BODIE'S BOSS LAWMAN
The Frontier Odyssey of Constable John F. Kirgan
by Bill Merrell with David Carle
More Info. 75 illustrations, including
15 color photographs. Published by Nevada Publications, June,
2003. purchase from Friends of Bodie online or from Stephens
Press
After serving with the 1st Illinois Regiment in the Mexican War,
John Franklin Kirgan made his way westward, where his saga intersected
with that of the new state of California's constitutional convention
in 1850. Years later, the Comstock excitement brought Kirgan
to Carson City and a stint as a prison guard at the Nevada State
Prison. Finally, fate delivered him to Bodie in 1877, where
he worked as constable, jailer, and deputy sheriff during the
mining town's boom years. Serving as the "boss lawman"
of Bodie was the culmination of Kirgan's life--an odyssey that
placed him in contact with the emerging history of the American
West. Merrell unearthed the story of a Western lawman who
was responsible for law enforcement in a violent town far better
known for its "Badmen of Bodie." Carle finished
the final chapters of the book and prepared it for publication
after Merrell passed away with his text unfinished.