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In the 1800s, Tulare County, California, was a hotbed of desperate characters whose deadly gunplay and murderous inclinations left a trail of bodies across the region. Although the Central Valley now makes its name in agriculture, Tulare County was once a bastion of the Wild West with a lineup of hardened criminals that has scarcely been equaled in the annals of crime. Train bandits, coldblooded murderers and callous outlaws armed with shotguns and butcher knives plagued Visalia, Porterville and other sleepy central California towns. Join historian and retired Visalia Police captain Terry Ommen as he relates the transgressions of Tulare County's roughest characters, including thrilling tales of the pistol-packing Mason-Henry Gang, a deadly duel between politically divided journalists and vigilante justice exacted by angry mobs.
About the author
Terry Ommen served with the Visalia Police Department for twenty five years until his retirement in 1997. Ommen has been a regular columnist for local newspapers, including the Fresno Bee and the Visalia Times Delta, and he currently authors the "Voices from Four Creeks Country" column for the Valley Voice and a "Historic Happenings" blog. Ommen is also a past president of the Tulare County Historical Society. Harold L. Edwards is a western writer and past president of the National Outlaw/Lawmen Association, now called the Wild West History Association.
