BRIDGINGTHE CENTURIES S o m e interesting people in the history of Piute County stood with one foot on either side of the century mark, as did also the Gold Mountain Mining District that spawned the boomtown of Kimberly and the building of reservoirs and dams on the Sevier River. This was a time when entrepreneurs, both insiders and outsiders, saw a lucrative economic future in Piute County.
Colorful Characters A Junction building of this era was Hales Hall, named for Charles Hale, who constructed and owned it. School, dances, and a variety of public meetings, including court hearings and trials, were held in the hall. One of the more famous trials there was that of Henry L. Mills, who got in an argument over a dog fight with John Purjue at a Marysvale saloon on 5 July 1897. Sheriff James Stocks was in the saloon when the argument began. When the disagreement turned into a fist fight, Sheriff Stocks separated the two men and then deputized an onlooker, Alma Straw. Straw was to take control of Mills and escort him outside, but Mills drew a small gun from his pocket and
