THE MEAD MURDER

By Jane Hart

 

            October 7, 1882, was a cold, rainy night, and a perfect one for murder.

            H.C. Mead, the eccentric proprietor of the Mead Bank, located where Glover’s now stands, had the odd habit of doing most of his work at night.  This peculiarity was well-known to the townspeople.

            After supper that fatal evening, Banker Mead returned to his office.  During his absence, someone cut away the screen from a window in the back of the building.

            About midnight, the murderers climbed in through the window.  They hit Mead over the back of the head, knocking him unconscious, and then proceeded to rob him.  While they were rifling the safe, Mead regained consciousness and recognized the men.

            Something had to be done to prevent Mead from calling for help.  One of the men picked up his rifle and shot Mead through the temple.  Without waiting to see if this shot had killed him, another of the murderers shot twice with a shot gun.  Then they picked up the loot and ran.

            The next noon, when Mead did not appear for dinner, a waitress from the Vosburg House went to call him.  She found the body covered with blood, still half-sitting in the over-turned chair.  She gave the alarm and soon a curious, excited crowd gathered, speculating loudly about the identity of the murderers.

            Though many men were accused, nothing could be proven.  The Vandecar trial in 1883 ended with an acquittal, and the case languished for ten years.

            Finally through the efforts of Benjamin Goldberg, another trial was held.  Goldberg had been elected district attorney on a promise to “try and convict the Mead murderers.”

            This trial was full of scandal and excited all of Wisconsin.  E.C. Bronson, Charles Prior, and Samuel Stout were the defendants.

            For two months, the trial dragged on, occasioning much gossip. But the jury, after deliberating only half an hour acquitted the three defendants.  The Mead murderers were still unapprehended.

            Through the years, various suspects were unearthed, but were never brought to trial, until finally interest in the murder petered out, and the murderers still remain … unknown.