Three Murders at the Finn Saloon

Almost done on a long chapter about the ghost town of Newhouse on the West Side o the San Francisco Mountains in Beaver County. Newhouse was designed as a model community by progressive capitalist Samuel Newhouse. Houses of prostitution and saloons were banned from the land the company controlled. However, while the town was still under construction in December 1904, the town's boosters had to grudgingly admit that "One energetic liquor dealer has taken advantage of this and has established a saloon about a mile from the main part of town."

The following three tales of murder have never before been reported by any ghost town books about Newhouse. The projected model of the town as an orderly place has been oft repeated, but the actual dramatic and violent history of the small bar that perched itself on the outskirts of town for little over 4 years are more interesting than any story a manufacturer of tall tales could have made up. Here, at my station in the Grand County Public Library, I have spent about 15 hours in the past two days going through the newspaper record of this one town. Many more exceptional gems have been extracted, and I look forward to setting the record straight with my upcoming book on the subject of Utah's ghost towns and mining camps.



"But despite these efforts not everything at Newhouse was always orderly or peaceful. Three
quarters of a mile North of town, a Saloon had been constructed and was owned independently. It was
known as the "Finn" saloon for its Finnish owner, John Erickson. In just over a year three murders
occurred here, two of them involving the owner. The first brawl to turn deadly occurred in late May
1907 when Erickson in his establishment had a fight with miner John Ryan in which the latter was
reportedly kicked to death. Ryan was loaded onto a train bound for medical treatment Salt Lake, but
died of his injuries before it reached Milford. At his trail Erickson claimed he assaulted the man after
seeing him strike a boy. This story may have convinced the jury and after 10 hours of deliberation
they convicted him on the reduced charge of battery and he served only a year in prison."

"While the saloon's owner was detained and awaiting trial, a second murder occurred at his
establishment. On the Monday night of December 2nd, 1907 Matt Long, a man of ill reputation, was
drinking heavily in the saloon. At the time he was allegedly competing with bartender Arthur
Kingsbury for the affections of a woman. The tow began a conversation which escalated into a fight.
After striking Kingsbury with a pistol, Kingsbury himself produced a weapon and in the midst of the
ensuing scuffle shot Long three times. Public sentiment was with Kingsbury, who defended himself on
grounds of self defense."

"By July 1908, Erickson was out of prison and back at his saloon. While playing a well
lubricated game of cards into the wee hours of the morning with a man named Henderson, a
disagreement over a hand arose which quickly escalated into a physical altercation. As the Beaver City
Press reported the next day, along with a bit of editorializing on the character of the deceased, 'Knives
were used by both men. Henderson is badly cut up and may die of his wounds, while Erickson is dead,
his throat having been cut from ear to ear. For several years Erickson has been a terror to Newhouse
and neighborhood and a great many people will be glad to know that the desperado is no more.'"

"A month later at a meeting of Beaver County Commissioners, the board refused to grant a new
license to the saloon, an act the Press anticipated to meet with "unqualified approval from all the
people of the county." The building itself where these events transpired was unfortunately lost to
history after it burned down in a 1913 fire. It was unclear how it started, and the building had been
unoccupied for a long time. Reportedly, nothing of any value from inside was saved."


Incidentally, in a 1913 referrendum on alcohol, every single one of the Newhouse precinct's 81 votes cast were in favor of making the county "wet."