On July 5, 1851 Josefa "Juanita" Loaiza was hanged in Downieville, California. She was the first and only woman to be hanged in California's history.

In June 2016 I met Josefa. The information below is an account of our conversations. Upon my research with Downieville historians, some accounting does vary slightly from what I learned from Josefa. In pondering this discrepancy, I decided that ultimately Josefa's teachings have been an extremely valuable asset to my life. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that I show my respect to her by telling her story as she described it to me.

Eloise Butler was a botanist who died in August of 1851. 

I met her spirit while visiting the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary. 

This is an account of a conversation I had with Eloise. In showing my respect to Eloise, I have posted this conversation as she described it to me, though historical data may vary.