05/15/2026
Remembering Sheriff William Phoenix
By Tom Sage
On August 12, 1855, Sheriff William Phoenix was killed by gunfire. He had only been in office one year since being elected as Amador County's first Sheriff.
Six days earlier, on August 6, 1855, a dozen bandits rode up Dry Creek from lone, robbing gold miners along the way. They continued on to the town of Rancheria, which once stood northeast of Amador City. The group shot up the store and hotel, killing six and wounding two more. One of those killed was a mother who had been shot while placing her child out an open window to safety.
The safe in the store had been blown open, and pounds of gold stolen. The crime would later be remembered as The Rancheria Massacre.
Sheriff Phoenix and his posse tracked the bandits south through Mokelumne Hill and Reynolds Ferry, teaming up with Calaveras County Sheriff Charles Clark
along the way. On August 12*, they encountered the murderers near Chinese Camp, in Tuolumne County. A gun battle ensued and Amador County Sheriff William Phoenix, just 32 years of age, was killed. Many of the bandits had been captured along the way or killed in the gunfight.
Sheriff Phoenix was reportedly a Freemason, and he was brought to Sonora where he received a full Masonic burial from the Sonora Freemason Lodge a day following his death.
Local author, Red Johnson, wrote a book titled Murder in the Gold Country, which documents his research into The Rancheria Massacre. It's a source for learning about Sheriff Phoenix.
With the passage of time, and the lack of complete cemetery records, the exact burial locatton for Sheriff Phoenix is unknown. It is believed he is buried within the oldest part of the Sonora Masonic Cemetery where some of the graves are unmarked. The records and maps for that area of the cemetery do not show the names of those buried there however.
Over the last few months, the membership of the Amador County Peace Officers' Association has worked on getting a granite marker engraved and set at the Sonora Masonic Cemetery for Sheriff Phoenix. The granite is now completed, and is set near the flagpole and entrance to the cemetery as a place to remember our Sheriff, and never forget his sacrifice.
Peace Officers Memorial Day, on May 15*, originated in 1962 with a proclamation signed by President John F. Kennedy. On this day we honor and remember the law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. Let's remember Sheriff Phoenix today, as well as the nearly 25,000 federal, state and local law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and protection of our nation and its people since the first known line of duty death in 1786.
