Mead Law and Order

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The first Town Marshall was J. L. Ballinger hired May 13, 1908 with a salary of $26.00 a year. It was later changed in 1910 to $10.00 a month. W. H. Wilson was the first Police Magistrate appointed - June 1908.

The first jail was a building 12"x 10"x 7'. It was a wooden frame with a flat top. The first lumber bill was for $105.00 and the land the jail stood on rented for $10.00 a year. In about 1940, the old jail house was moved up on 4th street and was sold in 1943 for $35.00.

The second jail was abandoned sometime in the early 1980's. All prisoner's now go to the Weld County Jail in Greeley. One of the two old jail houses is located on Boulder Scientific property. I'm not sure which one it is, some say it is the original, others say it is the second one. I believe that it was torn down when the Boulder Scientific property was renovated.

For example: While the part of Mead laid out by Paul Mead was a dry town, for the businesses that originally built on the east side of what is now CR 7, the dry clause in the land deeds did not apply. After the town was incorporated in 1908, this changed. All businesses, including those not on land that was originally owned by Paul Mead, that wanted to sell or serve liquor, had to apply for a license. The first liquor licenses went to Nicholas Frank and Mike Coyle. There were seven applications, but only two granted. Those were only for six months.

The restrictions may have helped to curb some of the problems associated with bars, but they didn't stop them. Most of the time, the jail, if occupied at all, was used to temporary accommodate men sleeping off the effects of the previous night's indulgences.

One example is of Clint Smith, the local blacksmith who was hired to do the iron work in the second jail. Clint had a problem -- when not working, he really liked to drink. In some stories, he is referred to the "Town Drunk," but obviously, he did have his sober moments. One Saturday night after getting especially inebriated, he was escorted to a jail cell to sleep it off. After a few hours, the Constable left for his nightly rounds. When he returned, Smith was no here to be seen! The door to the cell that he had so recently occupied was still closed and locked. There were no signs of damage. The lock had not been jimmied and the bars on the window were still intact.

The next day, the Constable found Clint walking down Main St. "How did you get out," he demanded. Clink refused to answer. This went on for the rest of the week. The Constable was getting more and more frustrated. If a drunk like Clint could get out, then anyone could. Saturday night came, and as usual Clint was sitting at the bar. The Constable cozied up to him and hatched his plan. "Would you like a drink," he asked. Surprised, Clint agreed. For the next several hours, the Constable paid for drink after drink, until Clint was certifiably drunk. Then, according to the stories, Clint was asked again, "How did you get out of the jail?" This time Clint caved and replied, "I pulled the hinge pins. You should never jail a man who built the jail."

The next day, Clint was busy at work, welding the hinge pins into the hinges so there would be never be anymore more jail breaks, by him or anyone else.