The First Murder in Snowflake
Charles Flake Murdered and James Flake Injured
James Madison Flake and Charles Love Flake were brothers and business partners. One fateful day in December, 1892, Charles was murdered by a wanted man. In return, James killed his brother’s murderer.
In 1877, James or “Jim”, 18 years old, and Charles or “Charley”, 15 years old, were the two oldest surviving sons of William Jordan Flake and Lucy Hanna White when they were called to settle in Arizona. This church calling required them to abandon their nice farm and ranch in Beaver, Utah. Before leaving, Jim got married to Nancy Jane Hall. They left for Arizona on November 19, 1877. It is likely that Jim and Charley were relied on heavily by their father on the ranch before moving to Arizona and the livestock that they brought along.
The family was living along the Little Colorado River 5 miles west of Joseph City, Arizona. After 5 dam failures to tame the irregular flowing river and irrigate crops and after a dispute in the small community, their father left to look for a more suitable home. He eventually came across Silver Creek valley where James Stinson had a homestead with 300 acres of irrigated crops. Flake and Stinson ate dinner together on July 4, 1878. Flake told Stinson that he wanted to buy his valley but the two were not able to come to an agreement. Flake returned back to his family the next day and detailed his trip to his wives and children.
The asking price for Stinson’s squatter rights to the Silver Creek Valley was $12,000. Flake indicated that everything he owned didn’t amount to half of that price but he thought it was the best and ideal location to settle. After hearing this, Flake’s wife, Lucy, began to pressure him to buy the valley. She said she would contribute with laundry and cooking to make it work out. James and Charles persuaded their father to buy it too. Lucy, Jim, and Charley teamed up to convince Flake who eventually conceded and agreed to go ahead and make the deal. They moved to the valley on July 21, 1878. The Town of Snowflake recognizes this day as its founding even though Stinson was living in present day Snowflake as early as 1873.
Later, Charley returned to Utah and attended Brigham Young Academy in Provo, Utah for two years and was called and served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mississippi. He served from 1883 to 1885. He married Christabell Hunt in 1885 and began his own family. He was industrious and spent time working at a retail store and teaching school. He was elected justice of the peace in 1886. He also began his own retail store and got a contract to carry mail from Holbrook to Fort Apache.
The older Jim served his own mission leaving his wife and then 6 children to serve a mission in England in the fall of 1887. He returned home October 25, 1889.
Jim recorded in his journal that him and his brother Charley entered into a partnership on July 1, 1890. The two were responsible for the US mail contract from Holbrook to Fort Apache and began to build a two-story building for their store and social hall. Charley referred to his brother Jim as being “broke up in property”. It appears that the younger Charley was better off financially and reached out to help his older brother, Jim. Jim had just returned from a 2-year mission and left his wife and 6 kids home while he was unable to earn an income as he served a mission.
Their mother said that “Charles took James in with him in the mail business. He kept increasing his store and took the mail for four years more. He was greatly blessed in his labors. He greatly assisted the poor and the widows.”
Jim and Charley added a second store and station in Show Low which was ran by their sister Mary and her husband, Theodore Turley.
The new store’s construction in Snowflake began in July of 1892 and eventually was finished after Charley’s untimely death in January 1893. The Store was later restored by Dean Porter and it houses the restaurant Streets today.
On December 8, 1892, a telegram was sent from Holbrook to Snowflake to James Flake. The telegram was sent by Nat Greer of the Apache County Sheriff’s Office. The telegram sent a description of a wanted man that was believed to be in Snowflake. It indicated that the man was dangerous and “be sure to have assistance enough to arrest him”. A $100 reward was offered if the actual man was arrested. The criminal was wanted for a bank robbery that occured in a San Marcial, New Mexico, a now ghost town along the Rio Grande located south of present day Socorro.
James and Charles acted upon the telegram. James later wrote in his journal that “we had received telegram to take and hold until the officer came from Holbrook, who was following him.” It appears that Jim felt like they were obligated to take action.
James and Charles were in their store. The two discussed the telegram and consulted how to effectuate the arrest. Both left to their homes to retrieve their pistols and to meet back up to carry out the arrest. When Charley went home, his wife encouraged him to sit down and eat. He told her he didn’t have time and to not wait but to go ahead and eat.
The two met up and decided that Charley would approach the man first and engage the man in conversation then Jim would come up and advise him he was under arrest. Charles entered first and complimented the man on the gun he was cleaning. James entered from the other direction and told him he was under arrest. The man questioned the authority to arrest him. He attempted to step back and Jim grabbed him by his right shoulder. The man attempted to spin around and while doing so drew another pistol from his pants with his left hand. Charley yelled “you can’t pull that on us.” The outlaw shot over his shoulder and hit Jim in his left ear. The gun powder residue was spread over his eye and cheek. The outlaw then turned on Charley and shot him through the neck. Although just sustaining an injury, Jim had the wherewithal to fire back. Jim shot two times at the bank robber, the first went straight into his mouth. The second entered his right cheek and out the top of his head.
Jim then rushed to Charley and immediately held him in his arms and stuck his thumb into the neck wound to stop the bleeding. Charley was hit in the jugular vein. Charles looked up at James and did not say anything, just smiled back at his brother.
James wasn’t even aware of his own injuries until afterwards. His ability to hear was diminished significantly and was hard of hearing the rest of his life. Jim wrote in his journal that “this is the first real sorrow I have even known, for months I was dazed, and time only made it harder to bear, and ever new trouble brings this old one fresh before me. By my own request this case was brought before the court and I was exonerated, or acquitted of any blame.”
The murder was reported in newspapers throughout Arizona including in Phoenix, Yuma, Tombstone, Globe, and Flagstaff.
Their mother, Lucy, wrote that “my dear son Charles was fatally shot. It is no use to try to tell of our sorrow. Poor James would stand by his brother and say ‘Oh, if you could have lived and I be taken’. It almost killed him. His injuries were very bad but heart trouble was worse.”
James would say that “if I could give that poor fellow back his life how gladly I would do it”. The young bank robber was merely 19 years old. James continued to struggle with the whole incident of losing his brother and killing another man. He could not sleep. Jim eventually felt peace after receiving a letter from church leadership in Utah telling him that “Charles has finished his work, has fought the good fight and kept the faith. You have the heartfelt sympathy of the First Presidency and the Twelve who have sorrowed over your trouble this day and offer you their blessing”. This comforted Jim and helped him cope. Jim and Charley’s younger son, Osmer, did most of the business for the store for a quite some time.
Charles left behind a wife and 3 kids. His wife was pregnant at the time and gave birth to Charles Love Flake Jr. six months later. Charles Love Flake Jr was killed while serving in World War One. Christabell never remarried.
Charles’s death was the first murder in the young town of Snowflake. His death is memorialized at that Peace Officer’s Memorial at the Arizona Capitol Plaza along with all other peace officers who have died in the line of duty in Arizona. Charles and James left a legacy of service. Their examples live on.
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Thank you Hunter so much for posting this. Such an important part of Snowflake history to remember two amazing men.
Such a tragedy for Charles and his young wife, and family.