Judge John W. Meldrum (September 17, 1843 – February 27, 1936) was a carpenter, a Wyoming politician and the first U.S. Commissioner in Yellowstone National Park, a position he held for 41 years (1894–1935). Early life John Meldrum was born in Caledonia, New York in 1843. He trained as a wagonmaker at an early age. He served with the 14th New York Heavy Artillery until September 1864 during the Civil War. Shortly after the end of the war, he was in Arkansas working as a wagonmaker. In the spring of 1867 he moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory and then to Fort Collins, Colorado where he worked on a ranch for two years. In 1870, Meldrum moved to Laramie, Wyoming to open a meat market. For the next few years he work for various interests, including as a wagon maker for the Union Pacific Railroad. It was during this time that Meldrum received his first political appointment as clerk of the district court. He also served two terms as a county commissioner, a term as chairman of the county commission and a term on the territorial council. Wyoming politics In 1882, John W. Meldrum was nominated by Wyoming Republicans to be their delegate to Congress although he was defeated. In 1884 he became a delegate from Wyoming at the national Republican convention. After convention, he was appointed Surveyor General of Wyoming Territory by President Chester A. Arthur, a position he held until November 1885. In May, 1889 President Benjamin Harrison appointed Meldrum as the Secretary of State for the Territory of Wyoming. He held that position until January 1891. Wyoming was granted statehood in July 1890. Elections for the new state government were held in September 1890. During those elections, Amos W. Barber was elected Secretary of State and Francis E. Warren the first Governor of Wyoming. Warren had already served two terms as Governor of the Territory of Wyoming. Warren would not serve long as Wyoming's first governor as the newly elected legislature would elect him as Wyoming's first Senator. That move elevated Amos Barber to the position of governor while still retaining the Secretary of State position. Because Barber could not run both the Governor's and Secretary's offices, he appointed Meldrum as the Chief Clerk to the Secretary of State with full authority to run the Secretary's office. Although a court clerk for many years, Meldrum was not formally