Nevada City

The miners' court the panel mentions sat in the open street. Its elected judge, Dr. Don L. Byam, and the lawyers perched on two freight wagons set front to front, a bonfire burning through three days while the crowd heard the case against George Ives for killing Nicholas Tiebolt, also spelled Tbalt. A jury of twenty-four, twelve from each of two mining districts, recommended conviction, and Wilbur Fisk Sanders moved that Ives hang. He was hanged on December 21, 1863. Byam's board-and-batten house still stands here, with the cabin behind it where Ives was held.

What the plaque says

Nevada City Nine booming gold camps sprawled along remote Alder Gulch in 1863. Nevada City and Virginia City were the largest. In December, 1863, Nevada City's main street was the scene of the miners' court trial and hanging of George Ives. This event was the catalyst for the forming of the Vigilantes. Dozens of stores and cabins extended back six blocks, but by 1876 only a few residents remained at Nevada City. The gold dredges later came through leaving piles of tailings as big as barns and by 1920, the highway had cut the town in half. By 1955, Cora and Alfred Finney were the only residents. Charles Sue Bovey began collecting buildings in the early 1940's. Acquiring Nevada City from Lester and Mary Stiles, they began to place buildings here in 1959. Nevada City became a haven for endangered structures; today more than ninety buildings from across Montana line the streets. The State of Montana now maintains the historic resources at Nevada City.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Virginia City — 1.5 mi
  A gold camp one couple began buying in 1944, and the state bought from their family in 1997.

More markers nearby

• Gold in Alder Gulch — 0.7 mi
• Adobetown — 0.7 mi
• Virginia City — 1.6 mi
• Garnets, Vigilantes and Gold Dredges — 5.3 mi