Shootout In Oregon

The August D. Singler Story
by C. A. Nilsson

The serenity of the sparsely populated foothills southeast of Jacksonville was shattered by a brutal exchange of gunfire at dusk on Tuesday April 22, 1913. In a matter of seconds 19 year-old Lester Jones was dead and Jackson County Sheriff August D. Singler, age 36, was staggering from the scene with a wound which would take his life the next day. Though there was some confusion concerning the exact sequence of events immediately preceding the shootout one fact was undisputed; the life and career of a popular, respected lawman was cut short.

Born May 15 1876, August David Singler was one of thirteen children of a prominent Indiana businessman. On November 15, 1898 he married Rose Probst and setup housekeeping in South Bend Indiana, working as a salesman for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. When their first child (appropriately named Valentine) was born on February 14, 1900, August watched as the attending mid wife assisted Rose with the delivery and used the knowledge gained to deliver the seven children who followed Valentine (1). The self-reliance and confidence in his own abilities demonstrated by the act of assisting his wife in the births of their children were a cornerstone of his personality and shaped his actions for the rest of his life.

In 1901, Singler made the first of two solo trips to Oregon by hitchhiking from his Indiana home to the Rogue Valley. There were two purposes for the trips; one was to visit a brother (William) and sister (Anna Singler Rick) and the second was to "see what the West was like."(2) His second trip in 1903, again made via thumb-power, convinced him southern Oregon should be his growing family’s new home. He wired Rose (who was by then pregnant with their fourth child, Zita) to bring their three boys and join him in Grants Pass where they were to live in a cabin belonging to August’s sister until their move to Medford in 1906.(3)

Singler added the selling of "patent medicines" for the Electric Medical Company to his job with the Singer Sewing Machine Company and used the proceeds to buy about three acres on Lozier Lane. Though he knew little about construction, he built a two-story house which would be the family’s home for the next six years.

Singler’s career in law enforcement began in 1909 when he became Constable of Medford District. Already a popular and active citizen (4) of the growing community of Medford, he soon became a respected lawman as well, known for his "industriousness, optimism and integrity." (5) A number of cases during his four-year tenure as constable demonstrated his tenacity and bravery in apprehending criminals.

In July of 1911, Peter Janetos used a revolver "large enough to besiege a city" to settle an argument with an acquaintance named Ruchias in a lumber camp near Butte Falls. Constable Singler and his brother William drove to the camp to investigate and learned Janetos and two friends were in a smaller camp some distance down the railroad line. Using a railroad handcar the lawmen arrived at the second camp and confronted Janetos’ friends who attempted to display ignorance of their companion’s whereabouts. A guilty glance toward a wood pile betrayed Janetos, however, and the constable "got the drop" on him. When the trio returned to Medford the next day, they were confronted at the corner of Central and Main by an angry group of Ruchias’ friends intent on relieving the lawmen of their charge and carrying out their own justice, but the sight of the officers’ gun muzzles held them at bay and the prisoner was taken to jail. (6)

Other cases proved Singler’s thoroughness as an investigator. Over a period of several days in late 1911, he discovered that a group of boys ranging in age from twelve to fifteen was responsible for a string of thefts. As his investigation progressed evidence surfaced that a junk dealer had been buying the loot taken by the gang. (7)

The Lounsberry train robbery case involved the search for loot and other evidence which would tie Wells Lounsberry to several train holdups. Constable Singler searched the Lounsberry ranch on the Jacksonville-Central Point road for at least two days, going so far as to search the brick-lined well. He noted following his search that although the Lounsberrys had a 57-acre orchard and ranch their library contained no books on the subjects of ranching or farming.

After two terms as constable, Singler decided to run for the office of Jackson County Sheriff and entered the republican primary race. His campaign slogan was unique for its straight forwardness; the caption "The Party I am Running For" appeared over a family portrait. The Ashland Record noted: "(Singler) sets up the plea he has a family of eight and needs the job to feed them. His honesty is refreshing. Most candidates set up the plea that they were urged to run by friends and felt it a duty to do so, so far as we know Singler is the only candidate in the field who has said that he is running because he wants the job."(8) Singler received 1475 of the 2490 votes cast in the primary.

Only one change was made in his campaign for the general election; the Singler’s eighth child, born following the primary election, was added to the candidate’s photo with "addition since the primary" written above the child’s head.

As in the primary race, Singler was once again given poor odds for victory and once again he won by a substantial margin, defeating a powerful incumbent named W.A. Jones and two other contenders.

Having won the office Singler prepared to assume the role and offered the required $10,000 bond to the county court. He was informed by Judge Tou Velle the bond amount had been increased to $15,000 for the sheriffís post and an additional $40,000 bond for the secondary office of tax collector. Singler started to argue the point, stating the court had no jurisdiction over the sheriff’s office, but was rebuffed by an angry Tou Velle. Singler arranged for the bonds through independent bondsmen and a bonding agency, stating "he wished no trouble with the court." (9) Trouble seemed unavoidable, however, for a week later a newspaper carried an account of another exchange between the county court and the new sheriff, this time involving the choice Singler had made for first deputy. Again Singler acquiesced to Tou Velle’s wishes and "mutually acceptable choice was made." (10)

For Singler, being sheriff of Jackson county meant spending a lot of time in Jacksonville (then the county seat) as well as commuting to and from the home on Lozier Lane; spending time in Jacksonville meant spending time away from his family. To remedy the problem the family rented a house at the corner of 6th and D streets (across 6th from the courthouse and jail) and settled into a routine; Rose cooked meals for the jail inmates to earn extra money (11), August dealt with county business, the children and three bloodhounds took turns serenading the community (the children by day with their music lessons, the dogs by night). (12)

Lester Jones

On the evening of April 22, just four months after Singler had taken office, word reached him a young man named Lester Jones had been sighted in Medford and Ashland. A warrant for Jones’ arrest had been sworn the year before accusing him of petty theft in Jacksonville; when the Jacksonville marshal attempted to arrest him, Jones drew a revolver, disarmed the marshall and escaped into the mountains of northern California. (13) Accompanied by George Launspach, a neighbor of Jones, Sheriff Singler drove down the Jacksonville-Ashland road to arrest Jones.

What happened at the two-room cabin (JPG 281kb) in the hills may never be known for certain; an inquest held the day following the shootout failed to "clear up the story of the revolver duel." (14) By Singler’s own account, given following surgery late that night, he had approached the cabin with his revolver drawn and was attempting to read the warrant when Jones pulled his own revolver and fired.

[Further research into the gunfight appears in a companion article, "The Singler-Jones Fight; What really Happened?"]

Wounded through both lungs Singler fell, emptying his revolver into his assailant as he dropped. He made his way down the hill, unaware he had killed Jones, and told Launspach that his own wound was fatal. (15) The doctors who removed the bullet from Singler’s chest pronounced the operation a success, (15) but Singler’s prediction proved to be more accurate and he died at 8:35 in the morning of April 23, moments after signing his last will and testament. (16)

August David Singler’s funeral was one of the largest in Medford history; (17) "so great was the crowd at the church that only half could be accommodated," and the funeral procession to the IOOF cemetery stretched nearly twelve blocks through city streets lined with "hundreds" who stood quietly with "bared heads." In response to a proclamation by the mayor "...every business house in town, from bank to cigar stands, was closed" (18) and Judge Tou Velle ordered the flags at the courthouse flown at half-staff for thirty days. (19)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Zita (Singler) Maddox oral history, Southern Oregon Historical Society file number 178 (hereafter referred to as SOHS 178), page 2.
2. SOHS 178, pg 2. A reference is made on this page only siting ill health as another reason for the trip; no further mention of illness or subsequent recovery is made in this or other available documents.
3. Ibid.
4. Singler was active in the Redmen’s Lodge, the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of Columbus, and was the third member to join the local Elks Lodge. It should be noted that though several references are made to his membership in the Woodmen of the World, a retraction printed in the Medford Sun of April 27, 1913, page 8 indicates Singler was a "Modern Woodman but not a Woodsman of the World."
5. The Medford Sun, April 24, 1913, page 6.
6. The Medford Sun, July 23, 1911, page 1 and page 6.
7. Medford Mail Tribune, December 22, 1911, page 1.
8. Ashland Record, April 17, 1912, page 3.
9. Medford Mail Tribune, January 7, 1913, page 1.
10. Medford Mail Tribune, January 15, 1913, page 1.
11. SOHS 178, page 9.
12. Medford Mail Tribune, January 7, 1913, page 1.
13. The Medford Sun, April 23, 1913, page 6.
14. Medford Mail Tribune, April 24, 1913, page 5.
15. The Medford Sun, April 24, 1913, page 6.
16. Ibid
17. Medford Mail Tribune, February 18, 1979, page 6a.
18. The Medford Sun, April 26, 1913, page 6.
19. Medford Mail Tribune, April 26, 1913, page 6.
20. The Medford Sun, April 24, 1913, page 1.