A shooting range operated by the Chorro Valley regulators hosts a wild west-themed shooting events. Competitors dress in old west outfits and shoot guns patented in the 1800’s. Outside the range, rope nooses hung to enhance the western theme. But they were recently removed from a building where they hung off highway one, because some perceive the nooses as a symbol of racism. Those critics see the nooses as a reminder of lynching of African-Americans.
San Luis Obispo county is not unique in this historic revision. Placerville is also under attack for a display of a man being hung outside a building in downtown. Before the chamber of commerce changed its name to Placerville, the town was called Hangtown.
That’s because of an event where three outlaws rode into town firing weapons. They were strung up and hung from an oak tree in downtown. That tree got a lot of use by local vigilantes during the gold rush, which inspired the name Hangtown.
Placerville is also facing assault by revisionists. But the nooses at the shooting range off highway one come down.
