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Arts and Entertainment

El Moro tragedy revisited

Film delves into 1906 death of Sheriff Thompson in Durango

Who killed the La Plata County sheriff?

You may come up with your own answer after seeing the feature-length documentary “Tragedy at El Moro.”

The new film, directed by Durangoan Preston Benson, will premiere Tuesday at El Moro Spirits & Tavern. The bar and restaurant occupies the same spot that the El Moro Saloon did in 1906, when La Plata County Sheriff William J. Thompson died after a shootout with Durango Marshall Jessie C. Stansel.

Durango Police Department historian Sharon Greve, who helped research for the movie, said she is excited for the public to know the factual, historical story that’s been the subject of much speculation and subjective interpretation over the years.

In the 1900s, Durango really was the Wild West. Most men worked at railroad, mining and ranching jobs, and there wasn’t much else for them to do besides frequent the many downtown bars and bordellos.

In the 900 block of Main Avenue, where El Moro sits, there were 11 saloons, Greve said, and in those saloons, they didn’t just drink 5-cent beers. They also gambled, and open gambling was shut down by Gov. Jesse Fuller McDonald on July 1, 1905.

At the root of the conflict between Thompson, played by Trapper Niccum, and Stansel, played by Jon Mattox, was Thompson’s belief that the Durango Police Department wasn’t doing enough to help him put a stop to the gambling, and friction built between the two law enforcers.

On Jan. 9, 1906, about midday, the two were in El Moro Saloon, and Thompson, who had been drinking, was using profanity with the sober Stansel, who didn’t like it and left the bar. Stansel was leaning against a light pole when Thompson exited El Moro, uttering more “not-too-nice words,” Greve said. Thompson turned around and fired at Stansel, and Stansel fired back.

They exchanged fire until they ran out of bullets. Thompson ran out first and hit Stansel over the head, and they continued to scuffle until Thompson started to go into Wesley Helm’s Barbershop next door, where he fell in the doorway. He died in a horse-drawn ambulance on the northern Main Avenue bridge as he was being transported to Ochsner Hospital on West Park Avenue.

After a 10-day trial and testimony from 50 witnesses, Stansel was acquitted because of a lack of evidence that he had fired the shot that killed Thompson, Greve said.

The account of one witness stated there was a pale, smooth-shaven, tall man in dark clothing standing in the El Moro doorway with a gun drawn, Greve said. The witness said the man was there long enough to fire two shots, but he couldn’t tell if he did shoot, she said. During the gunfight, Thompson and Stansel always were facing each other, but Thompson was shot in the back. So that’s where the discrepancy lies. And Hood Mortuary burned Thompson’s clothes the night of the accident, so evidence was lost.

It’s possible that someone in the saloon industry wanted Thompson out of the way because he was cracking down on gambling. A Durango newspaperman once said to Thompson, “Watch out, Bill. They’re out to get you,” Greve said.

“Both men were very dedicated to their jobs,” Greve said. “They were very well-liked by the population, but they knew that it was brewing, and it was not a surprise that it was going to one day explode with the controversy between them.”

Much investigation and research went into this movie, and audiences will be intrigued to learn what really happened on that tragic day, Benson said.

“It’s really kind of an incredible story, beyond what everyone knows or has heard about,” Benson said.

Kris Oyler, co-owner of El Moro, opened the bar in summer 2013.

“It’s very cool to have the history behind what we’re doing,” he said.

mhayden@durangoherald.com

If you go

“Tragedy at El Moro,” directed by Preston Benson, 6 p.m. Tuesday at El Moro Spirits and Tavern, 945 Main Ave. Running time is 45 minutes. Tickets are $13 in advance or $15 at the door and include one cocktail or beer and appetizers. For more information, call 259-5555.



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