John W. Meldrum

Judge John W. Meldrum (September 17, 1843 – February 27, 1936) 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).

Early life John Meldrum was born in Caledonia, New York 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. Edgar Howell would later play a pivotable role in one of Judge Meldrum's most famous cases.

The passage of the Lacey Act of 1894 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 Hoyt (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.

Famous cases

The 1897 Canyon holdup On August 14, 1897 two armed men held up a caravan of four stages and an Army ambulance en route 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 circumstantial evidence in a 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

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 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 29, 1936. His funeral was held at St. Johns Episcopal Cathedral. His pallbearers, each in uniform, all represented the National Park Service—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

Memorials In 1962 the National Park Service named a peak located in the northwest corner of the park Meldrum Mountain in his honor.