Out of a mysterious Eagle County murder in 1916 arises a new historical research fund

It was “one of the foulest crimes in (the) history of Eagle County,” according to The Herald Democrat published on April 14, 1916.

Carl Josef “Charley” Peterson, a bachelor homesteader originally from Sweden who had settled on the Colorado River and led a ferry business fording the river, was found murdered, with four bullets in his body, on April 10, 1916, days after his death.

On April 8, 2024, over 20 people gathered by Peterson’s graveside to learn about Peterson’s life and death and hear about the Charley Peterson Historical Research Fund, a new fund operated through the Eagle County Historical Society to inspire research focused on Eagle County’s history.

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“Let’s try to get some of that local history down on record before it gets lost,” said Kathy Heicher, the president of the Eagle County Historical Society.

An anonymous donor provided $10,000 for the fund, with one stipulation: Every year, one or three or more people (not just two people) must visit Peterson’s graveside on April 8, the anniversary of his death, and provide breakfast for Peterson.

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Charley Peterson’s story

“We’re here today to serve breakfast to a fellow we know as Charley Peterson,” Heicher said.

Laid before Peterson’s headstone was a picnic blanket holding a plate of eggs, pancakes, and ham, and a cup of coffee.

Charley Peterson was born Carl Josef, likely with the last name Kallquist, in Sweden in 1859. He immigrated to the United States in 1884 and became a naturalized citizen in 1888. As a citizen, he qualified to partake in the Homestead Act and homesteaded 164 acres on what was then called the Grand River, now known as the Colorado River.

In 1916, Heicher said, around 100 people were living in Gypsum, and the town’s limits ranged from Dotsero to up the Colorado River.

Peterson lived a quiet life as a bachelor on his land, with a dog as his faithful companion. He adhered to the requirements of the Homestead Act, setting up buildings, fencing, and working the land he owned. Peterson’s cabin is located where Roundup River Ranch sits now.

“The 1910 census referred to him as a common laborer,” said Janice Tonz, vice president of the Eagle County Historical Society.

Peterson set up a small business ferrying people across the Grand River, as his cabin was near a narrow spot. When people wanted to cross from the other side of the river, they would call to Peterson, and he would go pick them up in his boat.

“In 1916, (Peterson) was still living alone in a cabin by the river with his dog, who had been his faithful companion for many years,” operating his ferry business, Tonz said.

On April 10, 1916, two men, Rogers and Jim Watson, arrived on the side of the river opposite Peterson’s cabin and called for him to take them across the river with his boat, according to the Eagle Valley Enterprise published on April 14, 1916. Peterson never answered, so the men found another way to get across the river and then approached Peterson’s cabin.

There they found Peterson’s body, dragged 100 yards away from the cabin, under a pile of sagebrush. Peterson had been shot four times, twice in the body, once in the neck, and once in the head. 

“They immediately alerted some neighbors, who called the authorities, and there was an investigation into what happened. Parts of it still remain a mystery,” Tonz said.

Peterson owned a .38 caliber revolver, which he kept in a shoulder holster on the wall of his cabin. The Herald Democrat reported that there was “practically no doubt” that this gun was the murder weapon. Investigators found the holster on the wall slashed open, and four shell casings matching what the gun would have carried. The gun was missing from the scene of the crime, as was Peterson’s dog.

Three plates were found, the food consumed, inside Peterson’s cabin. It is suspected that Peterson hosted two men for dinner in the early afternoon — what we would now call lunch — and they murdered him shortly afterward.

“So it’s surmised that Charley’s kindness and hospitality was repaid with murder,” Tonz said.

Why, exactly, Peterson was murdered is unknown — he had no recognized enemies.

“Peterson was known as a quiet, unassuming individual who was never known to quarrel,” the Herald Democrat reported. “He never had personal difficulties with anyone so far as known,” the article said.

Investigators found three sets of footprints leading from the cabin to the spot where Peterson’s body was found. One set belonged to Peterson, and the other two sets remain unknown, including one with a distinctive mark indicating hobnails in the heel.

Investigators concluded that the murderers were likely trying to rob Peterson, as the cabin was found ransacked. However, investigators believed the murderers did not find Peterson’s money, as they discovered $104.20 that Peterson had hidden in a secret drawer. In today’s dollars, $104.20 amounts to $2,847.03.

Investigators never found the two men who had murdered Peterson.

“The house with three plates, the cabin where Charley served his final meal, is still there,” though rebuilt, Heicher said.

Peterson was survived by a brother, Andrew Kallquist. “Kallquist was most likely their real (last) name,” Heicher said. “A lot of immigrants, when they came to America, changed their names purposely,” to sound more American, and have a new beginning, she said.

It was most likely Kallquist who had Peterson’s tombstone erected. A quote in Latin on the bottom of the tombstone reads “integer vitae,” which translates to “blameless in life, or innocent,” Tonz said.

“I have known this story about Charley Peterson for 30 years or more, as has our donor, and our donor always has sympathy for this poor guy,” Heicher said. 

Remembering Peterson through research

In all the years she knew of Peterson, Heicher said, she could not find the site of his grave. “I could find newspaper articles that said Charley was buried in the Gypsum Cemetery,” Heicher said. She had cemetery lists and maps, but she still couldn’t find Peterson’s headstone, so she thought he had to be buried in the unmarked paupers’ graves.

When the historical society started the process with the grant, Heicher and other members dug into more resources, including homestead records, old newspaper records, and census records. “We found his homestead records and realized his real name is Carl Josef Peterson,” Heicher said.

Armed with Peterson’s actual name, and with some assistance from her grandson and the cemetery’s caretaker, Heicher was able to find Peterson’s gravesite, as well as Kallquist’s, who was buried next to him under a simple, worn-down metal marker that misspelled his last name. The donor and historical society combined funds to give Kallquist’s grave a new stone marker.

Those hoping to receive financing through the Charley Peterson Historical Research Fund can propose a project, such as a blog, column, video, and more, and receive between $50 and $1,000 if their project is approved by the selection committee. Funds will be awarded to projects once per year, typically in April, but in 2024 the awards will be in July to accommodate for the recent launching of the grant.

“We hope our Charley Peterson Fund encourages people to do more local history research,” Heicher said.

More details about the fund can be found on the Eagle County Historical Society’s website.