Sierra County Sheriff’s Gallows
Sierra County Sheriff's GallowsOn 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.
Second Marker:This Gallows
Erected 1857
Last execution here on Friday November 27, 1885 by Sheriff Sam Stewart
Marker placed May 17, 1953 by
Naomi Parlor No. 36
Native Daughters of the Golden West
Marker can be reached from Courthouse Square near Calloway Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
