greeley colorado and nathan cook meeker and nathan meeker

The colony that originally settled around present-day Greeley in the Spring of 1870 was called the "Union Colony." Moralistically driven and eagerly desirous of taming the dry land, this colony would be committed to prosperity but not ostentation, religious reverence but not fanaticism, disciplined living but not asceticism. Some of the settlers wanted to name the colony "Meeker" after Nathan Cook Meeker, but he, true to his name, declined the honor. He recommended that it be named after his editor, Horace Greeley, and the latter, never having had any reason to keep his name out of circulation, eagerly accepted the appellation.

It was, from the beginning, an idealistically-driven community. But, unlike their Mormon neighbors to the West (well, about 400 miles West), they didn't have the same sense of a divine call or choice of them to do His work in the world. The Union Colony members were informed by their Puritan values and made them the basis of the community to be sure, but disagreement quickly developed over whether to have one "Community" church or several denominational congregations. Of course, one of the reasons for several stripes of Protestatisms is to honor people's various approaches to the importance of liturgy or various forms of church government. The Colony decided for a denominational approach, and by the mid-1880s (the earliest map I saw), the "standard" Protestant denominations were represented.

The roads were laid out in a grid-like pattern with unusually wide streets (100 feet), flanked on either side by oak trees which the settlers had to plant. Crisscrossing roads were named after Presidents or trees (though today they are just numbered streets and avenues). One of the interesting items purchased by early settlers was 50 miles of smooth wire fence for a sum of $20,000, which fences enabled the settlers not only to demarcate the boundaries of their property but also to keep out the wandering cattle of the "non saints" from beyond the community. The Greeley people said that the fences were to combat "bovine blight;" the surrounding people felt that the Greeley saints simply wanted to separate themselves from the "impurities of the surrounding world." Both sides probably had some truth on their side.

Meeker Runs Into Difficulty

As he had done his whole life, however, Meeker ran into persistent financial difficulties. His 1870 home, located a mile from the town center (to encourage development in between), restored today to its original dimensions, is a modest home by today's standards but was probably one of the more elaborate ones of the 1870s. He had set up the Greeley Tribune in 1870 but was experiencing significant financial difficulties shortly after its founding. Horace Greeley floated him some loans from NY to keep it going, but then Greeley died quite quickly after his abortive campaign for the Presidency in 1872, and Meeker was on his own. It was in this connection that Meeker sought and found a job in 1878 as an Indian agent for the US Government working at the White River Indian Agency on Colorado's Western slope. He left the community he helped found (and where one of his children was buried--having died in 1870 while Nathan was back in New York gathering up the second group of immigrants).

Meeker's moralism got himself killed in 1879. As Indian Agent he thought it was his job not only to educate the Native Americans but to promote farming and agricultural practices to make them prosperous. In 1879, only a short time after arrival, he decided that a primitive horse race track used by the Ute Indians had to be plowed under. This led to escalating violence which eventually claimed his life as well as that of several other white men. Of course the Indians, as in all situations, were the ultimate losers, as the US Army eventually subdued the Utes over the next few years.

The town of Greeley founded its first public school in 1873 (which may have been the first free public school in the state), and then the state Normal School was founded there in 1890. It is now University of Northern Colorado. True to its founders' values, the town remained dry until the 1960s, even though firebrand Muslim thinker, Sayyid Qutb, who provided some of the intellectual underpinnings for radical Islamic movements in our day, characterized the town in the late 1940s, when he was there, as a typical example of a degenerate Western society. Yet I was impressed to see a seemingly prosperous town of 76,000+ in a place where you wouldn't imagine you would find such a large town.

Reflections on Moralism and Idealism

I will conclude this essay with a few thoughts on moralism or idealism and its role in shaping our lives. Living idealistically is, at the same time, the most powerful stimulus for human action and the fountainhead of immense human tragedy. I would love to learn sometime whether there is a connection between idealistic individuals (mostly male) and an inability to "connect" to the teeming realities of life which others live in on a regular basis. Is there a correlation, for example, between an idealistic approach to life and an inability to "fit" in the world? Or, can the idealistic person flourish if he is able to form his own institutions which reflect his values and thus minimize the chances for conflict with others? I suppose it depends on the individual. Some people are able to start things, but then have to withdraw from them after they are "institutionalized" simply because the "routinized" expression of them seemingly saps the idealist of all energy. Others seek and build their heavenly city here and can "stay with it" while and after it is built.

Nathan Meeker seemed to be an individual whose mind was so captured by the utopian ideal that he couldn't function well and realistically in a society peopled by "real" individuals. Or, to put it differently, he was so moved by his vision of what could be that he didn't have the skills or insight to manage the practical affairs of his own life. His idealism led to the idea, which actually was a very good one, and built a thriving community. But his idealism got him into trouble and led him ultimately to his death. Thus, the two sides of the moralistic coin are evident to us all. Idealism's perils and promises will forever entice us.

1937