Asa Shinn Mercer was the first president of the Territorial University of Washington and a member of the Washington State Senate.
Asa Mercer
The Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River and the Wyoming Range War, was a range conflict that took place in Johnson County, Wyoming from 1889 to 1893. The conflict began when cattle companies started ruthlessly persecuting alleged rustlers in the area, many of whom were settlers who competed with them for livestock, land and water rights. As violence swelled between the large established ranchers and the smaller settlers in the state, it culminated in the Powder River Country, when the former hired gunmen who invaded the county. The gunmen's initial incursion in the territory alerted the small farmers and ranchers, as well as the state lawmen, and they formed a posse of 200 men that led to a grueling standoff which ended when the United States Cavalry on the orders of President Benjamin Harrison relieved the two forces, although further fighting persisted.
Ella Watson was lynched in 1889 by wealthy ranchers who accused her of cattle rustling, a charge that was later shown to be false.
Jim Averell, a Johnson County businessman, was lynched in 1889 for cattle rustling, although he owned no cattle
Frank M. Canton, former Sheriff of Johnson County, was hired to lead the band of Texas killers
The barn at the TA Ranch, where the "regulators" were besieged by the sheriff's posse
