The town, about 45 miles northwest of Sacramento, CA, was originally called Dry Diggins when it was started in 1848—because there was no gold to be found there. By the next year, folks called it Hangtown, reportedly because so many miscreants had been strung up (although local records indicate only three men were given a rope necktie).
But when the churches and civilization

True West May/June 2025
In This Issue:
Features
- Historic Hotels of the American West
- A Journey Through Wyoming’s Outlaw History
- A Journey Through Washington’s Wild Frontier
- Blazing The Oregon Trail
- Journey Through Time
- Did Brigham Young Order a Massacre?
- Mountain Meadows Scapegoat John D. Lee VS. A Firing Squad
- Mormons in the Movies
- An Indigenous Consultant Ensures Accuracy
- The Battle Axe And A Raw Deal
- Showdown: Bridger VS. Brigham
- The Mountain Man and the Mormon Moses
- The Ghosts of Mountain Meadows
- The War Before the War
- Mountain Meadows