Legends of the Old West - OUTLAWS Ep. 5 | Henry Plummer: “Support Your Local Marshal”

Episode Date: February 23, 2022

Henry Plummer moves from New England to California and completes an improbable rise from failed miner to successful businessman to town marshal. But Plummer soon fears the powerful men of Nevada City, California as well as the rising threat of vigilante violence. And then the threat becomes reality during a deadly shootout between lawmen, outlaws, and vigilantes. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join To advertise on this podcast, please email [e-mail] For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This show is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please visit AirwaveMedia.com to check out other great podcasts like Ben Franklin’s World, Once Upon A Crime, and many more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the night of January 10th, 1864, a dark and frigid winter night with just a sliver of moonlight, flaming torches brandished by a lynch mob of at least 50 lit up the perimeter of a small log cabin in Bannock, in the present-day state of Montana. The rabid mob had come to mete out its version of vigilante justice, but it wasn't a fugitive from the law whom they were hell-bent on executing. They came for Bannock's sheriff, and badge or no badge, the mob was determined to send him to meet his maker. The vigilantes jeered the sheriff, demanding he come out and face his accusers. He knew there was no escape, so the sheriff, still wearing his badge, left his guns behind and walked out into the freezing cold to face the mob and his fate. For the sheriff, still a young man in his 30s, newly married, and with everything to live for, it was the end of a winding and bumpy road

that had finally hit a tragic dead end. But to this day, a debate rages on. Was an innocent lawman set up by his enemies? Or was he, as many believed then and still do today, the kingpin of a gang of brazen highwaymen robbing stagecoaches and terrorizing innocent travelers? The vigilantes hanged more than 20 men that winter, both in Bannock and in nearby Virginia City. All had been accused of being part of this well-orchestrated band of road agents, led by the sheriff. But none of the dead men were given their day in court. The vigilantes served as judge, jury, and executioner. It's a dark chapter in Montana history, and still, over 150 years later, there are questions that remain unanswered.

Were the accused guilty or were they murdered? The sheriff who faced the lynch mob that night was Henry Plummer, and his legacy, whether it's based in fact or folklore or both, lives on. As a podcast network, our first priority has always been audio and the stories we're able to share with you. But we also sell merch. And organizing that was made both possible and easy with Shopify. Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell and grow at every stage of your business. From the launch your online shop stage all the way to the did we just hit a million orders stage.

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I'm your host, Chris Wimmer. In this season, we're telling the stories of two outlaws, John Wesley Harden and Henry Plummer. This is Episode 5, Henry Plummer. Support your local marshal. Henry Plummer's early life remains sketchy, but historians agree that Henry was born in New England. Whether it was in Connecticut, New Hampshire, or Maine remains a mystery, as does the year he was born. However, there does seem to be a consensus that it was somewhere between 1830 and 1835.

It's believed that sometime in his late teens, Henry decided to leave home and head west for California alone. In all likelihood, his motivation was a quest to find gold after it was discovered at Sutter's Mill in 1848. Henry traveled to California by way of a steamship from New York to Panama and then up the Pacific coast to San Francisco on a ship called the Golden Gate. He arrived in May of 1852. 1852. For a young man from New England, the land of pilgrims and Puritan values, San Francisco and its infamous Barbary Coast section of the city must have been quite a culture shock for Henry. Gambling houses, saloons, and brothels were all part of the sordid fabric that made up the city in the mid-19th century, and temptation and danger lurked around every corner.

Henry's activities in San Francisco will never be known. What happened in San Francisco stayed in San Francisco. But after being there for about a year, working odd jobs and saving whatever money he could, he decided it was time to move on. Henry's gold fever showed no signs of abating, and he wanted to claim his share of the riches. Henry struck out alone again, and in 1853, he moved to the gold mining town of Nevada City, California, about 150 miles away. There, with the money he'd saved, he staked a claim. For months, he toiled in the gold fields, digging and panning for gold.

But in the end, like so many who came to California with high hopes, Henry's quest for gold ultimately failed. He was disappointed and dejected, but not defeated. Henry had already proved himself to be a survivor, so he worked on a new plan. After Henry's gold fever broke and he threw in his shovel and pick, he took up cattle ranching in the Wilson Valley just north of Nevada City. Maybe raising livestock would be his path to success. But in less than a year, with very little profit, Henry became restless, and he decided he wasn't cut out for ranching either, so he moved back into town to look for work. Eventually, he got a job at an establishment called the United States Bakery, owned by two gentlemen named Thomas Hearn and Henry Heyer. In the spring of 1854, Henry Plummer was somehow able to buy out Thomas Hearn, becoming Henry Heyer's new partner.

A short time later, Henry Plummer bought a house in town. What has never been documented or even explained was how Henry Plummer, who may have been as young as 19 at the time, came up with the kind of money needed to buy out Hearn and also buy a house. Had he borrowed the money from a bank or from his family, or could he have taken the money illegally, and this was the beginning of a pattern of criminal behavior. Whatever the case, it was a good investment, because business at the United States Bakery was very good. And it got even better after a fire raged through the only other successful bakery in town and reduced it to ashes. But as luck would have it, the flames never reached the United States Bakery. But was it merely good luck, or was there something more sinister at play?

The cause of the blaze that put Henry's only competitor out of business was never determined. But it didn't take a lot of imagination for people in town to wonder if maybe the person who stood to benefit the most from the fire was the same person who set it. But with no evidence of arson, it was merely a rumor. For the most part, people in Nevada City seemed to like and admire Henry Plummer, so they took him at his word that he had nothing to do with the fire. Maybe he did, and maybe he didn't. We'll never know. But there was no arguing that the fire worked out well for Henry.

But there was no arguing that the fire worked out well for Henry. By all accounts, Henry Plummer was a likable guy. He was said to be soft-spoken, had the polished manners of a New England gentleman, and was apparently handsome. But he did have his detractors. For whatever reason, not everybody liked him or trusted him, and there was a growing chorus of folks in town who suspected his meteoric success was not on the up and up. In their view, there was something fishy about how quickly Henry Plummer rose to prominence from such humble beginnings. But his rise continued.

Not long after the fire that put their competitor out of business, Henry bought out his partner, Henry Heyer, and ran the bakery by himself for a while until he was offered a good price for the business and decided to sell out. So after just three years in California, Henry Plummer had achieved a great deal of success. Without ever striking gold, he still struck it rich. Henry dabbled in a few other business ventures after selling the bakery. He and Henry Heyer partnered up again and opened another bakery, and then a saloon, both of which were also successful, but eventually those were sold as well. Henry always seemed to be looking for the next opportunity. In 1855, he found it,

and made a move that was entirely unexpected, and even puzzling to his friends and the people of Nevada City. The city marshal of Nevada City, a man named C.B. Evans, unexpectedly resigned, and his deputy, David Johnson, assumed the post. That left an opening for a new deputy, and Henry Plummer, with absolutely no background in law enforcement, although law-breaking may not have been entirely unfamiliar to him, set his sights on becoming the town's next deputy marshal. Surprisingly, the Nevada City Council decided young Henry was the best man for the job, so they offered him David Johnson's old position and Henry happily accepted. The reasoning behind the city council's selection

of Henry for the job remains murky. Was it his reputation as a prosperous businessman and an upstanding citizen that sealed the deal? Or was it more about his friendly relationships with the less upstanding but equally successful elements in town, namely Nevada City's saloon and brothel owners, had they helped tip the scales in Henry's favor after he agreed to a quid pro quo arrangement. Whatever the case, Henry Plummer became Deputy Marshal Henry Plummer, and by all accounts he was welcomed by the majority of Nevada City residents. People seemed to like what he stood for. He quickly gained a reputation for looking out for the working man and others who were struggling. If a mine owner was having issues with his miners, Henry tended to side with the miners.

And despite once having been a successful businessman himself, if business owners were accused of being unfair to their employees, Henry typically sided with the employees. This made him popular with the working class of Nevada City, but not so much with mine owners and business owners. So Henry hadn't been in the job long before he started making enemies. And given the power they had in town, they were the wrong enemies to have. To start with, Henry wasn't popular with his new boss, City Marshal David Johnson. Johnson didn't think Henry had the experience necessary to wear a badge, and Johnson was skeptical about how Henry ended up in the position in the first place. So they got off to a shaky start, and things only devolved

from there. But Henry had yet another nemesis in law enforcement who wielded even more power than Johnson, and who had a reputation for toughness, but not tolerance. His name was W.W. Wright, better known as Boss Wright, and he was the Nevada County Sheriff. Wright was a man who didn't take kindly to young upstarts like Henry Plummer. Wright sided with Johnson and didn't think the new kid had enough experience to do the job. With Henry's list of enemies growing, some men might have worked on finding some common ground or otherwise made peace with them, but not Henry. He stuck to his guns. And Henry's next move would make those who didn't like him, like him even less.

When it was time for the citizens of Nevada City to either elect a new city marshal or stick with David Johnson, who had been appointed as opposed to elected, Henry Plummer surprised everybody when he decided to run against his boss. It was a bold move that turned into a contentious campaign, but in the end, much to the surprise of many in town, especially David Johnson, Henry Plummer won the election, although just barely with a margin of only seven votes. But a win was a win, and Henry embraced his new role as city marshal. What the new city marshal was not yet aware of was that a

fuse had been lit, and whether it would fizzle out or eventually lead to an explosion remained to be seen. Shop with Rakuten and you'll get it. What's it? It's the best deal. The highest cash back. The most savings on your shopping. So join Rakuten and start getting cash back at Sephora, Old Navy, Expedia, and other stores you love. You can even stack sales on top of cash back. Just start your shopping with Rakuten to save money at over 750 stores.

Join for free at Rakuten.ca or get the Rakuten app. That's R-A-K-U-T-E-N. Henry Plummer was now Nevada City's top lawman, the man responsible for keeping the peace in a town filled with prospectors and miners, who were not necessarily peaceful by nature, and more than a few men of questionable character who could be downright dangerous. It was a tough job and a solemn responsibility. Henry was under a lot of pressure to succeed, and his performance in his new role was being closely watched by those who were in his camp wishing him well and by others who were hoping he would fail, maybe even doing what they could to ensure

he would fail. Although Henry had gone from a teenage adventurer from New England to cattle rancher to baker to successful business owner, and in a relatively short time, he was completely inexperienced as a lawman, and that soon showed. Henry's first fail as city marshal happened on a September night in early June 1856, barely a month after he took office, when he stepped into a simmering confrontation in a Nevada city saloon that was about to boil over. When a shoving match between two men looked to be on the verge of turning violent, Marshall Plummer was called to the scene and he attempted to arrest both men to avoid escalation. The saloon's owner,

who apparently took no issue with bar brawls, was unhappy with Marshall Plummer inserting himself into the mix, so he drew his pistol and fired. The proprietor ended up wounding one of the men Marshall Plummer was trying to arrest, and then shot and killed one of the men the marshal brought with him as reinforcement. Henry had obviously played no role in how or why any of this happened. He was merely doing his job. But many believed that if he had done his job better, the situation would never have turned violent. His inexperience as a lawman was on full display, and many believed it cost a man his life. The saloon owner was charged with murder and convicted. Marshall Plummer was cleared of any wrongdoing, but his reputation as a

peacekeeper suffered, and things were about to get a lot worse. The responsibilities that fell under the purview of Nevada City's Marshal went beyond keeping the peace. They also included fire prevention. Nevada City was essentially a mining camp that turned into a town, with structures built mostly of wood. The exception was the new jail, which was built with local granite and touted as being inescapable. A town constructed like Nevada City was a potential powder keg. If a spark was ignited, and the fire was not extinguished in very short order, the consequences would be devastating. And in July of 1856, that's exactly what happened. A fire in a blacksmith shop swept through the town like a tidal wave of flames. In only a matter of hours, half the city was

destroyed, and ten people lost their lives. Along with dozens of buildings lost, the fire also destroyed the new courthouse and the inescapable Granite Jail. Nevada City went from being a bustling town that morning to having half its structures reduced to piles of ash hours later. Although it seemed that if anyone was to blame, it was the blacksmith, the people of Nevada City were quick to blame Marshall Plummer instead. Now with his reputation in tatters, Henry's enemies were preparing to strike, and they did so when Marshall Plummer was at his most vulnerable. Henry had no ally in Sheriff Wright, who was still bitter that his man, the former city marshal David Johnson, had lost the election. Sheriff Wright, to make his unhappiness known to the people of Nevada City and Nevada County, hired Johnson as his deputy and the two formed an alliance.

Soon, a different kind of powder keg was in danger of erupting. Soon, a different kind of powder keg was in danger of erupting. Adding to Henry's concerns over the growing animosity between himself and the powerful men in Nevada City, he was beginning to worry about developments in San Francisco, where vigilance committees were being formed by those who were unhappy with the city government. Henry Plummer could read the writing on the wall. He was convinced that the kind of vigilantism that San Francisco was seeing was not isolated, and that vigilante justice would find its way to Nevada City.

It would not only threaten the rule of law he was working to preserve, but would threaten the safety of the citizens as well as the lawmen, himself included. And he was right to be concerned, because Marshall Plummer's fears were about to become reality. The last thing Marshall Henry Plummer needed in his town was mobs of vigilantes organizing and making his job even more difficult. He already had plenty of challenges as the city's top lawman. For one, after Nevada City's inescapable Granite Jail had been destroyed, Henry was forced to have a makeshift jail built with a single cell, a single padlock,

and manned by a single guard. Maximum security it was not, and if vigilantes ever decided the marshal was holding a prisoner they thought should either be set free or hanged, there wasn't much he could do to stop them. But this tiny wooden structure would have to work until a proper jail could be built, and that wouldn't come soon enough to prevent what was about to unfold. to prevent what was about to unfold. In October of 1856, Marshal Henry Plummer arrested a man for armed robbery and locked him in the temporary jail. The prisoner's name was Jim Webster,

and in no time at all, he tunneled his way out of the cell. Webster was recaptured a short time later and put back into the jail which was now housing two more prisoners. But Webster escaped again, bringing his new cellmates along with him. Because the escaped prisoners had been arrested by the county, Marshall Plummer went to the county sheriff, Boss Wright, demanding he pay the expenses, not only for the damage to the makeshift jail, but also in putting together a posse to track the escapees. Wright agreed, but only if he could join the posse. Henry didn't like the idea, as he was no fan of Sheriff Wright's, and he thought the

sheriff might have some other agenda, but he finally relented. Marshall Plummer had a hunch he knew where the prisoners might be hiding out, a cabin in Gold Flat, about an hour's ride by horseback, which was owned by Jim Webster's friend. But because he was still uneasy about Sheriff Wright joining the posse, Plummer procrastinated for the rest of the day, hoping the sheriff might be distracted by other matters. Then he and his men could ride out to Gold Flat without the sheriff and take the escapees back into custody. But his plan failed. Sheriff Wright was coming along, and the consequences would be deadly. At about five o'clock that evening, as dusk was beginning to settle, Marshal Plummer, Sheriff Wright, and one of Plummer's deputies rode out to check out the

cabin at Gold Flat. Plummer realized en route that another posse was following them, one, it turned out, that Sheriff Wright had organized without informing him. According to first-hand accounts, Henry was furious with the sheriff for his meddling. And to add insult to injury, leading the posse was Deputy David Johnson, Henry's former boss. But Marshal Plummer set his personal feelings aside, and the two posses came up with a plan. The men split up and stealthily approached the cabin, and then they became aware of another group of men hiding in the nearby woods. One of the men shouted at Marshall Plummer, warning him not to come any closer. Deputy Johnson then demanded to know who the men were

and why they were there. This was exactly what the men hiding amongst the trees wanted to know too, so they shouted back the same question. Plummer, Wright, and Johnson assumed the men in the trees were the ones they were looking for, but they were wrong. Who opened fire first is still unknown, but a hail of bullets began to fly in both directions, until Plummer realized the men shooting at them were not the escaped inmates. Those three were trapped inside the cabin. No, the men in the woods were vigilantes, who had grown tired of waiting for law enforcement to arrest the men, so they decided to capture the escapees themselves.

It was exactly the sort of thing Henry Plummer had feared. Vigilante justice had come to Nevada City. Marshall Plummer yelled at the vigilantes in desperation, pleading with them to stop firing and trying to make them understand that they were the good guys and the bad guys were inside the cabin. Henry tried to make the vigilantes understand they were shooting at men they knew, Henry tried to make the vigilantes understand they were shooting at men they knew, some of whom might be their friends. As the gunfight continued, the escaped inmates managed to flee, somehow getting past both the lawmen and the vigilantes.

When the shooting finally stopped and the smoke settled, Sheriff Wright was dead and Deputy Johnson was badly wounded. Johnson was taken to the home of one of the vigilantes and later died from his injuries. Henry survived the deadly shootout, but whether or not he would survive the fallout in its aftermath was yet to be determined. After the gunfight, a coroner's jury tried to figure out exactly what happened that night and what Marshall Plummer's culpability might be, if any. Public opinion was said to have been mixed. Many sided with Henry.

They didn't see that he had done anything wrong, and he shouldn't be scapegoated simply because he managed to stay alive during the gunfight. In fact, he was the one who tried to get the vigilantes to cease fire, and it was the vigilantes who killed Wright and Johnson, not Henry. But others thought the whole deadly debacle was just one more example of Henry being in way over his head, and that he did bear responsibility for what happened. Here is Henry Plummer's first-hand account of the events that took place, taken from his courtroom testimony. Wright and I stepped back a few feet toward the horses. The shots started coming fast and thick

now, and I saw a man jump behind a big stump in the center of the ravine. Wright ran for him. This man put his pistol out and fired, and Wright fell. Almost immediately, I recognized Wallace Williams by the flash of Garvey's gun. I called him by name and told him to stop, that he was shooting his friends. There were a few shots after this, near where Johnson was attempting to come down. They stopped and we all came together. Someone brought a candle. Then we knew it was a mistake. The coroner's jury ruled that both Wright and Johnson's deaths were accidental, but rumors of what really happened that night began to circulate, thanks to Wallace Williams, the prominent attorney in town who was named by Henry as a vigilante. Williams was not a fan of Henry Plummer, and he was quoted in the local paper saying that Marshall Plummer had run like a coward after the first shot was fired

and gave no cover to Wright and Johnson. That was an outright lie, and Wallace knew it. Marshall Plummer was enraged at being accused of cowardice, and he responded by publishing a letter in the Nevada Democrat on November 19, 1856. In his letter, Plummer stated, Unlike Mr. Williams, my own courage is dependent on my own testimony under oath, not on the trumpeting of the press. I will leave this subject with the hope that he may enjoy the reputation for which he longs and such as I deserve. Henry Plummer was found innocent of any wrongdoing in the court of law, but in the court of public opinion,

he was standing front and center in another tragic incident, and this time, one that cost two well-respected lawmen their lives. The fact that it was Wright and Johnson who had sabotaged Plummer's plan to capture the escapees quietly didn't seem to carry much weight. But Henry Plummer had come too far and worked too hard to let the events of that night ruin him, and certainly not at the hands of a group of law-breaking vigilantes who had no business getting involved in the matter. Henry was determined to win back the respect of the citizens of Nevada City, so in an effort to rehabilitate his reputation and save his career,

he went on a spree and arrested dozens of fugitives. That pleased the citizens of Nevada City, and even the press took a friendlier approach to their city marshal. took a friendlier approach to their city marshal. So when Henry was up for re-election in 1857, he won his race handily. But Henry's winning streak would soon come to an abrupt halt. Henry's world would be turned upside down when he met a husband and wife named John and Lucy Vedder, who moved to Nevada City and rented Henry's house. moved to Nevada City, and rented Henry's house. Lucy, a beautiful young woman by all accounts, was a new mother trapped in an unhappy and potentially dangerous marriage.

When Lucy came to Henry seeking protection from her violent husband, Henry was quick to do what he could to offer protection for both Lucy and her infant daughter. But it wasn't long before rumors began to circulate that Henry's interest in protecting Lucy was not purely professional, and that the two had struck up a romantic relationship. And when Lucy's husband caught wind of the rumors, Henry would find himself once again in another life-or-death struggle.

once again, in another life-or-death struggle. Next time on Legends of the Old West, Henry's life takes a series of dramatic turns that includes gunfights, murders, incarcerations, prison breaks, and much more. That's next week on Legends of the Old West. And members of our Black Barrel Plus program don't have to wait week to week. They receive the entire season to binge all at once with no commercials. Sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website blackbarrelmedia.com. Memberships

begin at just five dollars per month. This series was researched and written by Michael Byrne. Original music by Rob Valliere. I'm your host and producer, Chris Wimmer. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening. Check out our website, blackbarrelmedia.com, for more details, and join us on social media. We're at Old West Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This show is part of the Airwave Media Podcast Network. Please visit airwavemedia.com to check out other great podcasts like Ben Franklin's World, Once Upon a Crime, and many more.

Thanks for listening.