By 1900 it was becoming apparent that so-called “Wild West” had become to an end. In the early 1900s, in California, one was now required to go before the County Board of Supervisors to petition for a liquor license. If there was sufficient opposition, the Supervisors would deny the license. Thus, in the same county, one town would be “wet” and another one “dry.”
In 1902, T. Ed Driskell applied for a liquor license to operate a saloon at Hayden Hill, and it was granted. Times were quiet on the Hill (as it was referred) and therefore no opposition. By 1906, mining conditions were picking up and the mine operators opposed Driskell’s saloon. In mid-May 1907 the Golden Eagle Mine shut down, implying the problems associated with Driskell’s saloon. In reality there were a scarcity of miners to be found.
While the owners of Golden Eagle fought to revoke Driskell’s liquor license, the matter would resolve itself in a peculiar manner. On July 12, 1908, Driskell’s was found dead at his saloon. A Coroner’s Jury was assembled, the cause of death—alcohol poisoning.