Placerville’s notorious nickname, “Hangtown,” stems from several early incidents where people were executed by vigilante mobs rather than through a formal legal system.
Notable Hangings and Crimes
- The “Original Three” (1849): The most famous event involved three men—often identified as two Frenchmen and one Chilean—who were part of a gang of five that attempted to rob a Mexican gambler named Lopez. After being caught and initially sentenced to 39 lashes for the robbery, they were further accused of murders committed along the Stanislaus River. All three were hanged together from a giant white oak tree on Main Street.
- Richard Crone (1850): An Irishman known as “Irish Dick” was lynched after he stabbed a man to death during a dispute at the El Dorado Saloon on Main Street.
- The Bullion Bend Robbery (1864): Later history includes a Confederate sympathizer involved in a Wells Fargo stagecoach robbery who was reportedly hanged near the courthouse for killing a deputy.
Were there trials?
There were no formal, legal trials as we know them today, as the area had no established police force or civil justice system at the time. Instead, justice was administered by vigilante groups or “impromptu courts”:
- The 1849 Hanging: These men underwent a 30-minute “trial” by a mob of nearly 2,000 people. While some accounts claim a jury of 12 was used, it was entirely self-organized and lacked legal authority.
- Speed of Execution: Verdicts were often unanimous and followed by immediate execution. One man, E.G. Buffum, famously protested the 1849 execution because the men were too weak from their previous floggings to defend themselves, but he was nearly lynched himself for speaking out.
- Evolution of Justice: By the late 1850s, executions moved from the “Hangman’s Tree” to the El Dorado County Courthouse as formal law and order were established.
Would you like to know more about the Hangman’s Tree location or the modern efforts to remove the noose imagery from the city’s seal?
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