Ed Hill

Ed Hill was held in the county jail at Colfax, Washington, in June 1894. Shortly after 1 a.m. on June 2, about fifty masked men forced the jailer to open the safe and the jail doors, broke the lock of Hill's cell and took him out. The jailer was later locked up and then released by the sheriff. A coroner's jury returned a verdict that Hill died by hanging at the hands of parties unknown, though accounts differ on whether he was hanged or shot, and one account places the hanging at the balcony of the Court House. According to The Morning Call, his brother and friends had been guarding the jail because of rumors of a mob.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A mob took Ed Hill from the Colfax jail and killed him, by hanging in most accounts and by shooting in others; the accounts agree he was taken from custody by a mob.

Reported by: Fisherman & Farmer (reporters); County Jail coroner's jury (medical examiner or coroner); Associated Press dispatch from Spokane (reporters); Mineral Point Tribune (reporters).

Sources (9)

• Arizona Republican, June 3, 1894, page 1 Arizona Republican, June 3, 1894
• The Morning Call, June 3, 1894, page 9 The Morning Call, June 3, 1894
• The Salt Lake Herald, June 3, 1894, page 1 The Salt Lake Herald, June 3, 1894
• The Anaconda Standard, June 5, 1894, page 8 The Anaconda Standard, June 5, 1894
• The Weiser Signal, June 7, 1894, page 1 The Weiser Signal, June 7, 1894
• Mineral Point Tribune, June 14, 1894, page 2 Mineral Point Tribune, June 14, 1894
• Wood County Reporter, June 14, 1894, page 6 Wood County Reporter, June 14, 1894
• Fisherman & Farmer, June 15, 1894, page 4 Fisherman & Farmer, June 15, 1894
• The Abbeville Press And Banner, June 20, 1894, page 2 The Abbeville Press And Banner, June 20, 1894