From "Report on the death of Fred Brammeier" by Sam Bock
On the 9th of June, 1902, Fred Brammeier was shot and killed by his neighbor John Dunn near what is today the South Mesa trailhead.
Fred Brammeier's father, John William Brammeier, first came to Boulder in the mid-1890s, bringing with him his wife Maud, seven children, two horses and a cow. John and his family settled by a creek on a 160-acre piece of land close to Eldorado Springs where they built a small cabin and several outbuildings to house livestock. The area, now inhabited mostly by ponderosa pine trees, would have been nearly ideal at the time for grazing cows and sheep. Yet conditions at the Brammeier homestead during their first winter were difficult. Blankets hung from the rafters were the only dividers in the family's single room cabin, and a small shed attached to the house was sheltered the livestock. All of the children were sick, and to make matters worse, both of the horses the family brought with them starved to death before spring. Despite these hardships, all nine Brammeiers (plus their cow) survived their first year in Boulder, and by 1902, the family had patented the land.
Like the Brammeiers, the Dunns were European immigrants drawn west by rumors of gold and the promise of cheap land. Coming from Ireland to the Boulder area in 1866, the Dunns joined a small community of Irish immigrants living in the nearby town of Marshal. It was there in 1879 that John Dunn was born. John attended school in the Eldorado Springs district, and when he was twenty years old, he left Colorado to work for two years as a cowboy in Wyoming.
Upon his return to Boulder in 1901, John Dunn married Emma DeBacker, whose father kindly sold the young couple his homestead for one dollar. The Dunn homestead stood on a sizable parcel of land that abutted the south side of the Brammeiers' 160 acres, and encompassed much of the South Mesa and Doudy Draw trail areas. Standing in contrast to the Brammeiers one room cabin, the Dunns' house consisted of a large wooden house with an attached two level stone structure. John Dunn and his family also enjoyed access to year-round running water in nearby South Boulder Creek, an apple orchard and grazing lands so rich that the cattle required almost no additional feed. John Dunn had a reputation for honesty, and according to the Boulder Daily Camera, belonged to "a good family."
The conflict that brought these two families together and resulted in Fred Brammeier's untimely demise started over the division fence between the two families' homesteads. Sources differ on the exact reason for the animosity between the two ranchers, but according to testimony from Raymond Brammeier (Fred's brother), the Brammeiers' cattle had been straying onto land belonging to Dunn. A few weeks before the murder, the Brammeiers and the Dunns shared in the building of a fence intended to keep cattle off of Dunn's property. During the construction, Dunn went to the Brammeiers to tell them not to trespass on his land, and that lawyers "advised him that he could close up the road" leading to town. Tensions came to a head the next day when Dunn encountered the Brammeiers in Boulder. Irate that they had obviously come onto his land while traveling to town, Dunn allegedly threatened legal action and remarked that he "had never lived in a country yet where he could not take care of himself, by fair means or foul." While it's not entirely clear from the article what he meant by this statement, this altercation set the stage for what happened on June 9th.
On the 9th of June, 1902, Fred Brammeier was shot and killed by his neighbor John Dunn near what is today the South Mesa trailhead.
Fred Brammeier's father, John William Brammeier, first came to Boulder in the mid-1890s, bringing with him his wife Maud, seven children, two horses and a cow. John and his family settled by a creek on a 160-acre piece of land close to Eldorado Springs where they built a small cabin and several outbuildings to house livestock. The area, now inhabited mostly by ponderosa pine trees, would have been nearly ideal at the time for grazing cows and sheep. Yet conditions at the Brammeier homestead during their first winter were difficult. Blankets hung from the rafters were the only dividers in the family's single room cabin, and a small shed attached to the house was sheltered the livestock. All of the children were sick, and to make matters worse, both of the horses the family brought with them starved to death before spring. Despite these hardships, all nine Brammeiers (plus their cow) survived their first year in Boulder, and by 1902, the family had patented the land.
Like the Brammeiers, the Dunns were European immigrants drawn west by rumors of gold and the promise of cheap land. Coming from Ireland to the Boulder area in 1866, the Dunns joined a small community of Irish immigrants living in the nearby town of Marshal. It was there in 1879 that John Dunn was born. John attended school in the Eldorado Springs district, and when he was twenty years old, he left Colorado to work for two years as a cowboy in Wyoming.
Upon his return to Boulder in 1901, John Dunn married Emma DeBacker, whose father kindly sold the young couple his homestead for one dollar. The Dunn homestead stood on a sizable parcel of land that abutted the south side of the Brammeiers' 160 acres, and encompassed much of the South Mesa and Doudy Draw trail areas. Standing in contrast to the Brammeiers one room cabin, the Dunns' house consisted of a large wooden house with an attached two level stone structure. John Dunn and his family also enjoyed access to year-round running water in nearby South Boulder Creek, an apple orchard and grazing lands so rich that the cattle required almost no additional feed. John Dunn had a reputation for honesty, and according to the Boulder Daily Camera, belonged to "a good family."
The conflict that brought these two families together and resulted in Fred Brammeier's untimely demise started over the division fence between the two families' homesteads. Sources differ on the exact reason for the animosity between the two ranchers, but according to testimony from Raymond Brammeier (Fred's brother), the Brammeiers' cattle had been straying onto land belonging to Dunn. A few weeks before the murder, the Brammeiers and the Dunns shared in the building of a fence intended to keep cattle off of Dunn's property. During the construction, Dunn went to the Brammeiers to tell them not to trespass on his land, and that lawyers "advised him that he could close up the road" leading to town. Tensions came to a head the next day when Dunn encountered the Brammeiers in Boulder. Irate that they had obviously come onto his land while traveling to town, Dunn allegedly threatened legal action and remarked that he "had never lived in a country yet where he could not take care of himself, by fair means or foul." While it's not entirely clear from the article what he meant by this statement, this altercation set the stage for what happened on June 9th.
From "Report on the death of Fred Brammeier" by Sam Bock
On the 9th of June, 1902, Fred Brammeier was shot and killed by his neighbor John Dunn near what is today the South Mesa trailhead.
Fred Brammeier's father, John William Brammeier, first came to Boulder in the mid-1890s, bringing with him his wife Maud, seven children, two horses and a cow. John and his family settled by a creek on a 160-acre piece of land close to Eldorado Springs where they built a small cabin and several outbuildings to house livestock. The area, now inhabited mostly by ponderosa pine trees, would have been nearly ideal at the time for grazing cows and sheep. Yet conditions at the Brammeier homestead during their first winter were difficult. Blankets hung from the rafters were the only dividers in the family's single room cabin, and a small shed attached to the house was sheltered the livestock. All of the children were sick, and to make matters worse, both of the horses the family brought with them starved to death before spring. Despite these hardships, all nine Brammeiers (plus their cow) survived their first year in Boulder, and by 1902, the family had patented the land.
Like the Brammeiers, the Dunns were European immigrants drawn west by rumors of gold and the promise of cheap land. Coming from Ireland to the Boulder area in 1866, the Dunns joined a small community of Irish immigrants living in the nearby town of Marshal. It was there in 1879 that John Dunn was born. John attended school in the Eldorado Springs district, and when he was twenty years old, he left Colorado to work for two years as a cowboy in Wyoming.
Upon his return to Boulder in 1901, John Dunn married Emma DeBacker, whose father kindly sold the young couple his homestead for one dollar. The Dunn homestead stood on a sizable parcel of land that abutted the south side of the Brammeiers' 160 acres, and encompassed much of the South Mesa and Doudy Draw trail areas. Standing in contrast to the Brammeiers one room cabin, the Dunns' house consisted of a large wooden house with an attached two level stone structure. John Dunn and his family also enjoyed access to year-round running water in nearby South Boulder Creek, an apple orchard and grazing lands so rich that the cattle required almost no additional feed. John Dunn had a reputation for honesty, and according to the Boulder Daily Camera, belonged to "a good family."
The conflict that brought these two families together and resulted in Fred Brammeier's untimely demise started over the division fence between the two families' homesteads. Sources differ on the exact reason for the animosity between the two ranchers, but according to testimony from Raymond Brammeier (Fred's brother), the Brammeiers' cattle had been straying onto land belonging to Dunn. A few weeks before the murder, the Brammeiers and the Dunns shared in the building of a fence intended to keep cattle off of Dunn's property. During the construction, Dunn went to the Brammeiers to tell them not to trespass on his land, and that lawyers "advised him that he could close up the road" leading to town. Tensions came to a head the next day when Dunn encountered the Brammeiers in Boulder. Irate that they had obviously come onto his land while traveling to town, Dunn allegedly threatened legal action and remarked that he "had never lived in a country yet where he could not take care of himself, by fair means or foul." While it's not entirely clear from the article what he meant by this statement, this altercation set the stage for what happened on June 9th.
On the 9th of June, 1902, Fred Brammeier was shot and killed by his neighbor John Dunn near what is today the South Mesa trailhead.
Fred Brammeier's father, John William Brammeier, first came to Boulder in the mid-1890s, bringing with him his wife Maud, seven children, two horses and a cow. John and his family settled by a creek on a 160-acre piece of land close to Eldorado Springs where they built a small cabin and several outbuildings to house livestock. The area, now inhabited mostly by ponderosa pine trees, would have been nearly ideal at the time for grazing cows and sheep. Yet conditions at the Brammeier homestead during their first winter were difficult. Blankets hung from the rafters were the only dividers in the family's single room cabin, and a small shed attached to the house was sheltered the livestock. All of the children were sick, and to make matters worse, both of the horses the family brought with them starved to death before spring. Despite these hardships, all nine Brammeiers (plus their cow) survived their first year in Boulder, and by 1902, the family had patented the land.
Like the Brammeiers, the Dunns were European immigrants drawn west by rumors of gold and the promise of cheap land. Coming from Ireland to the Boulder area in 1866, the Dunns joined a small community of Irish immigrants living in the nearby town of Marshal. It was there in 1879 that John Dunn was born. John attended school in the Eldorado Springs district, and when he was twenty years old, he left Colorado to work for two years as a cowboy in Wyoming.
Upon his return to Boulder in 1901, John Dunn married Emma DeBacker, whose father kindly sold the young couple his homestead for one dollar. The Dunn homestead stood on a sizable parcel of land that abutted the south side of the Brammeiers' 160 acres, and encompassed much of the South Mesa and Doudy Draw trail areas. Standing in contrast to the Brammeiers one room cabin, the Dunns' house consisted of a large wooden house with an attached two level stone structure. John Dunn and his family also enjoyed access to year-round running water in nearby South Boulder Creek, an apple orchard and grazing lands so rich that the cattle required almost no additional feed. John Dunn had a reputation for honesty, and according to the Boulder Daily Camera, belonged to "a good family."
The conflict that brought these two families together and resulted in Fred Brammeier's untimely demise started over the division fence between the two families' homesteads. Sources differ on the exact reason for the animosity between the two ranchers, but according to testimony from Raymond Brammeier (Fred's brother), the Brammeiers' cattle had been straying onto land belonging to Dunn. A few weeks before the murder, the Brammeiers and the Dunns shared in the building of a fence intended to keep cattle off of Dunn's property. During the construction, Dunn went to the Brammeiers to tell them not to trespass on his land, and that lawyers "advised him that he could close up the road" leading to town. Tensions came to a head the next day when Dunn encountered the Brammeiers in Boulder. Irate that they had obviously come onto his land while traveling to town, Dunn allegedly threatened legal action and remarked that he "had never lived in a country yet where he could not take care of himself, by fair means or foul." While it's not entirely clear from the article what he meant by this statement, this altercation set the stage for what happened on June 9th.
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