News Update on

"The Legend of Limpy Jack Clayton"

1833-1893

By Tania Durham

The words, "Limpy Jack Clayton, Arrow Wood Lake or McGinnis Cemetery are not well known to the majority of the population in Jamestown, North Dakota. Limpy Jack was a forgotten cowboy who slept in the McGinnis cemetery for the past 120 years in an unmarked grave.

Forrest Daniels, Bismarck, North Dakota, rediscovered "Limpy Jack" Clayton over 35 years ago while doing a search on North Dakota for the State Historical Society. Mary Faith Young has kept the legend alive for the past 30 years with her historic re-telling of the history of Jamestown, North Dakota. Jamestown was briefly introduced to "Limpy" Jack in 1983 during our Centennial play, "COME HOME TO THE FEELING". Ernie Young, Mary Young’s husband played the role of the hard riding stagecoach driver in the play.

After reading this story one might want to visit the actual sites and pay homage to "Limpy Jack's" grave located in the McGinnis Cemetery. The McGinnis Cemetery is located in an isolated graveyard on the crest of the hill north on Highway 281, in Jamestown, North Dakota. The tombstones reveal the names of some of the first citizens of Jamestown, ND. These people were on the scene in 1872 when the railroad was making its' path across North Dakota. The tracks were stalled just east of Jamestown during the harsh winter. That is where The Legend of "Limpy Jack" begins.

In 1871, Fort Seward was the outpost for the soldiers that guarded the tracks, railroad workers and the first citizens who had gathered to live beside the stop in a tent city that was Jamestown's beginnings. Limpy Jack was one of the first 50 citizens at that time. He was a "colorful character horse trader, stage coach driver and all around good citizen." He had a saloon business for a short period of time in Jamestown and then ran the 1^st stop on the Ft. Totten Trail.

See related news story.

The First Alert, the first newspaper in Jamestown mentions the many people that traveled to and from Jamestown on the Fort Totten Trail. Limpy Jack Clayton’s name appeared in all the North Dakota newspapers in the 1870 to 1890 time period.

www.ohwy.com

www.ohwy.com/nd/a/arrownwr.htm

His two dugouts, one for the teams of horses and the other for the travelers are still visible. You can see the actual Ft. Totten Trail wagon ruts on the prairie sod. Also still visible are the stage circles and foundations of two buildings that served as shelters at a water spot on another part of the trail. This was Limpy Jacks' stomping ground. Limpy Jack Clayton was a frequent and well-known and loved visitor to Jamestown.

For a time he even served as the County attorney.

On New Year's Eve 1878, while on one of his treks back to his dugout from Jamestown, Limpy Jack fell out of the wagon and was left behind. His companions backtracked to get him and he had almost frozen to death. He was later taken to the hospital at FT. Totten for care. Later he had to have parts of his hand and toes amputated. Col. Croughton, the Commander at Ft. Totten was credited with saving his life.

Jack Clayton stayed in the Jamestown area from 1872 till his death on June 29th, 1893. He died of Brights disease, a kidney ailment at the City hospital. He was wrapped in an American Flag with 37 stars and buried in the McGinnis Cemetery.

But there is much more to his story. North Wind Voices is continuing the research on Jack Clayton. Limpy Jack lived his last 20 years in the Jamestown area and while trying to pick up the threads of his story we found out that he was making the papers long before he arrived in Jamestown. The first documentation that we have found up to this date is in the Duluth Minnesota paper, where he was reported to be involved in a shootout. There is also documentation of his participation in the Fenian Raid with Canada. (see attached story) A search is underway to traces his real name and family. The story in Duluth traces him to Troy, New York with the last name of Hamilton. So we will keep you updated on the latest news.

Research to date does not show evidence of Jack Clayton having a family in the Jamestown area even though he is mentioned in every paper in the surrounding areas. As people who once knew him died, Limpy Jack had no one to remember him. So the prairie winds blew summers and winters over his grave and with no one to mark his passing, the little cemetery along with his marker on the hill gradually became a quiet forgotten place.

When the Wagon train returned to Jamestown on Saturday, June 28th, 2003, they circled the McGinnis Cemetery and paid homage to one of our forgotten 1st true pioneers. Mayor Kourajian welcomed the wagon train back to Jamestown and Mary Faith Young recapped the story of his first burial. The 20^th infantry gave a gun salute while the trail riders who had spent 6 days on the trail surrounded his newly marked grave.

Historical buffs who will retrace the Lewis and Clark trail next year during its’ 200th anniversary might want to take an enjoyable detour and stop and see the place where Limpy Jack is resting.

The Legend of Limpy Jack Clayton lives on.....................

Time is still the biggest obstacle in researching a character like Limpy Jack even in today’s age of instant information. I want to thank the following people who have helped me and are responsible for bringing Limpy Jack Clayton back to the pages of history.

I believe that discovering the characters of our past not only dictates where we came from but where we are going as a community. I am so proud to call Jamestown my community, my home.

Mary Faith Young

Nancy Thoen

Forrest Daniels

James A. Davis

Virginia D. Bolen

Marnie Mohr

Willard Vigesaa

Ryan Vigesaa

Richard Brodhead

Amy Knecht

Jon Knecht

Donnette Stellar Hermes

Mark Vaniman

Kim Hansen

Arrow Wood Refuge Association

William Riebe

Delno Kleinknecht

Phyliss Kleinknecht

Ft Seward Wagon Train members

Les Kendall

Charlie Kourajian

Alfred Dickey Library

Lisa Webb

Michael Hopkins

Terry Devine/ Fargo Forum

Dave Mack/ Jamestown Sun

20^th Infantry Jamestown, ND

Charles Ramer