From the archives: Lincoln remembers Unabomber over 20 years later
From the Discovery series covers Unabomber's arrest. Here's his Montana story series
It's been over 20 years now, but in 2016, the Missoulian ran a story about what it was like for the other residents of Lincoln who shared a town with the infamous Unabomber.
Wendy Gehring stands on the property formerly owned by Kaczynski
Wendy Gehring stands on the property formerly owned by Kaczynski on Stemple Pass Road outside Lincoln, where a chain link fence still surrounds the piece of ground where his cabin stood. Gehring still owns the property surrounding the site, and she and her husband, Butch, operated a sawmill nearby.
Kaczynski's root cellar
Kaczynski's root cellar still stands on the site, surrounded by chain link fencing and barbed wire. Wendy Gehring, the nearby property owner and former neighbor of Kaczynski, thinks the fencing was originally installed to preserve evidence, and has never been removed by numerous subsequent owners.
Lincoln has mostly moved on
Lincoln has mostly moved on from the intense attention it received 20 years ago during the Unabomber arrest.
Jerry Burns looks through a box of papers
Jerry Burns, a retired U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer, looks through a box of papers related to Kaczynski's arrest 20 years ago. Burns grabbed Kaczynski's wrist through the door of his cabin when undercover agents knocked the day of the arrest.
Kaczynski's garden
Twisted wire and a few posts encircle the spot where Kaczynski tended a garden.
Structure built by Kaczynski
A small structure built by Kaczynski sits surrounded by fencing on the site where he once lived.
Sherri Wood recounts recently the frenzy
Sherri Wood, the librarian at Lincoln's library, recounts recently the frenzy that descended on the town 20 years ago when Ted Kaczynski, a local recluse who lived in a shack outside town, was arrested as the Unabomber, a serial terrorist sought by the FBI. Wood arguably knew Kaczynski as well as anyone from his frequent trips to the library, and she says that after his arrest, tourists would come into the building and touch walls and shelves, wondering aloud if Kaczynski had touched the same surfaces.
Photo op
Jerry Burns, who lives on the outskirts of Lincoln, recalls that for a long time after the arrest he would see people stop their cars and have their picture taken under this sign wearing a hoodie and sunglasses reminiscent of the famous Unabomber FBI wanted poster.
1995: The Unabomber
In 1995, the final bomb linked to the Unabomber exploded inside the Sacramento, California, offices of a lobbying group for the wood products industry, killing chief lobbyist Gilbert B. Murray. (Theodore Kaczynski was later sentenced to four lifetimes in prison for a series of bombings that killed three men and injured 29 others.)
Teresa Garland recounts interactions with Kaczynski
Teresa Garland, who now runs a flower shop and gift store in Lincoln with her sister, recounts some of her interactions with Kaczynski and the effects of the media on the town after his arrest. Garland worked at the general store owned by her family in Lincoln.
Photographs
Photographs in Jerry Burns' album show the large number of people involved in Kaczynski's arrest, and the ramshackle cabin where he lived.
Kaczynski's neighbor
Wendy Gehring said she never liked or trusted Kaczynski when he lived nearby the home and sawmill she ran with her husband Butch 20 years ago. Only after he was arrested did the Gehrings find out from some of Kazynski's diaries that he had vandalized their machinery and stolen car parts from them to use in his bombs.
Wendy Gehring shows a notebook
Wendy Gehring shows a notebook in which she kept contact information on the dozens of news organizations that descended on her and her family after the arrest.
Another structure built by Kazynski
Another structure built by Kazynski sits crumbling on the land he once owned.
Where Kaczynski's cabin once stood
Chain link fence remains where Kaczynski's cabin once stood. The cabin itself was removed as evidence for his trial, and is now an exhibit at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
Newseum exhibits Unabomber cabin
In this undated photograph courtesy of the Newseum, the cabin used by Ted Kaczynski is seen on display at the Newseum in Washington.
Media congregate on Stemple Pass Road
A throng of media congregate on Stemple Pass Road a few days after Kaczynski's arrest in April 1996. The small town of Lincoln was innundated with national and international news organizations during the event.
Lewis & Clark Library
The Lincoln branch of the Lewis & Clark Library has been remodeled and expanded inside and out several times in the last 20 years.
1987: Unabomber
In 1987, a bomb left by Unabomber Ted Kaczynski exploded behind a computer store in Salt Lake City, seriously injuring store owner Gary Wright.
Theodore Kaczynski
The "Unabomber," Theodore Kaczynski, was apprehended at his cabin near Lincoln in 1996, where he had lived since 1971.
Theodore Kaczynski
Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski walks into the federal courthouse in Helena to be arraigned after being captured outside Lincoln in April 1996.
Sketch: Unabomber appears in federal court with a public defender
Sketch: Unabomber appears in federal court with a public defender
Sketch: Unabomber appears in federal court with a public defender
Sketch: Unabomber appears in federal court with a public defender
Healing town: Lincoln coping with its Unabomber past
Photos provided The photo at left shows the Kaczynski cabin before federal authorities hauled it away for evidence. The photo at right shows the chain link fence that now surrounds the property. One thing that still remains is a protective structure made of wooden poles Kaczynski built to protect a growing tree shown in the right corner of both pictures.
In this Series
Discovery series covers Unabomber's arrest. Here's his Montana story
LINCOLN – Exactly 20 years ago Sunday, the little town of Lincoln suddenly found itself at the center of one of the most sensational media sto…
The Discovery Channel's series "Manhunt: Unabomber" follows the Unabomber investigation that resulted in the arrest of Ted Kaczynski.
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