The Rogue County: Meade

In 1889, Meade separated from Lawrence County. One could argue it was more of a formality, as the citizens of Sturgis, and the larger area, had already separated themselves from the rest of Lawrence County. In many ways, Meade had begun as a rogue county; a county set on changing the course of their own history.

The start of this division, between the east and west portion of Lawrence County, has been lost to the sands of history, but the cause is quite clear: politics. And when it comes to politics, the early years of Lawrence County were nothing short of wild.

Eastern Bubble

When Sturgis was formed in 1878, it was with lofty goals. While they started as a community which was largely created to take advantage of the military at Fort Meade, both by providing vices for the soldiers, as well as general goods, many of the citizens began wanting something more prestigious. They wanted to be more civilized, like those cities in the east, where many had relocated from.

Part of attaining that civilized demeanor was to assert power, to become the center of at least the local government. However, there was a problem. Sturgis was the on eastern edge of Lawrence County, and that was seen as disadvantageous.

While most at the time preferred to have a county seat that was near the geographical center of a county, as it gave people more access, it wasn’t without precedent to have the county seat on the edge of a county. Bismarck, which was the county seat of Burleigh County, and would serve both as the capital of Dakota Territory, and later of North Dakota, was also on the edge of its own territory.

And as Bismarck had shown, maintaining a local government via railway could not only be effective, but also could expand the area of power. Eventually, when Sturgis would achieve its goal, and Meade County was formed, it would be with a county seat on the edge.

Sturgis’s goal of becoming the center of governmental power wasn’t simply one of seeking prestige though. It would become much more. The needs, and views of the people of Sturgis, and the eastern section of Lawrence County were simply different from those in Deadwood, the county seat, and the western part of the county.

Part of this came down to the economies. While western Lawrence County had focused on development of the Black Hills, largely through mining and timber, the eastern portion was more concerned with agriculture. There was also a sense of resentment though, with those in the east feeling as if the western portion was extravagantly spending on their own desires. The truth was that the east had also spent their fair share.

Either way, this growing tension would continue to fuel the desire to separate. And one legislature after another, bills would be proposed for such a separation. At the same time, those in the eastern portion of the county also decided to form their own quasi-county, becoming known and referred to often as Meade County.

Even while they lacked the official capacity of being a county, the eastern block would begin to operate as their own county, with Sturgis being one of the main champions. That Sturgis would become the county seat was almost a given, but they would have their challengers.

Legislature Acrobatics

With the county of Meade having formed at least in spirit, by the early 1880s, the next challenge was to get Dakota Territory to recognize them, which was easier said then done. While everyone realized that the proposed county not only acted as such, but also voted as such, clearing that hurdle to become official was a massive undertaking.

By the time that Sturgis was founded, and the push for a new county was being made, the Dakota Territory Legislature had changed from meeting annually to biennially. One thing they could count on during each assembly though was that the proposal to have Lawrence County divided would be present.

It would quickly be acknowledged that it was inevitable that Lawrence County would be divided, but it didn’t stop the fight. However, it would cause those fighting for the division to begin thinking outside of the box.

In 1885, one such attempt resulted in the primary divisional bill to be withdrawn, only to then be replaced by another bill that would create the county of Monroe out of the eastern portion of Lawrence. By allowing the bill to be essentially defeated, it gave a number of legislators the ability to say they had upheld different promises, while also allowing them to try to move forward with the split. The attempt would fail.

But, as was expected a bill to create Meade County was once again introduced in 1887. This time though, there was a public campaign to discredit the proposal. It was said that only those in the cities, and the speculators, wanted the division. That farmers had been opposed to the proposal, because, being intelligent, they knew it would be costly to run a new county.

However, the supposed insider would also push the idea that the new county seat would be at Big Springs, an option that most hadn’t considered, and would never be a major contestant later on. It would seem as if some media publications were more opposed to the split, and may have exaggerated what the public opinion was.

Later in 1887, the legislature would eventually vote for the divide. Meade County would become official, or at least it seemed. While the bill would pass through the legislature, it would be vetoed by the Governor. That veto would be overridden, but then the courts got involved. Meade County was in limbo.

The matter would remain in court for the next two years. Some would go on to believe that the Honorable G.C. Moody, who was retained by the citizens of the proposed Meade County to represent them in pending lawsuits that set out to prevent the organization of the county, was simply fleecing his clients.

Some suspected him, as was the rumor that was circulating, that he was purposely attempting to keep the case out of court in order to “work” the people of Meade County. Others suspected that it was Colonel W.R. Steele who was purposely keeping Meade County from officially being organized. Either way, tensions were rising as organization was continually being postponed.

This would cause those in Meade County to be somewhat on edge, and hesitant to really move forward. When it came to politics, they would be described as people who seemed to be “as much at sea as any others.” The question would be, do we actively engage with nominating people for different position within Lawrence County, or to represent Lawrence County, or do they wait until they have their own county.

As the 1889 assembly grew closer, it also began to circulate that the people of Meade County would simply ignore Lawrence County as a whole, and create their own government, while also sending their own delegates to Bismarck. So forceful was this suggestion that the proposed delegates were getting prepared to go to the capitol and demand that they be recognized.

However, tempers would be calmed, and as with previous assemblies, the 1889 legislature was once again presented a bill for the creation of Meade County. That it would pass through the legislature was obvious, but it was also expected to be vetoed by the Governor, once again.

On March 7, at 5pm, the bill would become a law, after it had remained in the Governor’s hands for three days, and having not been returned to the house. While the Governor wouldn’t veto the bill, he wasn’t going to cooperate either.

The citizens of Meade County would have to get to work quickly though. Part of the bill had required that an election be held, and debt be split between Lawrence County and the newly found county of Meade.

For citizens of Meade, and Sturgis in particular, there was celebration as they were unyoked from the “mineral district” that was now Lawrence County. They were excited for a new beginning. And for Sturgis, they were looking forward to being crowned the County seat. But it wouldn’t be so easy. There was a contender for that spot: the town of Tilford. But that’s a story for another time.