entertainment was there, you cranked the phone handle and
asked for Pinole 85. Unfortunately, two years after the tornado
flattened a rebuilt Hunters Inn, another tragedy struck the
place. In July 1947, a robbery occurred there at 3 A.M., after
closing hours. The Inn’s owners, Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Morgan,
were attacked and the Inn robbed by an unknown person.
Morgan was killed and his wife, Joyce, was seriously wounded.
The invader also cut the telephone lines. When Joyce Morgan
regained consciousness two hours later, she made her way
across the street to the home of Tony Francis, who called then-
Pinole Constable Eugene Shea. The intruder was never caught
and the case remains one of Pinole’s most unsolved notorious
criminal cases.
Many years later, Hunters Inn was remodeled into the
Wagon Wheel, a popular dancing and drinking establishment,
complete with nights of unique and colorful entertainment,
with bouncers for the unruly.
The Wagon Wheel continued its contribution to Pinole’s
history into the 1980s.
EDITOR’S NOTE: On April 7, 1984, the Wagon Wheel was
burned to the ground during a training exercise that involved 40
firefighters from the Pinole, Richmond, Rodeo, El Cerrito, and
Kensington fire departments, to make way for what is now the Del
Monte Shopping Center, which houses The Embers and The New
Deli, among other businesses.
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NOVEMBER 2018 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM 25
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668 Quinan Street, Suite 100, Pinole, CA 94564
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