"Pioche's heyday was in the l870's," local resident and history buff Louie Benezet says. "The reputation of the wild and woolly west was never better represented than here. The combination of the discovery of silver, the ambition to get rich quick, and its seventy-two saloons resulted in Pioche becoming famous for its lawlessness. Even famous towns like Bodie and Tombstone pale by comparison."

In 1870-71, with a peak population of no more than ten thousand, Pioche claimed almost 60% of all the killings for the entire state of Nevada. More than six dozen graves crowded Boot Hill as a result of violent deaths before the first death by natural causes. Of all the murders tried here, the jury managed only two convictions, the rest were acquitted—and none were hung. Look for yourself as you stroll Boot Hill reading the gravestones.

One such gravestone belongs to Morgan Courtney, the "Chief" of Pioche’s hired guns, who gained fame for winning the Washington & Creole Mine war. When the legal owners could not evict the claim jumpers that had barricaded themselves in the mine illegally working the rich veins, Courtney contracted to extricate the scoundrels. He "mistakenly" delivered a case of whiskey to the mine and when the miners became gloriously drunk, he and four others ran them out of town. As his payoff, Courtney and his men worked the mine for one month, extracting over $60,000 in silver ore.

Steady employment was guaranteed in Pioche if you were a fast-draw or a lawyer. The mine owners hired guards to protect their heavily fortified mine entrances and lawyers to defend their frequently and hotly disputed claims. During boom times hired gunmen pocketed as much as $20 a day, a better investment for the mine owners than taking their disputes to court where the highest payoff decided the outcome. Juries were sequestered and guarded—not from violence—but so they couldn’t be reached to take a bribe. The office of sheriff reputedly assured its holder $40,000 a year in tributes alone.

Shoot-outs on Main St. were common. One young Illinois attorney stepped off the stage with his new bride in 1871coincidentally when the sheriff was occupied with gunning down three outlaws on the next corner. They left on the next stage.

Youthful George McIntyre, already notorious as a fearless mine guard from Elko, was greeted upon his arrival in Pioche by "Chief" Courtney, who cautioned him, "this town ain’t big enough for the both of us." McIntyre replied that he liked Pioche but that Courtney was at liberty to leave. That afternoon, when the two men advanced toward each other down the middle of Main Street, eyes locked, gun hands rigid at their sides, nervous bystanders dove for cover, and—but that’s another story.

Visit the million-dollar courthouse, one of Nevada’s most famous landmarks, built in 1872 with bricks brought round the Horn. The exorbitant cost was a product of the times--corruption and dishonesty from the ruling politicians down to the workmen who laid the bricks. Interest on the scrip used to finance what originally had been budgeted at $16,000 surpassed one million dollars when finally paid off in 1936.

Now home to government offices and a museum, you can relive the past by joining the jury in a trial reenactment. One empty seat remains that you can fill for that period photograph. The electric mannequin judge bangs his gavel and the conglomeration of jurors listen in rapt attention to the prosecutor’s oration. Behind the courthouse, step inside the two-foot thick walls of the jail that once held some of the West’s most feared desperadoes.

Fire, no stranger to mining boom towns, leveled much of the camp in September of 1871 when 300 kegs of blasting powder in Felsenthal’s store exploded blowing a 1000-pound door clear out of town. The disastrous fire killed thirteen and left over 2000 homeless. Undaunted, the survivors quickly rebuilt the town.

Pick up a walking-tour guide of Pioche’s historic buildings from the Lincoln County Museum at Meadow Valley and Main Streets or the Million-Dollar Courthouse for a step back into the soul of the old west.

Drive up the hill behind town to the Pioche Aerial Tramway operated in the l920's and 30's to carry ore from the mines on Treasure Hill to Godbe’s mill. Though a five-horsepower motor aided the tramway, the heavy ore in the filled buckets rolled mainly by gravity power to the mill and also provided the momentum to return the empty buckets back to the pits. In l928 the tramway delivered the ore to the mill for six cents a ton.

By the way, eyewitness accounts of the McIntyre/Courtney face-off claim that before Courtney’s "invisibly-fast draw" had cleared his Colt .45 from its holster, McIntyre had drawn, fired, and killed Courtney on the spot.

Discover for yourself the historical experience of Pioche 175 miles north of Las Vegas on US 93. Though parking for trailers is limited, curbside parking at both ends of town is available. Eagle Valley RV Park and Pioche RV Park in town have hook-ups.

CATHEDRAL GORGE STATE PARK

Back before the gunslingers and silver miners of Pioche--about a million years before-- a large freshwater lake filled Meadow Valley, the area south along US 93 from Panaca to Caliente. With the passing of time the lake dried up and disappeared. Mother Nature began her long whittling process of wearing down the shale and siltstone lake sediments into what today is a series of steep, narrow canyons looking much like a child’s giant sandcastle.

The wife of the mine operator at nearby Bullionville compared her favorite riding area of spires and canyons as resembling a cathedral. The name stuck, and Cathedral Gorge State Park, ten miles south of Pioche, became one of Nevada’s first four state parks. The campground has 22 non-hook-up spaces with fire grill, table, and shade ramada, as well as water, restrooms with showers, telephone and a dump station.

Walk the self-guided nature trail, explore the tight, winding canyons, and climb the short trail to an overlook at Miller Point. The visitor center at the entrance provides maps, history, and local information.