More Pioche and Boot Hill Part 2

Continuing on with our day in Pioche. There now is a population or just over 1000. It is the  county seat of Lincoln County.

 Back to where I left off - the almost Million Dollar court house. The jail is right behind the court house. This is looking from the jail to the court house. This town really need a jail when the mining was in full swing. 

 The main room of the jail looking towards the back. 

 Looking towards the front. The cells are on the right side. Check out the ceiling. The cell door were heavy wood with big bars to lock the. No windows to outside . 

 The bunks in the cell.

 Outhouse up the hill from the jail and courthouse. 

 Of course I had to go up and check it out. 

 Back inside the courthouse. I would love to have one of these.

 The office girl at her desk. This room was full of old typewriters - about 100 of them. All brands and ages. 

Also a voting booth

 The building next to the courthouse. The Mountain View Hotel

 Just a really old building - miner's cabin? storage cabin? Built into the side of the hill. 

 Up the hill towards the mine. looking down over town. 

 This was originally built in the mid 1800's and was The Pioche Bank. The vault is still in the rear of the building. It is now a bar.

 Originally built in 1900 it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt to look more modern. At one time it was a clothing store. Eventually became the museum

 Out on Highway 93 the ore buckets cross the road.

 Filled buckets went to the mill - can see the smoke stack in the background. 

One of the old buildings near the mine. In 1864 a LDS missionary was lead to the silver by a Native Paiute. In 1868 San Franciscan Francois Pioche purchased claims and constructed the smelter. 

The ore buckets passed almost right over the town. and across what is now Highway 93.

This is where the buckets got loaded.

The loaded buckets went up over this hill then down across town and roadway to the mill. 

I think I mentioned this was a really wild and rough town at the height of the mining. Some said even worse than Tombstone or Dodge City. Over 10,000 population. Hired gunman were imported at the rate of about 20 a day during the boom times - they made $20 a day!
It has been reported that 75 men were buried in the cemetery before anyone died a natural death.
This is a list in the court house of murder victims.

And here is Boot Hill. The murderers were buried away from the regular citizens. All in a row along the back fence. 

Murderer's row.

The ore buckets go right over the cemetery. 

Some scenes from the civilized part of the old cemetery. Average age at death between 30 - 40 Bill. was really bothered by that fact. 

Some of the more fancy "good peoples" graves. 

Yesterday I put in a link to a magazine that had a story about old Pioche - just realized I didn't put in what pages the article was on 
http://www.dezertmagazine.com/mine/1972DM03/index.html  pages 16-17 "They Didn't Have A Chance." Very funny reading. 
We left Pioche this morning and are now in Ely, NV for a couple of days. At the only place in town - a KOA. They do have good internet and temps are not supposed to go over 95 - boy have to get out a sweater. And we are still over 6000 feet high. In fact we can see snow on the mountain right behind us.