T. L. Kinney
September 23, 1873 to March 28, 1924


One of the most colorful citizens of early Dawson was T. L. Kinney who was Justice of the Peace for many years in Dawson until his sudden death at his desk in the Old Opera House in 1924 at age 51. It was said that Judge Kinney would set fines by using a Sears and Roebuck Catalog by randomly opening it to a page and pointing at the price of a product. The price would be the fine for a particular wrong deed assessed against a guilty defendant.

Bob McGowan who attended the 2008 Dawson Reunion was the great grandson of Judge T. L. Kinney and provided the early photo below of him taken around 1905 after he had been in Dawson for about 3 years as the town's financial officer and then later as town supervisor in 1908. Judge Kinney served as Justice of the Peace in Dawson for 18 years prior to his death.





Judge Kinney was very active in the Dawson Community and participated in many citizen organizations such as Masonic Lodge, Scottish Right, Kights Templar, Knights of Pythias and the Dawson School Board. You can view his obituary by clicking on the Dawson News (Thursday, April 3, 1924 issue). Here is a photo of Judge Kinney taken shortly before his death.

In July 1923, Judge Kinney won the honor of being the "best looking man in Dawson Club". It was apparent that Judge Kinney took some very good natured ribbing from his fellow Club members after winning this recognition from a field of over 110 nominees. You can read the article in the Dawson News (Thursday, July 5, 1923 issue).






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