Mary Ann Thompson

Quick Facts

Significance:

Infamous gun-wielding woman of Panamint City

Date of Death:

1967

“Shotgun Mary” was infamous in the Panamints, as were other women in her family. Mary Ann Hart Thompson was born to George and Eliza Hart in Ohio. Her father passed away in 1898 so her two brothers soon moved away to California to start a restaurant business. Mary Ann married Harry Hull Thompson in the early 1900s, and had two children with him, Harriett and Richard.  

In 1919, Eliza Hart decided the entire family should move to California. They settled in Ballarat and, according to historians Palmer and Brush, had the nicest house in the area. Eliza was given the nickname “Two-gun Eliza,” which turned into “Grandma Two-gun” in a manner of years. The family did not exactly endear themselves to their neighbors; they chased one of their neighbors off of his own property. While we do not know if this was an innocent mistake or not, the same neighbor waited until they left the house and then burned it to the ground in retaliation. This was enough for the Hart-Thompson group, so they moved again, this time just northeast of Panamint City.  

Their cabin near Panamint City became synonymous with the name “Shotgun Mary,” with people telling stories of meeting her well into the 2010s. Mary Ann Thompson was involved in mining, with her husband Harry and her sister Orpha helping her stake claims from 1920-1923. Many claims were staked, but there was a family falling out that led to Harry Thompson leaving in 1923. He deeded his fifty mines and a house to Mary before he left for San Francisco. By 1924, Mary had incorporated her mines and her husband’s mines into the Ballarat Mining Company (BMC). With her initial capital of $111,250 in 1924, Mary soon claimed that her 98 mines were worth between 8 and 10 million dollars; there is still no conclusive evidence that BMC mines ever shipped ore, much less an amount worth millions.
 
While Mary Ann came to be called “Shotgun Mary,” she did not settle disputes with her guns. She certainly waved her gun around, but no one was shot over a dispute with her— they settled everything in court.  The family survived quite well, until the 1960s when they fell into financial trouble. By 1965 their incorporation was revoked and within a year, they moved to Victorville because it was cheaper.  

Mary Ann Thompson developed a heart disease and passed away in 1967, just a year after moving to her apartment in Victorville. After her death, the family seemed to rapidly decline in Victorville. Harriett Thompson inherited heart trouble from her mother and died of a heart attack in 1971 at age 65. Surprisingly, Orpha Hart lived until 1978, despite having lost all of her teeth at an early age. She had a series of strokes and died in a nursing home in Apple Valley. This devastated Richard Thompson, who shot himself two weeks later.
 
Mary Ann Thompson is not known for her tragic story of even her potential swindling in the mining business, but instead for being an almost mythological figure of Panamint City.