Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
The story of Harry Tracy
Photo taken of Harry Tracy on the autopsy table.
The Creston Posse were the five men who decided to capture Harry Tracy when they learned he was at the Eddy Farm. Upper row- left to right- Frank Lilligren, J.J. Morrison. Lower row- left to right- Dr. E. C. Lanter, C. A. Straub, and Maurice Smith.
Death Mask of Harry Tracy featured on display at the Lincoln County Museum.
CRESTON - As the 122nd anniversary of Harry Tracy's death approaches, the infamous outlaw's legacy remains a stark reminder of the Old West's lawlessness.
An exhibit about the infamous outlaw Harry Tracy, who was captured in Lincoln County in 1902, is a highlight at the Lincoln County Museum.
The museum also showcases Columbian mammoth bones and Native American artifacts, chronicling the early history of Lincoln County.
Visitors can explore farming equipment, rural life artifacts, and items from local businesses. The museum features musical instruments, cameras, blacksmith tools, phonographs, farm machinery, steam tractors, combines, tools, firearms, a prison cell, a printing press and fire engines.
In the Harry Tracy exhibit, visitors can see the original death mask made of Tracys face, original newspaper clippings and more.
Born Harry Severns in Wisconsin around 1874, Tracy's early years were marked by a series of relocations and criminal activities.
Tracy's criminal inclinations emerged as he turned to cattle rustling. His criminal career took a darker turn after killing a deputy sheriff named Arly Grimes and two more men in Colorado.
According to Kirk Carlson, staff member at the Lincoln County Musem, Tracy joined Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, engaging in cattle rustling and highway robbery.
In 1898, following the gang's deadly robbery of a boy named William Strong and the subsequent killing of posseman Valentine Hoy, Tracy was arrested but managed a daring escape from a Colorado jail.
"My understanding is that he was one of the last desperados with Butch Cassidy and the sundance kid. But he was captured several times and each time he was captured he would break out of prison," said Carlson. "Usually when he broke out of prison he would kill somebody."
Tracy's criminal exploits continued in Portland, Oregon, where he partnered with outlaw Dave Merrill.
The duo's criminal career was cut short in February 1899 when they were sentenced to 20 years in the Salem penitentiary.
"He was into the ladies and ended up supposedly falling in love with the daughter of a territorial governor in Washington. So when he broke out of Salem he went out to see her so he headed North toward Seattle. Law enforcement was on his tail so he had no choice but to go west," added Carlson.
Yet, on June 9, 1902, with the aid of an accomplice, they escaped, killing three men and wounding another in their flight.
Tracy, suspecting Merrill's reliability, killed him on June 28 near Chehalis, Washington, and then continued, killing Detective Charles Raymond and Deputy John Williams in Seattle.
Tracy's final stand came on August 6, 1902, at a ranch near Creston, where a violent gunfight led to the deaths of posse members Cornelious Rowley and Enoch Breece.
"He went up to Wenatchee and stole two horses and proceeded on a cross based on where US 2 is to Davenport. And that is where he met his end," Carlson said.
Wounded and surrounded, Tracy chose to end his life rather than face capture.
His death marked the end of a notorious career that left a trail of violence across the Northwest.
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