The Sir Manfred Lartly Factsheet is back online! Geocities shut down and Mrs. Langley died back in 2008 and nobody did anything about the website. Check back here every so often, I (Lorna) am in the process of researching Mr. Lartly, so I'll add some sections soon!

"Born in the spring of 1822, Manfred Lartly was the oldest of 15 children. He was born and raised in the city of Belleville. Manfred, unlike his brothers and sisters was not happy with the progress of the quickly changing city. However there was not any nearby villages that he could find work. In 1866, an area to the north struck gold. In desperate need of money, Manfred and his brothers packed their things and immediately set out for the new town of Eldorado. Manfred, normally described as a sensitive and caring being, was so caught up in the excitement of the new, discovery that he didn’t even realize that he was taking part in the destruction of nature. Manfred, although he didn’t like it, knew that survival meant progress, so he didn’t think much of the quickly rising town. As though overnight that small area became overpopulated and was forced to expand in order to make way for the increasing number of people and mines. It wasn’t until the gold ran out and everyone left that Manfred realized the true implications of his actions. A few families remained, but mainly all that was left of the once prosperous town was a spacious area devoid of trees and life, left only with the mines that scarred its once precious surface. And so Manfred left. He walked through the woods alone for days until he came upon a small settlement (originally named Cooksookie) based around a beautiful river. He appointed himself “King” of Queensboro but dropped the title when the villagers who had been there before him protested, instead he donned the title “Sir” which has stuck with him even after his death. Manfred vowed that he would make amends with mother nature by protecting his newest discovery. He would go to any means to prevent the expansion of Queensboro.





He soon learned that one man can not undo the will of many. As more people began to move to Queensboro the unwanted expansion began. Many of the villagers grew wary of Manfred and rumors soon began to fly about his sanity. To add wood to the already flaming fire, Manfred decided he would seek the advice of the animals and left his cabin to join them in their natural habitat. He was attacked without mercy as he invaded the animals homes, but would not be deterred. As soon as he was denied by one species he would immediately seek out another, leaving him mangled, bruised and bleeding. It wasn’t until thoughts about the building of the Queensboro dam began to surface, that Manfred could not take anymore and returned to civilisation. He gathered his strength and discussed his objections at the town meeting. Denied again, Manfred grew furious. He vowed revenge on the people of Queensboro, who in turn only laughed at him. When his efforts to singlehandedly pull down the barn in which the meeting took place failed, Manfred fled. He locked himself in his cabin where he began to plan his ultimate downfall.





Manfred tried many foiled attempts to stop the construction, but it had already begun. He protested, he threw fits, he even stole the entire villages sheep and made a “wall” out of them (which proved incredibly difficult as the sheep wouldn’t stop moving) until it came down to the only option left, Manfred’s final plan, Operation: Sneaky Sneaky. The dam was finished, and all of his plans thwarted, Manfred knew that there was no other way. The day before the unveiling, he snuck up to the dam with 100 sticks of dynamite (left over from Eldorado) strapped to his body. He stood on the top of the dam and waited for the villagers to gather in the morning. As soon as they all were within site, Manfred would light the fuse and destroy the dam. This would also mean his own destruction, but for the good of the world, that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.





In his haste to fulfil his plot, Manfred forgot one thing, to go to the bathroom before he left. He could hear the villagers stirring and knew that it would only be a matter of time before his end would come, but he had to go so bad. He didn’t want to be distracted from his victory by this tiny nuisance, so he did the only thing he could think of. He went to find a place to pee. He came across a large hill located near the dam and realized that that was as good as it was going to get. He was almost to the hill when he tripped over a random rock. He landed on the gravel. He looked down worried that he had sparked the fuse, when he realized he had not, he rolled over, which did. He and the hill were blown to smithereens. The hill which was formed from black soil drifted down into the damn staining the water black. The villagers in shock had no idea what to do, so they named the water that flowed through the damn the black river and went about their day.





"The Nymphs told him to do it." - quoted by local drunk Jonah Baumhour





© Lindsay Langley 1997





Sir Manfred was my great great grandfather and is a very important part of Queensborough's history." 

This is the original text from the old Sir Manfred Lartly Website.