Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND002 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Peace Officer Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 03147
Title: Carl G. Nelson
Date:
Creator:
Inscription/Marks: 12/26/1888
Summary: Carl Gustive Nelson - Carrington - October 1915 One of the most desperate gun battles in the history of central North Dakota was fought at the Kilby Rooming House in Carrington at about 4:30 a.m. the morning of October 10, 1915, when Chief of Police Carl Nelson, Deputy Sheriff R. E. Walker, Night Watch Geo. Hubbard and assistants, attempted to arrest four men wanted for holding up the Hopkins Pool Hall earlier in the evening. The whereabouts of the men was made known when one of them went to a cafe for lunch, which he took back to the rest. He was trailed to the Kilby Rooming House and the officers immediately organized a posse and raided the building. Meanwhile, Hubbard and his assistants were guarding the entrance and Nelson, Walker and one other entered the building. No sooner had the officers entered the house when the trouble began. A gun was stuck in the stomach of Walker and he was commanded to back out. The thieves also pushed over an employee at the Brownlee Cafe, knowing he was not an officer, but immediately opened fire on Nelson. Nelson came right back, and the battle was on in earnest. Nelson received a deadly shot in the body just below the stomach. When Nelson was shot, he did not immediately give up but walked with assistance to the Brownlee Cafe, where he was given medical attention. It was decided that it would be best to immediately rush him to St. Paul, Minn., and a special order was obtained from the Soo Line, which left early Sunday morning. Accompanying Nelson to the hospital was his wife and baby and other close friends and family. Nelson died at age 26 the morning of October 14, 1915. Frank Davis, one of the robbers, was shot through the heart and while sinking to the floor continued to shoot injuring the owner of the rooming house. Davis died a short time after being hit by gunfire. Two of the robbers, one of them possibly wounded, bolted out the back door and made off in the darkness toward the Soo Line depot, firing as they ran. The third man, Ernest Swareinger, was arrested sometime later in a room at the same rooming house. A $200 reward was offered by the City of Carrington and Foster County for the arrest of Frank Ward and Peter Lynch, the two men who escaped the night of the shooting. These men were well known in the criminal annals of Oklahoma. Nelson was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Nelson, born December 26, 1888. He was raised on a farm near Barlow, N.D. In the fall of 1913, he was appointed Chief of Police in Carrington. Nelson died like the true man he was, in the fearless performance of his duty, and the entire community of Carrington mourned.
Red ID: FND_I_77321 Image ID: 509141 Image Notes: 10950 00002 03147

Collection: FND002 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Peace Officer Memorial Program
Date:

Summary: The North Dakota Peace Officer Memorial Program honors fallen officers with highlights of their lives and careers.

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