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Diamondfield Jack Davis

Diamondfield Jack Davis

Diamondfield Jack Davis Overview

This historical marker commemorates the lasting notoriety of flamboyant western gunman Jackson Lee Davis (1870-1949), who was better known by the colorful name, “Diamondfield Jack.”

In the late 1890s, Davis was a gunman for cattle interests. Later he became a successful mine operator and founder of several mining camps.

Category

  • Mining
  • Person 
  • Ranching/Farming

Marker Type

Stone marker

Nevada Historical Marker Number

Diamondfield Jack Davis is Nevada Historical Marker #251.

Click here to view the full list of Nevada State Historical Markers.

County

Elko County, Nevada

GPS Coordinates

41.984799, -114.671903

Nevada Historical Marker Transcription

This historical marker commemorates the lasting notoriety of flamboyant western gunman Jackson Lee Davis (1870-1949), who was better know by the colorful name, “Diamondfield Jack,” a nickname that he carried the rest of his life.

In the late 1890s, Davis gained a measure of fame as a gunman for the cattle interests, including rancher John Sparks, who would later become a Nevada governor, that were attempting to restrict sheep ranchers from southern Idaho and northeastern Nevada rangelands.  Following a sensational trial in 1896, Davis was convicted of murdering two sheepherders.  He was sentenced to be hanged, even after others confessed to the murders.

In 1902, Davis was finally pardoned for the crimes.  He moved to the central Nevada mining towns of Tonopah and Goldfield, where he became a successful mine operator. He also helped found several mining camps, including one called Diamondfield.  In later years, he drifted into obscurity and died in Las Vegas in 1949 after being struck by a car.

STATE HISTORICAL MARKER No. 251

DIVISION OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND ARCHAEOLOGY

NEVADA COMMISSION ON TOURISM

References Used

Diamondfield Jack Davis