Front:
Hangtown in 1850
Placerville, El Dorado County, California
ENPIRE
HANGTOWN
Within a week in 1848, Dayt on and McCoon had extracted $10,000 in
gold from this area and started the feverish rush of miners into
'Dry Diggins', the first name that was given to this community,
The name 'Hangtown', which still persists as a nickname, was no
doubt acquired because of the many hangings which took place there
in 1849.
Historical records reveal how swiftly justice was dealt the '49
criminals, after a court procedure which was held right on main
street, with the crowds constituting the jury. All were passed
the same sentence, and the scaffold was a tree which later had to
be removed to make way for modern main street. It's roots lie
hidden under a building diagonally across the street from the
present Raffles Hotel. Known in those days as the Cary House, in
the 'Overland Stage' days, Hank Monk, the ace of stage drivers,
a lwa ys changed horses here. It was he who drove Horace Greely
into town at breakneck speed, quieting the later's fears with
the remark, 'Hold your seat Horace, I'11 get you there on time!'
He was
"Roughing It'. From a balcony of the Cary House, Greely, then a can-
didate for the presidency of the United States, made a long winded
speech to the miners in 1859.
one of the original characters in Mark Twains story,
S.C.-104
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Scenic Photos of the West
PUBLISHED BY FRASHERS, INC. POMONA, CALIF.
