Lookout, California

Lookout is a census-designated place in Modoc County, California. It is located 11mi west of Adin, at an elevation of 4144 feet . Lookout's ZIP Code is 96054.The Whitley's Ford post office operated from 1874 to 1875. The Lookout post office opened in 1880. The original name honors James W. Whitley, a local hotelier. The name Lookout recalls how Native Americans used nearby hills as observation points.The lynching of 1901On May 31, 1901, a group of masked men rushed the guards who were watching over five members of an extended family who were being held in custody in the town's hotel as Lookout, California did not have a jail. The men, Daniel Yantes Martin, Wilson Frank, Jim and Calvin Hall were taken to the Pitt River Bridge, and hung from the railings. Three had terrorized the locals for years; robbing, stealing, cattle rustling, vandalizing property and livestock. Martin Wilson was 13 years old and completey innocent of any crime. Calvin the step father, also was innocent and was hung for fear of being able to name the members of the lynch mob. He was in his late 70s. The family also ran a safe house at their ranch for criminals on the run. When arrested for their crimes, the clan always hired the attorneys, who used their skills or bribery to get the charges dropped. On May 30, 1901, the men were taken into custody for cattle rustling, but knowing that there would only be more trouble once the men were given bail, local citizens formed a vigilante committee and lynched them. On June 10, 1901, a grand jury indicted R.E. Leventon, Isom Eades and James Brown and held them for trial. Lookout was suddenly full of reporters, bounty hunters, attorneys and state officials. The men were acquitted in January 1902. The trial cost Modoc County $40,000. The overwhelming evidence of their guilt was discovered by John Boessenecker and published in his book Badge and Buckshot: Lawlessness in Old California (1988).