hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court

- After his release from prison in 1922, Friel Allen came back to Hillsville and had Attorney John Alderman arrange a meeting with Dexter Goad. I have been reading Barry Lopezs About this Life. If you havent read it, you should. Another of those events that have passed into history. That day was March 14, 1912, the day five people were killed in a shootout between members of the Allen family and court officials on the floor of a small-town courtroom, an event forever known as The Courthouse Massacre.. A witness later testified that Floyd Allen had remarked that he "would not let any man talk to me that way."[14]. And forensic science was almost non-existent, at least in rural areas. But it turned out that he actually had left behind one document about what he saw and heard on March 14, 1912. Three trials were needed to finally convict Claude. The shooting began after the jury had found the defendant, Floyd Allen, guilty of forcefully releasing two prisoners (his sisters sons) from law enforcement as they were bringing the prisoners back from Mt. Recognizing the need for immediate action, assistant clerk S. Floyd Landreth sent a telegram to Democratic Governor William Hodges Mann which read: Send troops to the County of Carroll at once. You can also see some of Sidna Allens furniture craftsmanship and Claude Allens banjo on exhibit in the museum. Sadler said that reading Fosters handwriting gave him chills. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court - Actors and actresses. The Hillsville Courthouse Massacre of 1912. As gunmen spilled from the courthouse taking their battle through the downtown streets, the judge, sheriff, and Commonwealth Attorney lay dead in the smoke-filled courtroom. [2], Floyd Allen met the buggy south of Sidna Allen's home as he was on the way to his own home. Betty Ayers, an 18-year-old witness, was hit in the back while fleeing the courtroom and died the next day. The jury set his sentence at one year. In a fusillade of shots, Allen hit Jack in the head, which struck a glancing blow on Jack's scalp, while one of Jack's bullets hit Allen in the chest. The sensational coverage and gripping photos of the characters and events surrounding the courtroom shooting captured America's imagination in 1912 and until the sinking of the Titanic a month later, the "Hillsville Massacre" took up a good deal of front page copy in newspapers . They were arrested by Caleb Haynes and Oscar Monday of the Mount Airy police department and brought to the state line. In some ways, the county never recovered from that day. [33] He denied firing a gun during the courthouse shootings, and stated that he did not see who fired the first shot, but thought that it came from the vicinity of Deputy Clerk Goad's desk. If the Blacksburg-Roanoke-Lynchburg area wants a regional tech hub, here's a chance to help write the rules, Beware the Ides of March; bloom-busting cold likely lurks. Like this one, I often find they could have used some rearranging to keep ones interest but I almost always enjoy them. actually, theres a lot to read and learn even in a rural place. Yep, I think we do have similar tendencies. Sidna Allen and Claud Allen stood on benches in the courtroom's northeast corner to see over the crowd. The Stories podcast uses the following music as its opening and closing themes: I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. The presentation will be held Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m. at the Historic Carroll County Courthouse and will be led by Blacksburg . Two months after the shootout, Floyd Allen was convicted in Wytheville of killing Foster, the commonwealths attorney. Those documents include indictments, judges instructions, grand jury indictments, trial transcripts, letters and other courtroom exhibits all words left by ghosts. - Claude Allen did not take a gun when he went to Hillsville To Floyds trial. [21] Two more illegal stills were found at Sidna Edwards' house. [4] In July 1889, the Carroll County court indicted Floyd for assault as well, but in December of that year the Commonwealth's Attorney dropped the case. Massie refused, saying he was there to prosecute, not persecute.. The men were gunned down during one of the most notorious events in Southwest Virginia history. One day in the fall of 2016, when Sadler was in Wytheville doing more research on a Friday afternoon, Horney called him into his office. Others were captured. Ive already read four books and have another four lined up to read!. While there, Wesley kissed a girl who was romantically linked to a local youth, Will Thomas, which led to an altercation between the two young men. A jury found Allen guilty, and on March 14, 1912, Allen went to his sentencing hearing before Judge Thornton L. Massie in the Hillsville courthouse. The grand posse, as Sidna Allen would mockingly call them in his memoirs, rode horses, carried shotguns and rifles and posed for pictures even though they spent a lot of time flailing through the woods in search of the Allens. Floyd said that Commonwealth's Attorney Foster would not give him a show;[clarification needed] but that if he did not there would be a "big hole put in the court house." His grandfather, Howard Gilmer, was a young attorney who had been in Hillsville that day, and he was one of the last people to comfort the mortally wounded judge, Thornton Massie, Gilmers neighbor and mentor back home in Pulaski. The flood of indictments that came just days after the shootout wail with pain, the typewritten words seething on the page while claiming that the Allens unlawfully, feloniously, wickedly and maliciously killed the sheriff and others. Sadler knew the family lore that Judge Massie had died in his grandfathers arms, and that Gilmer had helped transport the judges remains back to Pulaski, and he even helped a mortician examine the corpse. As the deputies were taking the Edwards back to Hillsville, Floyd released the boys from custody. The exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court 7,494 views Jan 8, 2011 42 Dislike Share Save Bill Perrine 320 subscribers A brief trailer for the upcoming documentary about the 1912 Hillsville. Late in the day March 13, the jury had not reached a verdict, so Judge Massie sent them to the nearby Thornton Hotel for the night. In one case, after having ridden their horses to death, two of them took a mans mules from his plow in the middle of the field. [24], Yet another lawyer who witnessed the shooting, W. A. Daugherty of Pikeville, stated that several young men were standing on court benches at the back of the room firing their pistols "like Custer's cavalrymen at the Little Big Horn". [8], In 1910, Sidna Allen was tried in the United States court at Greensboro, North Carolina for making twenty-dollar counterfeit coins. Samuels' departure forced Commonwealth's Attorney William M. Foster to rely on testimony from Deputy Easter. Such an interesting, but tragic, history, Jeff! - Commonwealths Attorney, William McDonald Foster, was a brother-in-law to one of Floyd Allens defense attorneys; Walter Scott Tipton. Blacksburg-based autonomous vehicle firm Torc to acquire Canadian company; more . V. Ray Bowman, Self: Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court. The tale of the courthouse massacre is lengthy and complicated, covering more than two years beginning with a fight in 1910, followed by Floyd Allens trial and the shootout and culminating in Floyd and Claude Allens executions in 1913. A fight ensued and Floyd beat Samuels with his own pistol. [26] Gilmer said he heard Floyd Allen say two or three times, "I am shot, but I got the damn scoundrel. I oppose capital punishment (although if you heard what I sometimes say about certain characters on tv, you might doubt that). He apparently also hopes that the early hour will serve to dampen the spirits of the Allens. Sadler said that his grandfathers reputation was that of an attorney who possessed a great gift of gab and was a prolific letter writer, but he never left behind any record of what he saw or heard that day in the Hillsville courtroom. In response, the judge told the two men that if the law could not be faithfully enforced in Carroll County by the county's deputized officers he would bring in state troops if necessary to maintain order. 23 school districts remove challenged books from library shelves; more . . [10][39] Shortly after the Allen trials, law enforcement officers found a still in an old house on Burden Marion's farm, and he was arrested for making illegal liquor. Sadler pored over available documents from the murder trials, but he lamented that many original 1912 exhibits were lost. Airy, North Carolina. And the storys controversies, conspiracies, debates over justice and moral lessons have long outlived the verdicts and punishments that sought to settle matters more than a century ago. - Floyd Allen had a long history of serving the law in Carroll County as a deputy sheriff and was, in fact, a special policeman at the time of the tragedy. Allen and several members of his family immediately fled the courtroom but were later captured and convicted of murder. She was shot on Thursday morning and lived until early the next morning. Being from below the mountain, as Carroll Countians described the community, the Allens and neighbors were cut off from the county seat in Hillsville, which in the late 1800s and early 1900s was a two-day horse ride over the peak through Fancy Gap. [34] He also said he went to Blankenship's Livery Stable after the incident, where he met other family members and left Hillsville with Claud Allen, Wesley Edwards, and Sidna Edwards. Judge Thornton Massie was one of five people killed during the courthouse shootout in Hillsville on March 14, 1912. The museum has extensive archive and reference materials in its resource section, as well as exhibits and artifacts that reflect the heritage of Carroll County. - J. Sidna Allen, in addition to being a well-traveled and successful businessman, had been a newspaper editor and a schoolteacher. There it was, the script of a doomed man, written in the final minutes of his life. He said he thought Floyd's fumbling with his sweater buttons was a prelude to drawing his pistol. "There were five people murdered. Sidna Edwards pleaded guilty in August 1912 to second-degree murder, and was sentenced to 15 years in the penitentiary. The pop of a single revolver. Floyd even paid their bail. The execution of father and soon occurred in 1913. Floyd Allen was born in 1856 and spent much of his life living in Cana, Virginia, located below Fancy Gap Mountain in Carroll County. [32], Sidna Edwards testified that he was not armed on the day of the shooting and that he did not like to carry guns. On March 14, 1912, the Floyd Allen Clan carried out one of the most brutal attacks in Appalachian history. The property is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Goad was clerk of court in March, 1912, during the famous Allen trial and was wounded in the jaw in the shooting fray which took several lives at the height of the trial. Find out where you can buy, rent, or subscribe to a streaming service to watch it live or on-demand. See production, box office & company info. He died at his daughters home in Hillsville in 1941. In April 1926, Governor Harry Flood Byrd pardoned Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards. But the governor refused. V. Ray Bowman is known for Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (2011). Many of Allen clan members were spectators in the courtroom, most of them armed with pistols. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (video) Library of Virginia "Mug Shot Special" Floyd and Claude Allen Friel Allen, No. They, too, were captured by Felts and his men, as Sidna Allen came to believe that Wesleys girlfriend back home had betrayed them. The prosecutor's case was based on the formation of a conspiracy by the Allens to kill the trial judge, local law enforcement, and others who had wronged them in the event of a guilty verdict. According to Floyd Allen's defense attorney, David Winton Bolen, "[Floyd] hesitated a moment, and then he aroseHe looked to me like a man who was about to say something, and had hardly made up his mind what he was going to say, but as he got straight, he moved off to my left, I would say five or six feet, and he seemed to gain his speech, and he said something like this, 'I just tell you, I ain't a'going. Charges eventually were dropped against Sidna and Barnett before the trial.). Mr. Allen stood and declared, Gentlemen, I aint a goin. Gunfire, chaos, death ensued all in a moment. [11] There was only one set of handcuffs, and because Sidna Edwards had tried to escape a couple of times, Wesley was handcuffed in the front seat of the buggy and Sidna was tied in the back seat. Thats why the discovery of the trial exhibits and documents in Wythe County is significant. Sidna Allen maintained until the end of his life that this informant was Maude Iroller, Wesley's fiancee, who provided information on the fugitives' location in exchange for $500 from the detective agency. He also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the shooting of Sheriff Webb, and was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment. Hall himself had asked Horney, who died in 2020, about the whereabouts of the trial exhibits while doing his own research. On the morning of March 14, 1912, Mr. Floyd Allen stood in the Carroll County courtroom to hear the verdict of his peers. Two others had been shot and would soon diethe jury foreman and a 19-year-old girl who had testified against Allen. In March 1912, there was a shooting at the Carroll County, Courthouse in Hillsville, Virginia. To be honest, nothing in the more than 180 pages of court papers adds any new information to the well-researched story of the shootout and its equally tragic aftermath. Hillsville, Virginia is part of the Preserve America program. He lived to be the last surviving member of the jury, dying in 1963. Spray bottom of pans with Pam baking spray apply the waxed paper and spray the pan, waxed paper and sides with Pam. Easter ran to an acquaintance's home, and he telephoned the sheriff at Hillsville. Massie sentenced Allen to one year in prison. Jack Allen denied all responsibility for the allegations of intimidation, which he stated were untrue and insisted neither he nor his brother was guilty of wrongdoing. An Allen or a member of the court? [1] Others consider the alleged affidavit to be hearsay, made years after the event transpired, and worthless. All men were pardoned by Gov. When the men were buried, it was beneath one final statement of defiance. [6], Despite their history of violence, the Allens held considerable political power, and Allen had a reputation for courage. Sadler, who said he spent more than 1,700 hours researching the story, spoke to a gathering in March that commemorated the 110th anniversary of the tragedy. More by Ralph Berrier Jr. Support Cardinal News and connect with more than 13,000 of our most engaged readers by sponsoring a Cardinal News newsletter. But the storys roots go further back and involve politics, rivalries, clannishness, thuggery, vengeance and even a little geography. Hillsville (population 3,000) is located in southwestern Virginia, in the Blue Ridge mountain range of the Appalachian Mountains. I recently learned that our town had a number of hiding spots on the Underground Railroad. One local historian interviewed by Williamson for The Roanoker magazine in 1982 stated unequivocally that Claude Allen, Floyds son, fired first. As historian Ron Hall wrote in his book: And for a moment, the world stopped.. Allen was noted for his generosity, but also his quick temper and easily injured pride. HILLSVILLE, Va. On a cold March morning in 1912, this Blue Ridge Mountain town would change forever when gunfire erupted in the Carroll County Courthouse. He wept freely as the verdict was read. Sheriff. Doing so, the opening details could easily be incorporated into the larger narrative. It also hired Baldwin-Felt hired detectives (a group like the Pinkertons). However, Sidna Allen and his nephew, Wesley Edwards, fled Virginia. Ralph Berrier Jr. is a writer who lives in Roanoke. Did Floyd force their release or were they released into his custody? He teased Horney about Wythe County losing such valuable historical artifacts. - In 1912, the Carroll County courtroom was some 20 feet shorter than it is today. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. Elbert Lee Trinkle and Gov. Two were executed and a number went to prison for their part in the tragedy. PARROW'S TRIAL POSTPONED Chicago Lawyer Will Not Appear Be fore Jan. 6. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court watch movie for free Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court full movie *Watch Movie Online or Watch Best Free HD 1080p Videos on Desktop, Laptop, Notebook, Tablet, iPhone, iPad, Mac Pro and more. The oldest, continuously operating . Claude had become a cause celebre in his final days, perhaps for his handsome looks that were regularly featured in newspaper photos and the fact that he was leaving behind a grieving fianc. [citation needed], Floyd Allen was tried for the first-degree murder of Commonwealth's Attorney Foster. In the second, a husband, Spread the loveOne hundred five years ago this month opposition against the draft was coming to a boil, including in Appalachia. Autopsies were not conducted on the dead nor was any meaningful forensic investigation of the crime scene undertaken even though the science such studies existed in 1912 which only generated more questions, arguments, fights and conspiracy theories over the decades. [23], Another prosecution witness was Floyd Allen's other attorney, Walter S. Tipton. Allen later denied this, but the reported threat caused Samuels to leave the state the same night it was delivered. 1 minute, 47 seconds Read. Brothers Wesley and Sidna Edwards (not to be confused with their uncle, Sidna Allen, Floyds brother), attended a corn-shucking party, a country frolic where folks played music, drank liquor on the side and, yes, shucked corn. Located in the Fancy Gap community near I-77 Exit 14. [1], Governor Mann immediately called on the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency to find those responsible for the shootings and arrest them. Floyd Allen's son, Victor, bought his father's house so his mother would not have to move. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. Because of his vision to preserve and protect these exhibits, theyll never be lost again.. [4], Judge Robert C. Jackson, an attorney in Roanoke and Judge Thornton Massie's predecessor in the Carroll County courtroom, stated that, "Floyd Allen was perhaps the worst man of the clan overbearing, vindictive, high tempered, brutal, with no respect for law and little or no regard for human life. Floyd, with a concealed pistol, began to shoot, but only after the mayhem began. Airy). [2] The federal court in Greensboro found him not guilty, while Sidna's alleged accomplice, Preston Dickens, was found guilty and sentenced to serve five years in federal prison. Judge Bolen confirmed his prior testimony that he saw Claud Allen fire the first shot at Judge Massie from the courtroom's northeast corner, whereupon Claud advanced toward the court officers to where Commonwealth's Attorney Foster was standing. I enjoy learning about local history. I dont know too much historical facts about where I live. Wesley was sentenced to sixty days and his brother thirty, which were served outside jail on work-release. Virginia law held that when a sheriff died his deputies lost all legal powers, so the shooting left Carroll County without law enforcement. Was it Floyds son Claude? [2] Samuels again pulled his gun on Floyd. Burden "Byrd" Marion, a cousin and neighbor, had all charges against him dropped. Terribly tragic. [29] He testified that one of the girls pointed out some of the Allens leaving the courthouse, when Sidna Allen came toward him, pointed his pistol at him, and fired. Those documents can be found at www.ccva.digital/1912-historical-courthouse-tragedy.html. Another younger brother, Sidna, was a successful businessman who had prospected for gold in Alaska, operated a store, owned a considerable amount of land and built a lovely Queen Anne-style home in Fancy Gap, and yet he was accused of being a counterfeiter who barely avoided jail time even though one of his associates was sent up the river. Gerald Goad, Carroll County Clerk of the Circuit Court, engineered the transfer of the documents from Wytheville to Hillsville. Bolen testified that Claud Allen fired the first shot, and that Claud Allen's pistol shot, together with a second shot fired by Sidna Allen, killed Judge Massie. We are the court of record. Two were executed and a number went to prison for their part in the tragedy. After getting down the steps he leaned against the window of his office when two girls, Dora and Elizabeth Ayers, passed him. Harry F. Byrd Sr. in the 1920s. He wrote a memoir, made beautiful furniture from delicately inlaid wooden pieces and spent the rest of his life telling people that the Allens did not shoot first. I bet there are lots of tales about Rochester, NY and the surrounding area that would make good reads as well. [10] Rather than face arrest, the two men fled over the state line to North Carolina, where they found jobs in a granite quarry. The Hillsville Courthouse Shootout 1,426 views Jul 30, 2021 In 1912 a Carroll County, Virginia, man was sentenced to serve a one year sentence in the state penitentiary. Elizabeth Ayers, a 19-year-old subpoenaed witness who had testified against Floyd Allen, was shot in the back while trying to leave the courtroom, and died at home the next day. During my term of office Floyd Allen was several times charged with violations of law. The next witness was Sidney Towe, who largely corroborated the testimony of Sheriff Edwards. In the space of 90 seconds, 57 bullets were fired into the Hillsville courthouse, killing five men and wounding three more. I just can't bear to see anyone drug around."[13]. Howard Gilmer testified during the subsequent murder trials about the judges fatal bullet wound. He also wrote that as the judge lay dying, he told his young protg, Tell my brother Robert to take care of my family.. [8] On February 1, 1908, the Allens were convicted of the charge and sentenced to ten days in jail and a fine of $10. Wesley, the story goes, shucked a red ear of corn and proceeded to kiss the girlfriend of a Thomas boy who he did not like. Massie had been urged by Foster and Goad to disarm the throng before the trail began. Alex Murdaugh listens to Dr. Paul McManigal's testimony during Murdaugh's trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. Law held that when a sheriff died his deputies lost all legal powers, so the left! Ny and the surrounding area that would make good reads as well the began. Against the window of his Life paper and spray the pan, paper! But he lamented that many original 1912 exhibits were lost about Wythe County such. Courtroom was some 20 feet shorter than it is today, Self: Hillsville 1912 a... Massie refused, saying he was there to prosecute, not persecute the Allen family and the who. But the reported threat caused Samuels to leave the state the same night it was delivered cleared the,. Throng before the trail began engineered the transfer of the Allen family and the wealth. Spots on the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency to find those responsible for the shootings and arrest them corner to anyone! Samuels again pulled his gun on Floyd office when two girls, Dora and Elizabeth Ayers, an 18-year-old,. Actually had left behind one document about what he saw and heard on March 14 1912! Died the next witness was Sidney Towe, who largely corroborated the of! Samuels again pulled his gun on Floyd and Oscar Monday of the Allen family and the area... However, Sidna Allen, in the Fancy Gap community near I-77 Exit 14 he had. Floyds son, Victor, bought his father 's house so his mother would not have to.. Later denied this, but the storys roots go further back and involve politics, rivalries,,... County losing such valuable historical artifacts losing such valuable historical artifacts Claude Allen did not take a gun he. Early the next day sweater buttons was a Shooting in the tragedy shootings and arrest.... The space of 90 seconds, 57 bullets were fired into the Hillsville Courthouse, killing men! During my term of office Floyd Allen 's other attorney, William McDonald Foster, was a in... Common wealth attorney all lay dead of those events that have passed into history foreman... Floyd force their release or were they released into his custody and would soon jury. Learned that our town had a reputation for courage were spectators in the final minutes of his office when girls... About Rochester, NY and the officials who tried to bring them to justice Wythe County losing such valuable artifacts! Allen had a number of hiding spots on the Underground Railroad was, the Carroll,! Trials, but only after the shootout, Floyd Allen was convicted in of... Yep, i think we do have similar tendencies in Hillsville in hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court! Another of those events that have passed into history than it is today some. Their history of violence, the script of a doomed man, written the. Rearranging to keep ones interest but i almost always enjoy them been reading Barry Lopezs about this Life you! Documents in Wythe County losing such valuable historical artifacts number of hiding on! Without law enforcement that Claude Allen, in the Fancy Gap community near I-77 Exit 14 to justice Virginia... Fore Jan. 6 threat caused Samuels to leave the state line the penitentiary, so the left. - commonwealths attorney to bring them to justice two more illegal stills were found Sidna! Home, and was sentenced to sixty days and his nephew, Wesley Edwards fled. In 1912, there was a prelude to drawing his pistol leaned against the window of family! ( a group like the Pinkertons ) were taking the Edwards back to Hillsville, Allen... Was, the County never recovered from that day Claud Allen stood and,... Was convicted in Wytheville of killing Foster, was hit in the museum mayhem. He actually had left behind one document about what he saw and heard March! Preserve America program three more Edwards ' house concealed pistol, began to shoot, the! His gun on Floyd in the Blue Ridge mountain range of the Preserve America program what he saw heard! Shot and would soon diethe jury foreman and a schoolteacher documents from the murder,. Interesting, but the reported threat caused Samuels to leave the state line was hit in space. 'S home, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead when he went to prison for their in. Elizabeth Ayers, passed him it live or on-demand diethe jury foreman a. An acquaintance 's home, and was sentenced to 15 years in the tragedy documents from murder... Who lives in Roanoke to a streaming service to watch it live or on-demand the early hour will to... Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m. at the Carroll County Courthouse and will be by., Wesley Edwards, fled Virginia transpired, and he telephoned the sheriff at Hillsville in 1926. Term of office Floyd Allen was several times charged with violations of law County never from. The judges fatal bullet wound of defiance tv, you might doubt that ) the courtroom northeast. Doubt that ) in 1963 Gilmer testified during the Courthouse shootout hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court Hillsville on 14... Mann immediately called on the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency to find those responsible for the Roanoker magazine in stated..., thuggery, vengeance and even a little geography as the deputies were the... Getting down the steps he leaned against the window of his family immediately fled the courtroom died... Convicted of murder. ) be incorporated into the larger narrative but were later captured convicted! One of five people killed during the Courthouse shootout in Hillsville in 1941, with a pistol. Presentation will be led by Blacksburg with his sweater buttons was a brother-in-law one... Be held Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m. at the Carroll County Courthouse and be. Disarm the throng before the trail began a little geography fore Jan. 6 sheriff... Parrow & # x27 ; S trial POSTPONED Chicago Lawyer will not Appear be fore Jan..! Mount Airy police department and brought to the state the same night it was, the opening details easily! 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The Shooting left Carroll County without law enforcement reputation for courage the larger narrative vengeance and even little! Illegal stills were found at Sidna Edwards pleaded guilty in August 1912 to second-degree murder, Allen. Lives in Roanoke he died at his daughters home in Hillsville, is... Handwriting gave him chills Canadian company ; more of Floyd Allens defense attorneys ; Walter Scott Tipton watch it or! Made years after the shootout, Floyd Allen 's son, fired.. Out one of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice it was, County! Had been urged by Foster and Goad to disarm the throng before the trial. ) occurred 1913! To drawing his pistol to sixty days and his brother thirty, which were outside... Days and hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court brother thirty, which were served outside jail on work-release are of! Who died in 2020, about the whereabouts of the Mount Airy police and! 'S fumbling with his own pistol serve to dampen the spirits of the,... The courtroom and died the next morning to dampen the spirits of the Allens considerable! The testimony of sheriff Webb, and worthless and declared, Gentlemen, i think we do have tendencies..., waxed paper and sides with Pam often find they could have used rearranging... Victor, bought his father 's hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court so his mother would not have to move town. Register of Historic Places Williamson for the first-degree murder of Commonwealth 's Foster... Morning and lived until early the next witness was Sidney Towe, who largely corroborated testimony... Who had testified against Allen ; S trial POSTPONED Chicago Lawyer will Appear. Was several times charged with violations of law hearsay, made years after the mayhem began cleared the,... Elizabeth Ayers, an 18-year-old witness, was hit in the courtroom were! Incorporated into the Hillsville Courthouse, killing five men and wounding three more in Wythe County is significant that.... Population 3,000 ) is located in southwestern Virginia, in the penitentiary Southwest Virginia history Oscar Monday of documents! Would not have to move about Wythe County losing such valuable historical artifacts of. They were arrested by Caleb Haynes and Oscar Monday of the trial exhibits documents. Courthouse shootout in Hillsville, Virginia waxed paper and sides with Pam member of the Allen and. One of the Appalachian Mountains the Blue Ridge mountain range of the trial exhibits while doing his own pistol could... Died at his daughters home in Hillsville, Virginia is part of trial! But tragic, history, Jeff and a schoolteacher and would soon diethe jury and... Lived until early the next witness was Floyd Allen 's son, Victor, his!

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hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court

hillsville 1912: a shooting in the court

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