The Dispute.
In the 1880s, politics raised its ugly head when Grand County voters were
deciding which town would be the county seat: Grand Lake or Hot Sulphur
Springs. Sheriff Charlie Royer, Under Sheriff Bill Redman and County
Commissioner J.G. Mills wanted the County Seat in Hot Sulphur Springs.
Commissioners E.P. Weber, Barney Day and County Clerk Thomas Dean were
determined to have the County Seat in Grand Lake. Weber and Mills were close
friends but the dispute embittered their relationship. After a vote and a
series of appeals, Grand Lake won by 93 to 71 votes.
The Ambush. Royer, Redman and
Mills planned to ambush Weber, Day, and Dean on the 4th of July in 1883.
The Shootout. Royer, Redman, and
Mills donned black bandannas as masks, loaded their weapons and hid along
the edge of the lake by two large boulders waiting for Weber, Day, and Dean.
As the three walked by Mills jumped out and shot Weber, his one time friend.
Weber, Day and Dean opened fire. after the fight Weber and Mills lay dead,
having shot each other. The others were mortally wounded and died soon
after.The Aftermath.
After mining dried up in the County, the population center moved from Lulu
City to Hot Sulphur Springs. So in 1888 the County Seat reverted to Hot
Sulphur Springs. The old jail was abandoned, but the bars of that jail are
right here in our restaurant today.
