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Collection: Directories and Documents > Pamphlets
An Illustrated History of California's Gold Rush by Wells Fargo Bank (PH 1-27) (34 pages)
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Page: of 34
St. James Episcopal Church in Sonora
One of the most interesting anecdotes about Sonora
concerns a Mexican War veteran, Major Richard
Barry, who somehow got himself elected as the Justice of the Peace in Sonora in 1850. Major Barry was
an all but illiterate man whose ideas of “Justice”
were simple and practical. On one occasion a Mexican named Jesus Ramirez was brought before him
on the charge of stealing a mule from the Sheriff,
George Work. Since the Sheriff said Ramirez was
guilty, Barry took his word for it and fined the Mexican $100 plus court costs of $10 more. But Jesus
Ramirez had no money so the Justice of the Peace,
feeling that somehow the court had been cheated,
ruled that Sheriff Work must pay not only the court
costs but the fine as well. When the Sheriff's lawyer
objected to this procedure Justice Barry fined him
$50 and placed him in jail for five days on a charge
of contempt of court. Today justice has mellowed in
Sonora and you can get a parking ticket without
fear of reprisals beyond the law. Just don’t steal the
Sheriff's mule.
JAMESTOWN Following Highway 49 from Sonora
you will presently come to the “Gateway to the Gold
Country”— Jamestown. “Jimtown,” as it is popularly
called, has a flavor of the last century which is enhanced by the many balconied buildings along its
winding main street—some built during Gold Rush
days and some in the decades that followed.
26