Location of the Famous Mussel Slough Tragedy

The bronze counts the dead as two deputy marshals and five ranchers. The marshal, Alonso Poole, came through unhurt; the two railroad-side dead were Walter Crow and Mills Hartt, whom only some accounts call deputies. Settlers invited onto Southern Pacific land at about $2.50 an acre had been asked up to $35 once they improved it, and a federal judge who held railroad shares had ruled for the company. Seventeen settlers were indicted and five convicted of resisting a marshal; the railroad side answered for nothing. Frank Norris made it The Octopus.

What the plaque says

Mussel Slough Tragedy Here on May 11, 1880, during a dispute over land titles between settlers and railroad, a fight broke out during which seven men lost lives -- two deputy U. S. marshals and five ranchers. Legal struggle over titles finally compromised. State Registered Landmark No. 245 Tablet placed by California Centennials Commission. Base furnished by Kings County Centennials Committee Dedicated February 4, 1950

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Kingston — 2.5 mi
• El Adobe de los Robles Rancho — 7.0 mi
• Fresno Assembly Center — 24 mi
• Tulare Assembly Center — 24 mi