Hildreth Stage Robbery

Hildreth Stage Robbery. . , In the 1860s a bandit held up the Hildreth to O'Neals stage and stole $10,000 in gold bullion. He hid the loot in a tree stump and started a fire to hide his tracks. Later two locals discovered some of the gold and tried to sell it in Millerton. They were arrested and charged with the robbery but later cleared and the remaining gold has never been found. Tom Hilgreth founded the mining town named after him in the late 1870s. His home was built on this site which overlooks the draw where much of the town was located. There were five main mines, two hotels, three general stores, a barber shop millinery shop, post office, school and eighteen saloons. Steam power was used to run the stamp mills and pumps, but as the mines began to flood, local wood used to fuel the boilers became scarce and expensive. Pumping them out became cost prohibitive and the last mine was closed in 1893 followed by the post office in 1896. The Hanover School and a bunkhouse are all that survived a fire that burned the original town. Henry Ryan bought much of the old town site and turned it into a cattle ranch. His family lived in the Hildreth home until a new one was built here in the 1950s. Today his descendants still live in the home and work the land.