Home Frontier Town Royal Gorge Scenic Railway Prices Groups Special Events Movies Directions / Hours of Operation Customer Comments

 

1. Who Killed Farrin/Hank James?

Answer: Both Joey and Martha James

2. When did the murder happen?

Answer: August 2, 1877 at approximately 10:05 PM (Although it was taking place for several weeks prior to August 2nd.)

3. Where did the murder take place?

Answer: In Georgia’s Saloon on August 2nd.

4. How was he killed?

Answer: He was poisoned by Arsenic and Strychnine.

5. Why was he killed?


Answer: Martha James realized that Farrin had killed Hank and taken his place early on. When Farrin requested from his parents that they send him some cases of his favorite whiskey, Martha saw her opportunity to take care of this monster she had created. She used Arsenic to slowly poison Farrin over a period of weeks by placing it into the whiskey they shipped to him. She could not take the fact that he had killed his own brother, the son she truly loved. This ate at her until she finally acted upon it.

When Farrin first arrived in town Joey, while helping him with his bath, he noticed a birth mark he had seen before on the lower right calf of Farrin James. At that point he realized what had transpired 14 years ago. Joey has long hated Farrin for the things he had done to Georgia, now his adopted mother. He also found out that Farrin James was his birth father. There were many factors for Joey, but the main reason he wanted this man dead was that he had overheard Georgia telling Sarah what her brother was doing to her. Farrin had told Georgia that if she did not marry him, he would take everything away. He would destroy her and he would see to it that "Joey had an accident". Joey could not let this man do this to the woman who had raised and cared for him, so he made his plan. On August 2nd, Joey played in a card game with Farrin and as was the usual behavior, Farrin got mad that he could not beat Joey at poker. During the ensuing scuffle, Joey took the opportunity to inject Farrin with a needle of strychnine, which was covered up by their fight.

 


For more information, visit our FAQ page.
Buckskin Joe Frontier Town & Railway | P.O. Box 8 | Cañon City, CO 81215
Phone: 719/275-5149 | Fax: 719/275-8035 | e-mail: