The railroad arrived in what is now Slope County in the fall of 1907. A tent city sprang up on the bank of the Little Missouri River. Permanent structures quickly followed. The town of Marmarth was named for Margaret Martha Fitch. She was the granddaughter of Albert J. Erling, president of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad. The town grew quickly and by 1911 it was the fifth largest North Dakota town west of the Missouri River.
The first high school graduating class in 1912 consisted of two students. By 1917, Marmarth was the only North Dakota town to have natural gas piped in for both commercial and domestic use. The water and sewer systems were completed in 1918. By then many businesses called Marmarth home including two banks, two hotels, a hardware store, jewelry store, laundry, post office, newspaper, gas station, and a theater. The town also boasted a hospital.
But the town was not always on the gentile side. On this date in 1908, North Dakotans were buzzing after the Golden Valley Chronicle called Marmarth the “wildest town in North Dakota,” where blind pigs and sporting houses flourished unmolested. Virtually everyone, said the newspaper, carried a loaded revolver. In a front page article, the Chronicle had reported on the fourth shooting of the year in Marmarth.
It seems that two employees of the local bawdy house had been drinking on the evening of August 17. They got into an argument and began to tussle over a loaded revolver. In the course of the scuffle, the revolver went off. Twenty-two-year-old Margaret Weicker lay dead. Bessie Hanson, also known as Blanche, was holding the gun. There were three eyewitnesses.
Blanche was immediately arrested. The next day, the coroner and the state’s attorney arrived from Beach to investigate the matter. The coroner’s jury brought in a verdict of accidental shooting. The state’s attorney, however, felt he had a good case against Blanche and planned to bring her to Medora for a preliminary hearing.
The hearing was held on August 25. The witnesses testified that the shooting was accidental. The case was dismissed and Blanche was given her freedom. Afterwards, Josie McCoy was arrested and fined $50 for operating a bawdy house. With that, the sad case of Margaret Weicker’s death was closed.
Dakota Datebook written by Carole Butcher
Sources:
Historic Marmarth. “Images of Marmarth.” http://www.marmarth.org/index.htm Accessed 3 July 2018.
Golden Valley Chronicle. “Another Shooting at Marmarth.” Beach ND. 21 August 1908. Page 1.
Golden Valley Chronicle. “Accidental Shooting.” Beach ND. 28 August 1908. Page 1.
