Hazen, a small railroad and construction-camp settlement in Churchill County, Nevada, established in 1903 along the Southern Pacific Railroad, became a hub for workers on the Newlands Irrigation Project (Nevada’s first major federal reclamation effort under the 1902 Reclamation Act). The town’s rapid growth brought hundreds of transient laborers to build Derby Dam, the Truckee Canal, and related infrastructure. With saloons, brothels, and no resident sheriff, Hazen earned a reputation as one of the state’s roughest towns. Crime—assaults, robberies, and harassment—was rampant, especially in broad daylight. A small two-room wooden jail was built in 1904 near Constable Judd (Jud) Allen’s hotel, but local law enforcement was minimal. Frustration among citizens finally boiled over on the night of February 27–28, 1905, resulting in the lynching of William “Red” Wood (also known as “Nevada Red” or William Wood). This event is widely regarded as Nevada’s last recorded lynching.
Background on William “Nevada Red” Wood
William Wood, commonly called “Red” Wood or “Nevada Red,” was an ex-convict and morphine/opium addict with a long criminal record. He had served time in an Iowa prison and the notorious Sing Sing Prison in New York before drifting west. In Derby, Nevada (a construction camp near the Derby Dam site), he and a partner, Jerry McCarthy, operated a saloon. McCarthy died suddenly under mysterious circumstances in November 1904; Wood fell under suspicion and was run out of town. He briefly stayed in Fallon before moving to Reno, where he was arrested for an armed robbery in a Commercial Row saloon. Police found a complete opium outfit in his hotel room, but the victim refused to testify, and Wood was released. Roughly three weeks later, he arrived in Hazen. Contemporary accounts described him as a “notorious Derby thug and all-around bad man” who exemplified the criminal element plaguing the Newlands Project camps.
The Criminal Climate in Hazen (1903–1905)
Hazen’s economy relied on railroad operations and canal construction, drawing single young men whose wages attracted robbers and opportunists. Citizens reported being harassed daily, even in daylight, with little intervention from Churchill County authorities. Sheriff Robert Shirley in Fallon rarely visited. Constable Judd Allen (a hotel owner with no prior law-enforcement experience) made few arrests. By late 1904, townspeople had grown so exasperated that vigilante talk circulated openly. The February 1905 robbery attempt by Wood was viewed as the final straw.
The Robbery Attempt and Arrest (Evening of February 27, 1905)
Early in the evening of February 27, 1905 (around 6 p.m.), Wood and his companion, “Kid” Wilson (also spelled Wildon in some accounts), attempted to rob two laborers, J.A. Wire and James Wallace, near the Hazen train depot. The victims had walked to the depot to buy tickets to Reno. Wilson pointed a pistol at one man while Wood struck the other with a blow to the head. A struggle ensued, drawing the attention of the station agent and telegrapher. The agent armed himself and rushed to assist, firing a shotgun blast over the robbers’ heads and a second charge toward Wood. Wilson fled and escaped on an eastbound freight train. Wood, armed only with a straight razor, surrendered after the warning shots and was captured. He was immediately taken to the small wooden jail adjacent to Constable Allen’s hotel. Allen posted a young stable hand to guard the prisoner and, by 11:30 p.m., with the town quiet, retired to his hotel about 50 feet away.
The Lynching (Early Morning of February 28, 1905)
Around 2–2:30 a.m. (still technically the night of February 27 into the morning of February 28), a mob of approximately 30 men approached the jail. Using an axe, they broke open the wooden door, dragged Wood into the street, placed a rope around his neck, and hauled him roughly 30 feet to a nearby telegraph pole (sometimes described as a telephone pole). They bound his hands and feet, threw the rope over the crossarm, and asked if he had anything to say. According to a witness, Wood gasped out his innocence and pleaded for his life, but the rope tightened mid-sentence, and he was hauled up. He convulsed in the throes of death as the mob remained largely silent with “no cheers and little conversation.” The rope was tied off at the base of the pole, and the men dispersed quietly into the darkness. Constable Allen and the stable hand later claimed to have heard nothing despite the proximity of the jail.
Immediate Aftermath and Investigation
The body remained hanging until approximately 10 a.m. on February 28, when two women staying at Allen’s hotel noticed it and raised the alarm. Some passersby earlier had mistaken the figure for a dummy placed as a warning to criminals. Allen ordered the body cut down. A coroner’s inquest was promptly held in the Hazen barbershop, where Wood’s body was laid across two barber chairs. The jury examined the telegraph pole and rope and concluded, after “due deliberation,” that “Red had come to his death by being hanged to a telegraph pole with a rope around his neck.” No blame was assigned to any individuals. Sheriff Shirley declined further investigation, stating the inquest settled the matter. Governor Sparks deferred to county officials. Contemporary newspapers, such as the Reno Evening Gazette (February 28, 1905), reported the event in detail, noting that “the officials of the county say there will probably be no further inquiry and it looks like the matter will be dropped.” Hazen’s “better element” (local businessmen and families) silently approved, while the state’s press (outside Fallon) was largely critical. No arrests were ever made.
Wood’s body was placed in a rough coffin nailed together from railroad packing crates. A brief service attended by only six people was held—the first funeral in Hazen. He was buried in an unmarked grave about half a mile north of town, becoming the first interment in the new Hazen cemetery. An entrepreneurial local youth cut the rope into souvenir pieces and sold them briskly; some accounts claim he bought additional rope to meet demand. Crime in Hazen reportedly subsided noticeably afterward.
Legacy and Significance
The lynching of William “Nevada Red” Wood is historically recognized as Nevada’s last known lynching. It symbolized the frustration of frontier communities with weak law enforcement during the boom years of railroad and reclamation projects. While the act was extrajudicial and condemned by much of the state press, it was locally viewed as an effective deterrent. Hazen’s State Historic Marker No. 178 references the event as part of the town’s “tough” reputation. Wood’s unmarked grave and the site of the telegraph pole remain part of Hazen’s ghost-town lore, though the town itself never fully recovered from later fires and highway bypasses.
Sources/References
- Reno Gazette-Journal articles (1972/2014/2025 editions detailing the full timeline, background, and eyewitness elements).
- Forgotten Nevada historical site, including the February 28, 1905, Reno Evening Gazette contemporary account.
- Churchill County Museum Digital Archive (In Focus Volume 3, No. 1), providing the most granular eyewitness and contextual details.
- Additional corroboration from Nevada State Historic Marker No. 178 and Wikipedia summaries drawn from primary sources.
This report is based exclusively on documented historical accounts and newspaper records from the period. It presents the facts of the crimes, vigilante response, and official inaction without modern editorial judgment.