Editing Oroville, California (section)

===1881 lynching===
On August 7, 1881, pioneer Jack Crum was allegedly stomped to death by local bully Tom Noacks in [[Chico, California]]. The young Noacks was feared by the locals of [[Butte County, California|Butte County]], not only because of his size and strength, but allegedly because he was mentally unbalanced and enjoyed punching oxen in the head.

Noacks was arrested and jailed in the Chico jail. Once word got out that the old pioneer had been murdered, the authorities moved Noacks to the [[Butte County, California|Butte County]] county jail in Oroville for his safety. Crum's friends, knowing that Noacks was in the county jail, made their way to Oroville with rope in hand. Knocking on the jail door, the men told the jailer that they had a prisoner from the town of [[Biggs, California]]. Once inside the jail, they overpowered the jailer and dragged Noacks from his cell. They took Noacks to Crum's former farm and hanged him from an old cottonwood tree. Nobody was ever prosecuted for the lynching.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kulczyk|first1=David|year=2008|title=California Justice: Shootouts, Lynching and Assassinations in the Golden State|publisher=Word Dancer Press|page=41|ISBN=978-1-884995-54-5}}</ref>