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Nathan
Meeker
Nathan
Meeker worked for a newspaper.
Nathan
Meeker was the Agricultural Editor of The New York Tribune. The
publisher was Horace Greeley. Meeker wrote an article for the Tribune
in 1869. He was asking for "hardy volunteers" to form
a new community in Colorado. Only 50 replies were expected, he received
500.
Nathan
Meeker was the founder of Greeley, Colorado.
He organized a group of settlers in a
company called the Union Colony. The pioneers, along with Meeker,
came west in the spring of 1870 to build an utopian society based
on temperance, religion, agriculture, education and family values.
Meeker built his adobe house to solve the problem of the settlers
not having enough building materials to build their homes.
Nathan
Meeker had read about the Hispanic people, Pueblo Indians, Mormons
in Utah, and some fur traders building homes and forts with adobe.
He chose adobe for his home.
Nathan and his family lived in a shed at the back of his property
while the house was being built. The home cost $6000 to build and
was built by Arthur Hotchkiss.
At two stories, it was the tallest building in the new town of Greeley.
It had two parlors (living rooms) and a kitchen on the first floor.
The three bedrooms were on the second floor. Meeker dug a well outside
of the kitchen for water, and there were also an outhouse and a
barn on the property.
Nathan
Meeker was the first publisher of The Greeley Tribune.
The
Greeley Tribune was started by Nathan Meeker in November 1870.
He was the owner of the newspaper for five years then he had to
sell half of his interest in the paper to help pay for some debt.
The Greeley Tribune is still published today.
Nathan
Meeker was the Indian Agent at the White River Agency.
In 1878,
Meeker went to the Western Slope to teach the Ute Indians how to
farm. The Indians did not like Meeker’s ideas, and they fought
and killed Nathan Meeker and ten others in what is called “The
Meeker Massacre” on September 29, 1879. It is also known as
"The White River Massacre."
Nathan Meeker and the other Greeley men killed in the massacre are
buried in Greeley at Linn Grove Cemetery. |
