The Hanging Tree (1959)

Gary Cooper stars as Doctor Frail, newcomer to the small mining town of Skull Creek. After saving a young man (Karl Swenson) from an angry mob led by Frenchy Plante (Karl Malden), he soon finds himself at odds with a few shady local characters. He also comes to the aid of Elizabeth (Maria Schell), an immigrant who suffers temporary blindness after a stagecoach crash. This hard-to-find western was set in Montana, but the town of Skull Creek was built by the film crew outside Yakima, WA.

The Skull Creek town set was built just to the south of Little Rattlesnake Creek where it forks off the Naches River. This is located off Forest Service Road #1500 about 1.5 miles SW of the town of Nile. Nothing remains of the set, but after filming the site became known as Hanging Tree Campground, until portions of the road leading up to it washed out, making it less-accessible.

GPS Coordinates:

46.813377,-120.948709