IMAGES OF THE AMERICAN WEST

Bannack, Montana Photo Gallery

<<  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  Next  >>

Gallows in Bannack, Montana

Sheriff Henry Plummer was hanged from the very

 gallows  that he, himself had built earlier in the year.

This image available for photographic prints and

 downloads HERE!

Built by Sheriff Henry Plummer, the gallows in Bannack, Montana were actually used for only a little over a year, during which time five men were hanged, including John Peter Horan, R.C. "Peg Leg" Rawley, Sheriff Henry Plummer, himself, and his two deputies, Ned Ray and Buck Stinson.

August 19, 1863 was a busy day in flourishing mining camp of Bannack. When John Peter Horan killed his partner, a man named Lawrence Keeley, justice was swift and a judge and jury were quickly put together. After a quick trial, Horan was sentenced to die for the premeditated murder and the

court instructed Sheriff Plummer to build a set of gallows and hang Horan.

Sheriff Plummer quickly complied, building the simple hanging structure and executing Horan at the end of the rope. Afterwards, Plummer was tasked with administering Horan's estate, which consisted of a few mining claims, a third interest in a log cabin, eight sluices, and some mining equipment. The sheriff was so effecient in his duties, it caused one resident to comment that the "area crime appeared to be played out."

See More Bannack!

Bannack-Gold to Ghosts

Little did Plummer know as he went about his business, that his own hanging would be next. Due to the rampant road agent activity in the area, the Montana Vigilantes were formed in late 1863 and quickly set about "dispensing justice," hanging some two dozen men in just a couple of months. After capturing and hanging alleged road agent Erastus "Red" Yager on January 4, 1864, the vigilantes claimed that Yager had named Henry Plummer as the leader of the gang called the Innocents.

Again the vigilantes acted swiftly and on January 10, 1864 they rode into Bannack from Virginia City and apprehended Henry Plummer and his two deputies, Buck Stinson and Ned Ray. Marching the three men to the gallows in a military style, the three were lifted up and dropped to their deaths. Reportedly, after Plummer pleaded his innocence, he then begged the vigilantes to "Please give me a good drop."  The three bodies were left hanging until the next morning. Plummer’s was the only body placed in a wooden coffin and none were buried in the cemetery, but instead all three were buried in shallow graves in Hangman’s Gulch about a hundred yards up from the gallows.

The gallows then sat silent for a number of months until shortly after R.C. "Peg Leg" Rawley came to town in September, 1864. Rawley, who was not a known outlaw, but had been friends with several of the men who had been hanged, had left Bannack when all the vigilante activity had started at the beginning of the year. However, by September, the violent activities of the Montana Vigilantes had simmered down and he returned. Though an educated man, Rawley was a heavy drinker and had become a drifter. Working manual labor jobs to support himself, he spent his evenings in the saloons and while "in his cups" was extremely vocal about his dislike of the vigilante activities. Word soon reached authorities of Rawley's "talk" and they soon decided to "investigate" the drifter. Found to be a "spy" for the road agents, Rawley was the last man hanged at the Bannack gallows.  

© Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, updated September, 2008

Continued Next Page

Return to Bannack, Montana

Return to Vintage Photographs

<<  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  Next  >>

 From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Legends Exclusive Custom Products - Legends of America and the Rocky Mountain General Store now provide a number of exclusive products that you won't find anywhere else! At our Exclusive Custom Products Store, you'll find lots of crazy bumper stickers; Old West prints, postcards, t-shirts and more; and our line of exclusive Route 66 products provides images on a number of items that you've never seen before! Click HERE to see the entire line.