Matt Warner Plaque

Willard Christiansen left home at fifteen in 1879, sure he'd killed a boy in a fight over a girl, and rode into a new life under a new name: Matt Warner, rustler and bandit of the outlaw trail, sometime companion of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. Prison came in 1896, a pardon in 1900 — and then, improbably, respectability. He settled in Price and spent his last thirty-eight years a deputy sheriff, justice of the peace, and night policeman. He lived in this house until his death in 1938.

What the plaque says

Matt Warner left home in 1879 at age 15, thinking he had killed a rival in a fight over a girl. He lived his early life on the outlaw trail as a bandit & rustler & was sent to prison on Sept. 21, 1896. Matt was pardoned by Governor Wells on Jan. 21, 1900. He settled in Price & spent his remaining 38 years as a productive member of society: serving as deputy sheriff, justice of the peace, detective & night policeman. In 1912 he ran for sheriff but was defeated because he ran under his real name of Willard Christiansen & nobody knew who that was. Matt lived in this house until his death on Dec. 21, 1938.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Prehistoric Museum at USU Eastern — 0.2 mi
  A small-town museum punching way above its weight in dinosaur science
• Price — 0.2 mi
  A gritty coal mining town with a surprisingly excellent dinosaur museum
• Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry — 20 mi
  The densest concentration of Jurassic-era dinosaur bones ever found

More markers nearby

• Assumption Greek Orthodox Church — steps away
• Coal Man Machine — steps away
• Immigrant Monument — steps away
• First Meetinghouse — steps away