Pioche, Nevada Stagecoach - Gold Mining, Murders, Ghost Town c. 1897

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Pioche, Nevada Stagecoach - Gold Mining, Murders, Ghost Town c. 1897:
$185.00

Pioche Stagecoachby: anon.Pioche, Nevadac. 1897
Offered for offer an early image of the Pioche, Nevada Stagecoach c. 1897. A team of four horses pull the passenger-laden stagecoach with other wagon and barn in background (a young boy sits on window ledge). Silver print on 5.25 x 8.5\" boudoir mount with period pencil script ID of drivers, guards, and passengers. They include: P. H. Devlin, Joe Johnson, Barkenheyer?, William Conners (driver), James Higgins, Pat H. D. Devlin, W. L. Scott (guard), livery barn at Milford. Very good tonality and clarity with soiling, and erased pencil scribble verso. Offered at !

Pioche, Nevada

Inthe 1860s Pioche, Nevada was the baddest town in the west; badder thanTombstone, badder than Dodge City and all the rest. It was so bad 72 people died before one died anatural death. In 1873, the Nevada State Mineralogist reported to theState Legislature \"About one-half of the community are thieves,scoundrels and murderers and then we have some of the best folks inthe world, and I don\'t know but our lives and property are just as safe as withyou. You can go uptown and get shot veryeasily if you choose, or you can live peacefully. I will send you a paper with an account of thelast fight...I was in hopes eight or ten would have been killed at least, asthese fights are a pest in the community. Peaceful! Sure, if you stayed out of the wayof the bullets.\"

Themost notorious mining camp in Nevada, where the only law was the gun, is thetown of Pioche. A. William Hamblin made the first discovery of gold and silver in1863. Fortunately for him, Hamblin had Paiute Indianfriends who showed him the site that was to produce $40 million in ore. Thefirst modern settlement of the area occurred in 1864 with the opening of asilver mine. The settlers abandoned the area when local Indian tribes launcheda series of raidsand massacres. The town, however, was developed by a Frenchman by the nameof François Pioche, a banker from San Francisco, to whom Hamblen sold his claims. Of special note is the town\'s cemetery. It contains the first Murderer\'s Row a section in the cemeteryset apart from the rest, containing the graves of over 100 murderers. Most are unmarked. Many relics of the olddays remain, including the Lincoln County Courthouse that was condemned in1933, three years before it was paid for. Pioche is a must-see ghost town.

Piochemining activity began in 1868 and increased dramatically when the county seatwas moved there from Hiko in 1871. Guns were the only law in Pioche during thisperiod and the town became infamous for its many homicides. The population was more than 7,000 by 1872with dozens of saloonsandred light districts adding to the chaos. Pioche is located just off U.S. Highway 93 north a few miles from Panaca.

Vintage always guaranteed!Shipping/Insurance $6 within cont. U.S.Shipping will be combined for multiple items.

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