Historical Marker · No. 897
Old Lake County Courthouse
Lakeport, Lake County · California
Erected by State Department of Parks and Recreation; Lake County Bicentennial Committee; Old Courthouse Committee, 1978
The bronze says the White Cap episode was held here in 1890, which folds two events into one. The raid came on October 10, 1890, near Middletown, where masked men from the quicksilver mines went to flog and tar a bartender named Bennett and instead shot Mrs. Riche, who died four days later; one raider was found dead on her porch. The trials of the ten men arrested opened in this building in February 1891. The courthouse served the county until 1968 and is now its historic museum.
What the plaque says
Lake County Courthouse Lake County's century-old classic courthouse, designed by A. P. Pettit in 1871, served as the seat of county government from 1871 until 1968 when it was replaced by the new courthouse. Among the court's landmark cases were the White Cap murders, a notorious episode in vigilantism held here in 1890, and several water right cases which set precedent still in effect. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 897 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Lake County Bicentennial Committee and the Old Courthouse Committee, January 29, 1978.
Where it stands
39.04354, -122.91562 · Directions
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