Sierra County Sheriff's Gallows

The gallows stood for twenty-eight years and was used once. The older plaque here, put up by the Native Daughters in 1953, says it was erected in 1857; the state bronze beside it records the single execution, of James O'Neill, twenty years old, on 27 November 1885, for a murder committed the year before. State law ended local executions in 1891, and ended hanging altogether in 1941. A third plaque records the National Register listing.

What the plaque says

THIS GALLOWS ERECTED 1857 LAST EXECUTION HERE ON FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27, 1885 BY SHERIFF SAM STEWART THIS MARKER PLACED MAY 17, 1953 BY NAOMI PARLOR NO. 36 NATIVE DAUGHTERS OF THE GOLDEN WEST SIERRA COUNTY SHERIFF'S GALLOWS ON NOVEMBER 27, 1885, 20 YEAR-OLD JAMES O'NEILL WAS HANGED FROM THIS GALLOWS FOR THE AUGUST 7, 1884 MURDER OF WEBBER LAKE DAIRYMAN JOHN WOODWARD. THAT EXECUTION, CONDUCTED BY SHERIFF SAMUEL C. STEWART APPROXIMATELY 100 FEET WEST OF THIS SITE, WAS THE LAST LEGAL EXECUTION IN SIERRA COUNTY AND THE ONLY TIME THIS GALLOWS WAS USED. CHANGES IN STATE LAW IN 1891 ENDED LOCAL EXECUTIONS IN CALIFORNIA AND FURTHER CHANGES IN 1941 ENDED HANGING AS A MEANS OF LEGAL EXECUTION WITHIN THE STATE. CALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICAL LANDMARK NO. 971 PLAQUE PLACED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION IN COOPERATION WITH THE COUNTY OF SIERRA AND SGT. LEE ADAMS, PROJECT DIRECTOR, OCTOBER 1988

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park — 14 mi
  A canyon washed out of a mountain by water cannon, and the lawsuit that ended hydraulic mining.
• Nevada City — 23 mi
  Gaslamps, brick storefronts, and the Nisenan who are still fighting to be recognized on their own ground.
• Empire Mine State Historic Park — 27 mi
  The oldest, deepest, richest hard-rock gold mine in California, with 367 miles of flooded tunnels underneath.

More markers nearby

• Henness Pass Road — 6.5 mi
• Plum Valley House Site — 10 mi
• North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company — 14 mi
• Alpha and Omega Hydraulic Diggings — 17 mi