Poor Farm & the Shooting of Doc Sinclair

As Bodie faded, the hospital moved to Bridgeport, becoming the Poor Farm. Residents unable to care for themselves, such as Nevada Territorial Governor Nye’s brother, lived at the farm until their death. Finances plagued the farm; the board of supervisors suggested a creative money-saving measure… purchasing whiskey by the barrel! The farms, Doc Sinclair went in search of medical care for himself, after a drunken scoundrel shot him in the leg.

Bodie Hospital

A hospital opened in Bodie in 1879. The board of Supervisors experienced difficulty with operations and conducted multiple investigations. Bodie declined in the mid-1880s, so the hospital moved south of Bridgeport and became known as “Poor Farm.”

Mono County Poor Farm

Before the development of federal government programs, including Social Security and Medicaid, counties often had poor farms. Locally operated farms helped those who were homeless or unable to care for themselves. Farms were usually located in rural areas or on the outskirts of towns. In exchange for room & board and a small allowance, residents engaged in chores on the farm.

Mono Herald and Bridgeport Chronicle-Union
Mammoth Lakes, California • Sat, Aug 11, 1906

The Poor Farm was expensive to operate. As mining declined, so did the money to support the hospital. Supervisors reviewed operating costs. Much of the money went towards prescriptions and alcohol.

In 1891, the board of supervisors suggested that whiskey may be necessary. They suggested purchasing it not by glass but by barrel, which would be more cost-effective.

Medication administration was also of concern. One man was supposed to take medicine by the spoon, but went through 4 bottles in a month!

Peter Nye

One patient of the Poor Farm was Peter Nye, brother of Nevada Territorial Governor James Nye. The promise of riches drew Peter to California and Nevada. He worked as a Gold Hill, Nevada, contractor and moved to Aurora. Peter had multiple businesses, including ranching, contracting, a sawmill, a shingle mill, and a planning mill. Most of his enterprises had the same result, and in 1863, he was declared insolvent.

When the country seat moved from Aurora to Bridgeport, Peter helped to remodel the American Hotel into a courthouse. He built the Allen house and worked on the Towle House along with others. A stroke partially paralyzed Peter in 1878. Following a second stroke in 1893, Peter moved into the Poor Farm. He lived in a small room for 7 years in a small room, until his death.

The Poor Farm had a small cemetery against the ridge behind the farm. The last recorded burial was in 1917. The cemetery location and any headstones were lost to time.

Shooting of Dr. Sinclair

Multiple physicians from Bridgeport cared for patients at the Poor Farm. One of the early doctors was Dr. “Doc” Clark Sinclair. Doc was well-liked, and his care was invaluable. During an outbreak of Scarlet Fever, he lost only one patient.

On September 9, 1889, Doc worked at his drug store in Bridgeport. Ranch hand Red Lee, a “drunken scoundrel,” staggered in, drunk, demanding magnesia. He boasted that he was a bad man and drew his revolver. Pointing it at Doc’s chest, he thumbed back the hammer. He then lowered the revolver and fired at Doc’s leg. Lee claimed he didn’t injure Sinclair. The Sheriff didn’t see it that way and threw Lee in jail.

As the only physician in town, Doc treated himself for a month, including trips to Buckeye Hot Springs. The wound refused to heal, so Doc traveled to Oakland, where his leg was amputated.

Mono Herald and Bridgeport Chronicle-Union
Mammoth Lakes, California • Sat, Dec 14, 1889

Dr. Sinclair returned to Bridgeport in May, where the community raised funds for a prosthetic leg. Doc continued to provide medical care to those in Big Meadows and surrounding areas until 1897, when Esmeralda County, Nevada, offered him a position as the county physician.

Pickel Meadows

East of Leavitt Station, halfway to Fales Hot Springs, Francis “Frank” Pickel found himself in a pickle. Frank arrived in San Francisco and traveled to Mono County after emigrating from Germany. In 1862, he purchased several mining claims and several hundred acres the following year. Above the river, Frank built a cabin. He mined and ranched with two horses, 21 head of cattle and six pigs.

In the late 1870s, Frank was found shot in his cabin. There may have been suspicion over who murdered Pickel, but no arrests or trials occurred. Soon, people began calling the meadow Pickel Meadows. In 1951, the meadow became the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center. It is one of the most remote and isolated posts. It started as the Cold Weather Battalion, training men headed to the Korean War. It is active year-round, teaching mountaineering, rock climbing, skiing, and avalanche training.