennial in 1876. June, who went by the nickname of Juney, was the son of Dr. Frank McCarrell of Jackson Co.

McCarrell began publishing "The Cataract" on Thursdays. However, this was the same day weekly newspapers were published in the larger town twenty-five miles to the north. The next year he began publishing on Fridays.

The move to Fridays did not significantly improve the newspaper's financial circumstances. Unable to compete on price, and unable to increase circulation, McCarrell tried one last time by moving publication of his independent newspaper to Saturdays.

In 1900 McCarrell was rooming in a widow's household in Webbers Falls, unable to afford his own home. The thin market for a newspaper in the town proved unprofitable.

By January of 1901, there is a new newspaper and new editor trying his luck in Webbers Falls. A decade later, June McCarrell is found in St. Joseph, Missouri, working as an odd job printer.