Fremont County’s first sheriff, a ‘ghastly’ murder, and the lawmen who had a brush with fame
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Editor’s note: This is the sixth in a series of stories about former sheriffs in eastern Idaho.
IDAHO FALLS – John B. Cutshaw and his bloodhound, Old Devil, came to town in a one-horse rig, which he parked in front of a saloon he owned with his partner.
This is how Luella Carruthers, who owned a drug store in Market Lake in the 1890s, remembers the county’s first sheriff, according to a 1987 article from the Upper Snake River Valley Historical Society. It was a favorite pastime for the old man and his dog, and he’d often place a $50 gold coin on the seat and tell Old Devil to watch it.
“For fun, he would tell all the men present that if they felt brave enough to take the coin from the dog’s protection, they could have it. There were no takers,” the article says.
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It was 1893 and Fremont County was the first county created since Idaho had become a state. Cutshaw had previously served as a deputy U.S. Marshal in Bingham County, from which Fremont County was created. Governor William McConnell appointed Cutshaw as Fremont’s first sheriff.
Like its namesake, John C. Fremont — a military officer who led five expeditions into the western states 50 years before — Cutshaw was a former military man. He’d served as a private in the Eight Michigan Regular Cavalry during the Civil War.
Cutshaw was silver-haired with a gray mustache when he took office, but he knew how to handle a gun. It was a skill he’d need at a time when cattle and horse thieves, criminals and outlaws dotted the land.
The newly formed county took in much more territory at the time. It included what are now Clark, Jefferson, Madison and Teton Counties. It would be another 20-25 years, during the administrations of Sheriff Edward Harrop and John Fisher, before those counties came into existence.
Several years before that, Sheriff Miles Cahoon was in office. One of the county’s most “ghastly” and brutal murders occurred during this time somewhere between Market and Mud Lake.
Boy murders father with ax, severs head and rakes out brain
Sometime in 1909 or 1910, Tim Brown and his father, whose name was also Tim, were on their way home from Gilmore — now a ghost town near Leadore. They’d been selling produce at the market, and a news clipping obtained from the historical society shows the pair were pulling a trailer and two horses behind a four-horse rig.
“About 20 miles from Market Lake and early in the morning, the boy attacked and killed his father, using an ax with which he almost severed the head. (He split) the head diagonally across the left forehead. (He) took the brain out with his left hand and threw it on the ground a few inches from the head,” the report says.
The boy’s motive for the murder was not specified. He reportedly unhitched the horses and turned them loose on the desert before continuing his journey. On the way, he met up with a man named John Hanson who gave him “a chew of tobacco,” and the boy told him what he had done.
“I killed a man back there,” Tim is reported to have said.
“What?!” Hanson replied.
“Yes,” Tim said. “I killed old Tim Brown, an old freighter.”
Tim didn’t tell Hanson it was his father.
Hanson found the place where Brown lay dead. He informed the neighbors, who stood watch while Hanson fetched the county attorney and coroner.
“The boy wandered around the desert without food or water for about 14 hours,” according to the account.
A party held him near Market Lake until Sheriff Cahoon and the boy’s mother arrived. The boy told his mother in private what he had done.
Sheriff Cahoon put the boy in his buggy and headed for St. Anthony. About halfway there, “the young fellow decided … he would go no further and showed the sheriff a real lively tussle.”
Ultimately, the boy was arrested and booked in the Fremont County Jail. Details about the boy’s final fate were not available.
‘Our movie sheriff’
In later years, two of Fremont County’s sheriffs — Oliver “Bronc” Sparkman and Calvin Smith — had a chance at fame.
Sparkman worked in law enforcement throughout his life. He was initially hired as a deputy in the 1910s before serving as Fremont County Sheriff from 1921-1926. He served as town marshal for the city of Ashton when it was created, and later served two terms as a U.S. Marshal in Pocatello.
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In historical accounts, residents describe Bronc as “tall in stature, an impressive figure of a man” who was “not to be fooled with.” He is remembered as having a “gruff exterior,” but was a “good-hearted peacemaker” who was “honest and fair in his dealings.”
“He watched after families, showed concern for the young people and the needy children and understood individual problems,” one article says. “He was … ‘a mighty admired good man.'”
Sparkman had a mustache and always wore a cowboy hat. Locals thought he looked the part of a typical western sheriff, and Hollywood scouts agreed.
During a trip through Ashton in April 1930, the Teton Peak Chronicle reports representatives of the Fox Film Company, who were in the area searching for potential filming locations, offered Sparkman a role as “a movie sheriff and a tamer of movie bad men.”
“He rode (on a train) with them as far as Idaho Falls and was engaged at a very satisfactory salary,” the newspaper said.
Locals were thrilled with the idea of seeing one of their own in a movie, but it never panned out.
“Bronc tried Hollywood but found it to be too ‘glamorous’ for his tastes,” the Chronicle reported.
Sparkman died from a throat hemorrhage in August 1936, according to his obituary.
A sheriff who could fight ‘with the speed of a … six-shooter’
In the years following World War II, Calvin Smith served two terms as sheriff from 1945 to 1948. A sheriff’s term was two years in those days.
Prior to serving as sheriff, Smith was a professional middleweight boxer. When he announced his candidacy, Smith was featured as “official of the month” in a law enforcement publication and earned an enthusiastic endorsement.
“Smith’s prowess as a boxer is so widely known that when he places a man under arrest, the prisoner meekly submits. He knows that Sheriff Smith can deal out a jolting right or left with the speed of an old-time six-shooter. And to keep the record straight, Sheriff Smith is a pretty fast man on drawing a gun, too,” the article said. “He’s a pretty handy man to have around, and you’ll find no argument on that score in Fremont County.”
Smith is described as “a tall, rangy man” who “always kept himself in top physical condition.”
He often trained for matches in the basement of a hotel in Ashton.
“Cal was always the headliner for the fight card. Crowds cheered when he entered the ring,” one article reports.
Smith’s first professional fight was at the 1931 American Dog Derby in Ashton.
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He only lost one time in the 13 years he participated. His opponent was Arcade “Windmill” Pearce of Provo, Utah. The two would face off again in a draw. Smith eventually beat him on the third attempt.
“He missed only one derby event during the 13 years he boxed, and that was in 1937 when he and his wife were expecting a child,” the historical society reports. “He is still thought of by many as one of the real ‘heroes’ of dog derby days.”
Smith was the professional heavyweight champion of the intermountain states in 1939. It’s a title he held for many years.
His last official fight was in 1946 during an exhibition match in St. Anthony for the March of Dimes. Smith estimates he participated in 160 matches over the course of his career, according to the historical society.
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Fremont County sheriff who served nonconsecutive terms shares memories of time in office
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