Second Garrotte

Second Garrotte, , California is a ghost town located near Groveland in Tuolumne County, California originally settled during the California Gold Rush. The site of the Second Garrote is a California Historical Landmark No. 438 listed on May 9, 1950.[1] It lies at an elevation of 2,894 feet (882 meters) in Second Garrotte Basin.[2][3]

Second Garrote, California
Second Garrotte is located in California
Second Garrotte
Location of Second Garrote, California in California
Second Garrotte is located in the United States
Second Garrotte
Second Garrotte (the United States)
Location20450 Old State Route 120, Groveland, California.
Coordinates37.82493°N 120.195747°W / 37.82493; -120.195747
Built1849, 174 years ago
Architectural style(s)mining town
DesignatedMay 9, 1950
Reference no.460

The town was named after a nearby hanging tree, where according to local lore as many as thirty men were said to have been hanged.[4] Certain contemporary accounts from miners and settlers in the area suggest only two men were hung at Second Garrotte, a pair of thieves caught stealing gold dust from a sluice box. Jason Chamerblain and James Chaffee, early settlers at Second Garrotte who owned the property on which the hanging tree stood, denied any hangings took place.[5]

The nearby town of Groveland was originally known as First Garrotte, named after an earlier hanging at that town.[5]

A historical Second Garrote is at 20450 Old State Route 120, 2.4 miles Southeast of Groveland. The marker was placed there by Tablet Placed By California Centennials Commission working with Charles G. Hall Post No. 3668 V.F.W. on September 15, 1950.[6] California Historical Landmark number 460 reads:

NO. 460 SECOND GARROTE - A sizable settlement was established at this rich placer location in 1849 by miners spreading east from Big Oak Flat and Groveland. The famous hangman's tree, part of which still stands (1950), is reported to have been instrumental in the death of a number of lawbreakers during the heyday of this locality.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Tuolumne". CA State Parks. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Second Garrotte Basin
  3. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Second Garrotte
  4. Miller, Donald (1978). Ghost towns of California. Boulder, Colo.: Pruett Publishing Co. p. 153.
  5. Paden, Irene; Schlichtmann, Margaret (1955). The Big Oak Flat Road; an account of freighting from Stockton to Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park: Yosemite Natural History Association. pp. 167–180.
  6. "Second Garrote Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.
  7. "CHL # 460 Second Garrote Tuolumne". www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com.


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