Alexander Toponce facts for kids

Alexander Toponce (born November 10, 1839 – died May 13, 1923) was an important American pioneer in the western United States. His family moved to the United States from France when he was seven. Alexander left home around age ten. He worked in logging and lumber before becoming a teamster, stagecoach driver, and freight handler.

Toponce headed west when he was about fifteen years old. He first went to Missouri, then to the northern Intermountain West. There, he managed freight and stagecoach businesses. He also owned livestock herds, tried mining, and invested in many development projects. He is known for opening or improving many early freight and stage routes in the region. Later in life, he mainly invested in mining and land development. Over his lifetime, Toponce became rich and lost his money several times. This happened because of bad weather, Native American raids, changing prices, and dishonest business partners.

Toponce knew many famous pioneers in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Nevada. When he was at his peak, he could get thousands of dollars in credit with just a promise. Around 1919, friends encouraged him to share his life story. He dictated his Reminiscences, which his wife published after he died. He didn't keep a diary, so he spoke mostly from memory. Some of his dates might be a bit off, but Toponce played a big part in developing the upper Intermountain West. He stayed active until a few months before his death, even planning a big water and power project.

Early Life and Moving West

Alexander Toponce was born in Belfort, France, a town near the border with Switzerland. In 1846, his father, Peter, moved the family to the United States. One of Alex's first memories was riding a large French stagecoach, called a diligence, through Paris to the port of Le Havre. Toponce said that west of Paris, the stagecoach was put onto a train car. The train carried them to the end of the railway line, which was Rouen in 1846. There, the stagecoach was unloaded and pulled by horses to Le Havre.

Alex learned his first English words from sailors on the ship coming over. After arriving in New York City, they traveled up the Hudson River and then on the Erie Canal. They finally settled in Jefferson County, New York. As the second son, Alex didn't have many opportunities at home. He found a better job chopping wood for another family. Then he worked at a logging camp and sawmill for several years, where he also learned to handle horses.

Around 1854, Toponce and a friend traveled west to what would become Tipton, Missouri. He didn't say why they moved. However, the Pacific Railroad was building tracks across the state towards Tipton. They likely saw a chance to supply wood for railroad ties and lumber for new towns. So, they rented a sawmill and started making wood planks and timber.

Sometimes, there wasn't much demand for lumber. Toponce also found other work during this time. He traveled to New Orleans twice to be a French interpreter for a mule dealer. Toponce also worked as a "bullwhacker" (someone who drives oxen) on the Santa Fe Trail twice. He worked for Russell, Majors and Waddell, a very large freight company. This company later ran the famous, but short-lived, Pony Express. Toponce also helped build stage stations that the Butterfield Overland Mail company later used. This mail service started in September 1858.

The Utah Expedition

By 1857, Toponce had moved further west. He was an assistant wagon master for Russell, Majors and Waddell, working for the U.S. Army. Before this, he had ridden an express mail route out of Fort Kearny in Nebraska Territory. The transport company had been asked by the Army to put together a huge supply train. This train was for soldiers heading to Utah. The Army was sent from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to make sure the U.S. government's rules were followed in Utah Territory. President James Buchanan wanted to replace Brigham Young as governor. Young was also the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often called the Mormons. This disagreement became known as the Utah War.

On October 5, 1857, Mormon raiders burned most of the supply train. It was still eighty miles from Utah. Toponce later asked Lot Smith, the leader of the raiders, why he burned the supplies instead of taking them. Smith said they were afraid the Army would catch them and wanted to avoid direct fighting. Because of the lack of supplies and bad weather, the troops and Toponce had to stop for the winter. They had a difficult time near the burned remains of Fort Bridger, Wyoming.

While the Army waited for supplies and better weather, leaders worked out a peaceful solution. When the troops finally moved in early June, an agreement had been reached. They met no resistance. They then set up Camp Floyd about thirty miles south of Salt Lake City. The camp grew slowly, both to watch the Mormons and to protect the mail route to California.

The Army still needed supplies, but they had many things they didn't need. The transport company no longer needed so many wagons and animals. So, around October, they sold off much of the transport equipment. Toponce himself bought a dozen army mules. He sold many of them for a profit before he even left Utah. He then went back to Missouri and rented a sawmill. He ran it until Abraham Lincoln was elected president.

Mining in the West

Toponce and most of his sawmill workers were seen as supporters of the North. He and two other men decided Missouri was not safe for them. They put together a group to hunt for animal furs and explore the Colorado gold fields. At Colorado Springs, they heard about mining chances near where Breckenridge is today. Their claims made "considerable money" in 1861. This made them brave enough to build a long water channel (called a flume) to bring water to new placer mining claims they had bought. But the new sites didn't last long, and they lost most of their money. So, in late 1862 and early 1863, Toponce and his partners sold what they had left to James McNassar in Denver.

From his Colorado adventure, Toponce only saved two mules, three horses, a wagon, and enough supplies for a long trip. A large group of over 160 gold-seekers gathered in Denver. They chose Toponce to be their captain. Even though he was only twenty-three, he had been doing a man's job for almost ten years. Despite the winter weather (they started in early February), everyone wanted to reach the Montana gold fields. They had heard these fields were much richer than anything in Colorado.

The group first headed north, avoiding the high mountains. They entered Wyoming Territory. Toponce described a route that would have crossed the mountains at Bridger Pass, near the modern town of Rawlins, Wyoming. They joined the regular Oregon Trail route near Fort Bridger. The group generally followed the Trail until they were south of old Fort Hall. There, they left the main route to head north. They crossed to the west side of the Snake River near the mouth of the Blackfoot River, using a ferry.

The group, which had grown to about 180 people, arrived at Bannack, Montana on May 14, 1863. Many pioneers who later became important in Western development traveled with Toponce on this journey. Perhaps the most famous was Enos A. Wall, who was just a year older than Alex. Wall later successfully ran gold and silver mines in Montana, Idaho, and Utah. He made his fortune in Utah copper mining, selling his holdings for $2.7 million.

All the best mining land around Bannack was already claimed. So, Toponce followed the rush to Alder Gulch, where Virginia City, Montana was soon founded. The money he made from his Alder Gulch claim was good, but not amazing. So, in the fall, he and Enos Wall packed supplies and their gold dust on two wagons and headed south to Utah.

Hauling Freight

Near Salt Lake City, Toponce and Wall bought eight wagons with teams of animals. They filled them with flour, tea, butter, and mining tools. Alex also bought a huge prepared hog from a butcher in Brigham City, Utah. The cold night made the hog freeze quickly, so it arrived in good condition when they got back to Virginia City the day before Christmas. He had paid 6 cents a pound for the meat, and the butcher, Alexander Metzel, paid him a dollar a pound for it.

Shortly after Toponce returned to Montana, the Montana Vigilantes began their efforts to stop widespread crime. He didn't see the execution of George Ives, but he heard a lot about it. Then, after selling his goods and most of his teams, he headed south again. Toponce believed the hangings were necessary.

After a difficult winter trip, Toponce led a new supply train to Montana in the spring of 1864. After selling those goods during the summer, he tried to make another trip in the fall. However, he was delayed and ended up losing 175 cattle to bad weather. This loss hurt his profits for the year. By then, gold had been found further north in what was called Last Chance Gulch. The gold camp soon became Helena, Montana. So Toponce made up some of his losses by building a rough road over a local mountain pass. He used it to deliver the first large train of supplies for the miners there.

With Helena as a destination, Toponce looked for chances to haul freight from ports on the upper Missouri River. Fort Benton, Montana was the closest steamboat landing. But low water often stopped boats from reaching it. Alex's first contract was to haul government supplies from Fort Buford, over four hundred miles further down the river. His first trip went very well. He made extra money by carrying supplies for the local Native American agent into Helena.

His second trip, also with a government contract, went well. However, there was one dangerous event. Toponce's early success had attracted competitors, including the Diamond R transport company. "Colonel" Charles Arthur Broadwater managed the Diamond R train. He was known in Colorado and Virginia City.

Broadwater wanted to race ahead, traveling only at night to avoid possible Native American groups. All went well until they rode during the day and met a large group. They acted bravely, so the warriors only made them trade their good saddle horses for some skinny ones. Broadwater later became an important leader in Montana politics. Broadwater County is named after him.

Toponce's third trip for the government also did well, even though they had to survive a serious Native American attack. However, he then tried a business deal on his own that faced even stronger attacks and a severe snowstorm. He started the venture with $75,000 in gold and his wagon train. When he finally returned to Helena in late June 1866, he owned only one mule. He had to borrow $200 to pay his men. But back in Salt Lake City, a local merchant convinced him to buy, on credit, a train of twenty-six wagons that the merchant no longer needed. Toponce then got more credit from the merchant to load the wagons with freight for Montana. The merchant made money, and Toponce came away from the deal with plenty of cash for another venture.

During 1866–1867, Toponce took a chance on eggs, buying them all over northern Utah. Back in Montana, he sold them for a good profit to merchant George L. Shoup. Shoup later became one of the largest cattle ranchers in Idaho. He was the last governor of Idaho Territory and the first for the new state. He then served as a U.S. Senator.

Expanding Business

By the summer of 1867, Toponce was doing well financially again. But Brigham Young had started encouraging church members to trade only with Mormon merchants. This led to a boycott of non-Mormon stores in 1866. It affected business for several years. Many non-Mormon merchants Alex had worked with were left with goods they couldn't sell.

Two of them, including Utah Territorial Governor Charles Durkee, asked Toponce for help. Alex bought a one-third share in the goods. Then he sold them to stores all over central Utah. These storekeepers couldn't pass up the chance, even if they were supposed to be self-sufficient. Mostly, he took cattle or local goods in trade because few people had much cash or gold dust. He ended up with about 6,000 cattle. He and a crew then drove them into Nevada. He sold most of the cattle to a group of butchers who served the mining camps of the Comstock Lode. He also sold two fine trotting horses to William Sharon, who managed the local Bank of California branch and later became a U.S. Senator for Nevada. In May 1868, Toponce finished his business and returned to Salt Lake City. He and his partners estimated they each made $100,000.

With plenty of money, Toponce began selling railroad ties, beef, and other supplies to the Union Pacific Railroad. The eastern part of the First transcontinental railroad was then in Wyoming and would cross into Utah in late 1868. Alex himself was at the Golden Spike ceremony when the two parts of the railroad met on May 10, 1869. He even borrowed a shovel and threw some dirt on the ties for the last part of the track, "just to tell about it afterward."

Toponce enjoyed ranching, so he mainly raised cattle and horses for the next five or six years. From his base in Garland, Utah, he supplied beef and sold horses and mules to customers from southern Idaho down to Salt Lake City. Also, on September 18, 1870, Alex married Kate (Beach) Collins. Although newspapers later often said she was the first white child born in Utah, Toponce's Reminiscences clearly state she was the fourth. Still, when he wrote his memoir, she was the oldest living white woman born in Utah.

Toponce counted many important leaders of the LDS church among his customers and suppliers. This included Brigham Young, whom he called "the fairest man to do business with in Utah." Others included Heber C. Kimball, an early member of the LDS Quorum of the Twelve; William Henry Hooper, a representative to the U.S. Congress from Utah Territory; and John Taylor, who later became president of the church after Brigham Young. Besides these, the famous Porter Rockwell, a frontier marshal and bodyguard to LDS founder Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, "took a fancy" to Alex. Yet, despite his many contacts in the church, Toponce never became a Mormon himself.

Toponce had a mix of religious friends. He often rode in a stagecoach with Episcopal Bishop Daniel S. Tuttle, who later became a leader of the U.S. Episcopal Church. Alex was very impressed with Tuttle's friendly way with people. Toponce was also impressed by Methodist minister Thomas Corwin Iliff.

In early 1871, Toponce joined another business deal to sell goods for a non-Mormon merchant. This deal left them with over 9,000 Texas cattle. So Alex leased land on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Idaho. Toponce ran his Idaho cattle business for about seven years before selling it to cattleman John Sparks. Sparks, with partners, would eventually own one of the largest cattle operations in Idaho and Nevada. He was elected Nevada governor twice.

In another project in 1873, Toponce and three partners built a canal from the Malad River south into Corinne. The canal mainly provided power for a flour mill in the town. There was also some water left for irrigation. Toponce and other partners also started a charcoal kiln in Wyoming. They shipped the charcoal fuel to lead-silver smelters east of Salt Lake City. From 1878 to 1881, the Utah and Northern Railway finally connected northern Utah with Butte, Montana. During these years, the railroad steadily took business away from animal-powered freight companies. So, over the decade, Toponce gradually stopped that part of his business, though he continued to lease trains to other operators.

However, in 1879, major gold discoveries in Custer County, Idaho brought thousands of prospectors to the area. It also interested George Hearst, father of William Randolph Hearst. Toponce had known Hearst from the Ontario silver mine in Park City, Utah. Although the Ontario mine eventually made Hearst a fortune, the early costs were very high. Toponce was one of those who loaned him money when Hearst needed it.

Inspired by Hearst's interest, Toponce found partners and built the first wagon road into the boomtown of Bonanza from Challis. He also started a stage line from Challis to Blackfoot, connecting with the railroad. Later, he opened a branch line to Bellevue. After three years, a competitor offered a lower price for the mail contract, so he sold the business.

Toponce's venture in central Idaho led him back into mining. He provided "grubstakes" (money or supplies) to hopeful prospectors. Of course, few such investments paid off big, but Alex did have one or two good successes.

Investor and Developer

In 1883, to combine resources and lower costs, Toponce and four other investors formed the Corinne Mill, Canal and Stock Company. Alex's contribution included his share in the Corinne canal and flour mill, as well as his ranch and livestock. He was named vice president of the company. The president was a friend and business partner of Toponce's since 1864. The company invested in land, some of which they developed and sold. Some land they used to expand their livestock herds. Trying to complete a major land deal, they asked for help from Toponce's "very good friend," Utah Governor Eli Murray. The governor hoped to encourage non-Mormon settlement in the area, but problems with water rights stopped the deal.

But in 1886, while Toponce and one other director were out of town, the president and the two other directors secretly dissolved the company in their favor. Since most of Toponce's money was tied up in the company, he was almost broke. After over seven years of legal battles, the people who manipulated the stock were also broke. Toponce won his case against them, but he could only collect a $20,000 bond that had been set aside earlier.

Meanwhile, Toponce's good credit and other assets kept him financially stable. He started a new livestock business. He also handled several different construction and development projects. In 1887, he was elected mayor of Corinne, a job he handled with skill and humor.

Within a few years, Toponce's investment in a mine near Shoup, Idaho provided a good return, though it didn't make money for a long time. Around 1900, Toponce tried a big livestock deal. He bought over 2,600 horses and 150 mules in Nevada. He paid very low prices because most of the animals were wild and poorly fed. He planned to drive them east into Nebraska or Kansas. He would move slowly so they could get fat on the grassy plains. Along the way, they would be trained for riding and pulling wagons. "Broke" (trained) horses and mules were worth ten to fifty times what Alex had paid for them.

It seems Alex was seriously injured during this venture. For a man of sixty years, the effects may have been very serious. Toponce didn't mention these events in his Reminiscences. It was quite some time before his name appeared in newspapers again.

Most of Toponce's projects in his final years involved irrigation (bringing water to crops) and hydroelectric power (making electricity from water). In 1920, a reporter was amazed at Toponce's energy in working on a large water project at age eighty-one. This was about two years after Alex began dictating his Reminiscences for his wife to write down. He continued to work on an irrigation project in Wyoming. However, he had heart problems in February 1923. He never fully recovered and died on May 13, 1923.

Legacy

Toponce Creek, located about twenty miles east of Pocatello, Idaho, was named for Alexander after he grazed cattle in the area.

His memoir, The Reminiscences of Alexander Toponce, is his most important legacy. Many books and articles have used his document as a source. These include histories of the "Old West," Episcopal Church history, mining history, Camp Floyd in Utah, vigilante activities, water resources, early freighting, and much more.

Images for kids

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  Alexander Toponce portrait