In July of 1915, peace in Mono County was shattered when Sheriff James P. Dolan died from gunshot wounds received while trying to apprehend two outlaws who had terrorized ranchers a short distance from this location. Outraged by the shooting, citizens of Mono County quickly formed a sheriff’s posse that tracked the outlaws to a location near the Mono Craters. Both outlaws were killed in a shootout with possemen, and a coroner’s inquest determined, “Death caused by resisting arrest by duly constituted representatives of the sheriff’s office.” Sheriff Dolan, the 15th lawman to serve that office since the formation of Mono County, made the ultimate sacrifice with the fearless determination entrusted to him by the county’s citizens.