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John NebthosJohn Nebthos was born in 1832 the son of famous inventor Frank Nebthos and his wife Beth Nebthos of Cleveland. Blessed with his father’s fame and fortune, John became a partner at the First National Bank of Cleveland at the age of 23. He used his position and wealth to invest in several business deals including Wells, Fargo and Company, and Western Union Telegraph. By the time he was 25, he had made his first million. He was among the city’s elite members of society. He was good friends with the mayor, contributed generously to charities, and donated the money to build the John Nebthos wing of Cleveland CityHealth Hospital. When he was 27, he was appointed bank vice-president. Yet, despite the success that John enjoyed, he was still restless. For several years, he had looked to the West with a desire for a new life. He longed for new adventures, new goals, and new successes. Therefore, in the fall of 1860, at the age of 28, he packed his belongings and headed west. He reached St. Louis where he planned to spend the winter, seek out business opportunities, and formulate a plan. Here he met other businessmen interested in investment opportunities to be had further west. They informed John of the Townsite Act of 1844, which allowed individuals of groups to purchase 320 acres (1.3 km²) of land with the intent to sell lots to settlers and establish a town. John was very interested in this offer, and agreed to accompany them in search of a suitable town site. This group left St. Louis in the spring of 1861 and headed to Leavenworth, Kansas. Kansas had recently been appointed a state by Congress, and John and his associates wanted to capitalize on this recent turn of events. They would start in Leavenworth and move across the state of Kansas towards the city of Ft. Riley looking for a suitable site for their town project. By the time John Nebthos and his business associates had reached Ft. Riley, they had had no luck in finding a site to establish their town. Many towns had been founded since Kansas had become a territory in 1854 with the hope that it would soon become a state. When these town’s wishes came true, many more towns popped up. Soon, any sort of decent land in Kansas had been claimed. The group of entrepreneurs agreed to push further west, but to where? During their short stay in Leavenworth, one of Nebthos’ associates, Calvin Schultz, had become a close friend with the mayor of that city. He had told Calvin of a friend of his who had started a small city in Colorado that had turned into a bustling metropolis of sorts in just a few short years. The group was excited at this prospect and headed for the city of Denver in the fall of 1861. Caught up in the excitement of the city, John’s group of businessmen stayed in Denver for quite some time soaking up all the pleasures it had to offer. But John was becoming aware of the dark side of Denver. He was a frequenter of the many saloons, gambling houses, and brothels. He was often seen drunkenly wandering the streets of Denver late at night. By the time winter had come, John had only half the money that he had left home with. One night, when John had reached his lowest point, he stumbled into a revival meeting in a nearby church, where he was saved. John quickly renounced his former way of life and looked with new eyes at the city of Denver. What he saw this time astounded him. John desperately wanted to leave Denver, and his resolution to do so grew everyday. However, his business companions enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the city, not to mention how much money they could make off the unsuspecting settlers. They wished to start their own enterprise to rip-off the miners, but John refused to join them. He had had enough. He still dreamed of starting a town somewhere in the west, but now he had a resolve to start a noble town without any sort of the extortion or dehumanization that he saw in Denver. His friends made fun of him and belittled his idea calling it “John Nebthos’ ‘Noble’ Project”. But he didn’t care. He had made up his mind to do it. When spring finally broke in the Rocky Mountains, John once again headed west. But this time, he was alone. A few weeks later, John arrived in Salt Lake City, and was amazed at what he saw. A town, not only busy with life, but also busy with religious piety. John tried his hardest to get to know the Mormons. But the more he got to know them, the stranger their ways appeared to him. Many of the things that they were doing made no sense to him, and though he tried, he couldn’t find any explanation for why they were doing them. He finally learned of their founder, Joseph Smith, and how he came to start this religion. So, once again, John set out to fulfill his dream of establishing a town. He had met many non-Mormons while in Salt Lake City as well, and heard that just west of Salt Lake City there was good land to be had. His hopes high, he traveled west to find his dream. John Nebthos took the Overland Stage out of Salt Lake City to Carson City located in Nevada Territory. When he saw the country of the Nevada Territory, he was immediately intrigued. He really liked this country, but found it dusty and seriously lacking in water and vegetation. Indeed, it was almost a desert. At one stop in Austin, Nevada, he learned that the climate was very different in the northern parts of the territory, and that not many towns had been established there at that time. With this in mind, John Nebthos continued on to Carson City, the capital of the Nevada Territory. John, though excited about this new country, was disappointed in the towns that he had encountered so far in the Nevada Territory. They were all mining towns, and felt very similar to Denver. John visited other towns in the area: Virginia City, Reno, but only found the same things. Disheartened by his lack of success, and with no friends around him, John soon turned back to his old ways. He sought out comfort in Carson City’s saloons, gambling houses, and brothels. This continued throughout the winter of ‘ 63, until one evening when John was hanging out, depressed and drinking, in a saloon, he happened to talk to a stranger sitting near him. That man’s name was Samuel Clemens. Samuel had come to Nevada with his brother, Orion, who had been appointed a territorial secretary by President Lincoln. He had been all over the territory as a reporter for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise where he wrote under the pen name of Mark Twain. They talked long into the night. John Nebthos told Samuel Clemens his life story: his dreams, his conversion, his disappointment, and his recent depression and return to his old ways. The next day John bought a wagon and supplies, and headed north east, to the parts of Nevada he had been told of before, and dreamed of going ever since. He reached the Humboldt River after a couple of days of travel, and encouraged by this abundant water supply, followed it east searching for a spot for his new town. On April 23, 1864, John came to a large flat plain bordered on one side by the river, and on the other by a small mountain range. The river offered a water supply, and the mountains would help to protect the area from extreme weather. John knew immediately that this would be the spot for his town, and Nebthos, Nevada, was born. After John filed his claim, had the site surveyed and marked, and built a small lodging for himself, John wrote letters to his friends back home for them to join him in his endeavor. He knew that a successful town would need businessmen to come and be a part of its beginnings. The first person to respond was his friend from Cleveland Hospital, Dr. Jeremy Hassock, who was eager to practice medicine in the west. Soon after, his friend Cecil Lee Wright, a lawyer, answered that he would be honored to join him in his new town. Nebthos, Nevada was beginning to make way. John Nebthos knew that, in order to attract settlers to his town, he would need to advertise. He had seen advertisements for new towns before. They were all the same. They proclaimed the greatness of the new city, all the benefits that the area had to offer, how such and such a trail or railroad would soon pass through, and how, one day, that city would be one of the greatest in the nation. But they were all lies. John didn’t want to start his new city like that. He wanted to attract the same decent, honest, hard-working folk that would make this town a noble town. He remembered how he was made fun of in Denver for dreaming such a dream. Dr. Hassock and Mr. Wright arrived in Nebthos in the early summer, along with a handful of others whom John had hired to begin construction. The first thing to be erected was John’s house. The Nebthos House, as it was called, would also serve as the town hall, newspaper office, and many other minor duties until more buildings could be finished. Later that year, the territory of Nevada achieved statehood, which brought new waves of settlers to the area. The town was growing every day. New people were arriving; new buildings being built. People were fascinated by this noble town and its founder that wished to live a godly life. They all came wanting to know more. Some left to go on to other towns, but most stayed because they saw something here that they couldn’t find anywhere else. It was a completely different kind of life. As more and more families were coming to Nebthos, John realized that he would soon need a school and a teacher for his town. Once again, he wrote a friend back east of the promising town and all that could be done for it. Dr. Benjamin Horsley came to town to rectify the situation immediately, and the town loved him for his charm and wit so that soon everybody knew “Doc Ben”. His first objective was to start and teach a school, but over time he wished to establish a college that would become the finest in the West. It wasn’t long until a circuit preacher named Scott Jackson arrived in Nebthos to minister to the small group of settlers. John Nebthos welcomed him into their town, and a church was immediately built to house worship services. Not only were these five men the most influential men in town, but they were also good friends. One could usually find them spending their time together in local gathering place. They were the leaders of their community, and it was decided that they should be the members of the city council and help to decide the direction of Nebthos. The town prospered for many years. Farming was good; business was good; everyone seemed happy. In 1867, John received word that the Central Pacific Railroad was planning to build its section of the Transcontinental Railroad through Nevada. He wrote Leland Stanford, one of the directors, and told him of his noble town. As it turned out, the Central Pacific had already planned to follow the Humboldt River through Nevada on its way to Utah, and would probably pass close to the town. John Nebthos organized the citizens of Nebthos to urge the Railroad to come through town. John knew that the railroad would not only bring business to Nebthos, but would also benefit his citizens. Transportation and mail time would be cut in half; technology, medicine and education would be more abundant; the people would have access to anything they needed on this new road across America. Unfortunately, the railroad directors cared little for the settlers of Nevada. The only thing that they wanted was money. So when the time came for choosing the exact route of the rails, they chose to pass through the town of Palisades, north of Nebthos, who had offered them land and tax exemptions to get them to come through their town. John was sorry that the Central Pacific wouldn’t pass directly through his town, but knew that a railroad not too far away would still benefit his citizens and help out his town. However, he was extremely surprised when, in 1869 when the railroad was completed, a large wave of new settlers descended on Nebthos. The new railroad had helped more people hear of this great town and aided them in traveling there with ease. Throughout that year, the town continued to prosper. Things were not always great in Nebthos, however. Many people came to town not caring about any of the noble principles that its founder had. They came to Nebthos to prey upon the poor, unsuspecting people of the town. John recognized this danger from the beginning, and asked Hezekiah Betonn to come and be the sheriff of Nebthos. He agreed, and kept the peace there for many years. He was also one of the members of the city council. Laws were passed to protect the people of the town against those wishing to cheat them out of their money. These laws kept many of the distrustful businesses out, but there were always vagrants and vagabonds passing through town eager for a hand out or a quick buck. One of these would change the fate of Nebthos, Nevada forever. A miner by the name of Marc Krebner, an old German that everyone called “the Mule”, came to Nebthos in 1870 with hopes to make a fortune. He built a small shack on the outskirts of Nebthos, and very rarely associated with the people in town. They thought him an odd fellow, wild and unruly, and let him be. One day, while in the Cortez Mountains above Nebthos Marc struck a rather large and rich ledge of silver. Word got out that the mountains there were literally littered with the valuable metal, and a small silver rush came upon the town of Nebthos. The population had doubled in two weeks, and there was still no end to the wave of prospectors eager to strike the big one. Some of them did find good ledges of silver, and mined them successfully for over five hundred dollars a ton. But most of the mines were worthless, and the miners continued to toil in them for weeks on end for nothing. This, however, didn’t stop the businessmen from coming to Nebthos to try to wring all the money that they could out of this newly acquired “wealth”. Gambling halls and saloons sprang up all over town. People squandered away what little money they had to forget their troubles. Tempers flared; violence increased. It was all Sheriff Betonn could do to keep any sort of peace in the city. John Nebthos was saddened at what his noble town of Nebthos had become. He tried to convict the new businesses of breaking the law, but they always found ways around the law, and continued to stay in operation. Some businesses even set up just outside the town limits so as not to be held accountable to the law. The original settlers of Nebthos were slowly leaving. The population dropped to 200 by the summer of 1871. Some of the members of the council wanted to leave, others wanted to stay and fight, but it was John who realized that these people needed help the same way that he did in Denver and Carson City. He and Pastor Scott immediately organized a mission to help the poor and despondent people of Nebthos. The Nebthos House was turned into a makeshift hospital and homeless shelter. Dr. Hassock was seen there at all hours of the day and night treating life-threatening illnesses and fight wounds. Together, they were doing a lot of good for the city. Meanwhile, however, Mr. Wright and Sheriff Betonn had had enough. The implored John Nebthos to take a firmer stand against the businesses of the town, and when he refused, they decided to take matters into their own hands. They decided to take on the Rosie's, the largest and the worst of the saloons in town. Sheriff Betonn would round up the five owners, and Cecil would prosecute them. On the night that they were going to raid Rosie's, Sheriff Betonn deputized Wright to help him. Together with Betonn's other deputy, Jim Johnstone, late one night they burst into the back room of Rosie's. The thought that they would catch the owners by surprise, and the arrests would be quick and easy. However, someone had tipped off the owners and they were waiting. A massive gunfight broke out. Deputy Johnstone was wounded, but Cecil Wright was killed along with two of the owners of Rosie's, a third was seriously wounded and would die a few days later. Sheriff Betonn placed the other two owners under arrest. John was heartbroken when he heard that his good friend had died.When the other business owners of Nebthos heard what had happened at Rosie's, they know that it wouldn't be long before someone came along for them as well. They decided to organize themselves and be prepared for action. Meanwhile, the city council was organizing themselves and trying to decide their next course of action. Most of the members wanted to leave the city immediately before things got worse, but Pastor Scott begged and pleaded with them to stay so that they could continue to do the Lord's work. Reluctantly, they agreed. When word go out that the council wasn't going to disband, the businessmen of the city decided it was time to make them leave. They knew that it was Pastor Scott who had kept the group together, and agreed that he must be dealt with before anyone would leave. In the middle of the night, the church was set on fire. Pastor Scott, who was asleep inside, woke up and barely escaped in time. The council had had enough. They knew that these men must be dealt with once and for all. Sheriff Betonn urged the men to form a posse and drive the businessmen out of town for good. Everyone agreed except for John who didn't want to resort to violence. However, the council members kept pressuring him until he finally gave in. Pastor Scott said that he would have nothing to do with it. He could not kill a man, nor could he suppport it in anyway. He left the meeting, and the council members prepared to face the business men. Meanwhile, the businessmen were plotting their own course of action. They had meant for Pastor Scott to die in the church fire, but, since he escaped, they had to find another way to deal with the Preacher. News reached them that all the council members, except Pastor Scott, were coming, so the businessmen figured that when they came, they would have a surprise for them. They captured Pastor Scott shortly after he left the council meeting and waited. It's not quite clear what happened that night. What we have learned has been pieced together from Sheriff Betonn's writings, letters, and reports. We know that there was a massive gunfight involving the city council and a few other men and the businessmen in which members of both parties were killed. We know that, at least, Sheriff Betonn, Doc Ben, and John Nebthos escaped alive, but they were defeated by the businessmen. We know that something tragic happened during the fight that gave the businessmen the upperhand, and they forced Sheriff Betonn, John Nebthos, and Doc Ben to leave town. However, we don't know what this "tragic event" was. Sheriff Betonn alludes to it in his writings, but never explains it or goes into details. Sheriff Betonn and Doc Ben would leave the next day after the fight and stay in touch with each other for many years. Doc Ben travelled to California and later founded the Kacey College which had been his dream all along. Sheriff Betonn moved on and would later become Sheriff of another town in Wyoming where he settled down and raised a family. Before leaving, Sheriff Betonn went through the furnishings of the Nebthos House and took anything he thought of importance, including the town documents and John's journal. John did not even bother to pack his belongings. He supposedly left town that night after the gunfight. As Sheriff Betonn put it, "He went like a dog with his tail between his legs. He didn't even look back. He knew he had been beat." No one knows what happened to John. Some say he returned to Cleveland and followed in the footsteps of his inventor father. Others say he became a traveler and spent the rest of his life seeing the world. Still others say that he went on and tried to start another town, but no one knows where this town was located. Most believe that he just crawled off into the desert that he loved and lived alone until the day he died, a reclusive and beaten man. John Nebthos' Project may have failed, but I know what John did was important. He tried to make just a small difference in the world. And even though he failed, we should admire him and his true American Dream. After all the council members left Nebthos, the businessmen took over the town and ruled it with an iron fist. But they wouldn't last long. Once the silver played out in 1872, the citizens of the town slowly left one by one. The last settlers left in the fall of 1872, but the ruins of Nebthos exist to this day. There's not much to see, mostly just standing foundations and a slowly deteriorating building or two, but you can go there and see it for yourself. All the locals know where it is. They refer to it often. In the years following Nebthos' collapse, the phrase "John Nebthos' Noble Project" was picked up by the locals and used to mock the once proud town. Eventually, the word "noble" was dropped from the phrase and it was simply called the John Nebthos Project. The locals use the phrase to this day to refer to anything that is doomed to fail from the start. This article is credited to Joshua Betonn, and is a summary of his thesis on the western expansion and settlement. A full copy of the thesis can be acquired directly through him. Nebthos, John
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