[2], Deputy Samuels was left lying unconscious in a ditch, and his horses were run off. "Claude Allen First To Fire At Hillsville". B. Marshall testified that when the shooting started he turned to escape the courthouse. There are still questions to be answered, but they probably never will be answered. He proved to be right. During the initial manhunt, several posses of detectives and local deputies searched the surrounding countryside. 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. [8] Only a month later, their petition for executive clemency was granted by Governor Claude A. Swanson, restoring their political rights to hold office. He found the murder indictment against Sidna Allen, Floyds brother who would be convicted and serve more than 13 years in prison. A second shot entered the back about four inches lower, while a third shot cut the sheriff across the chin. After close to a year of delays, Floyd was finally brought to trial on March 13, 1912. Foster married Katherine Tipton in 1894 and had 5 children by 1912. One shot. He teased Horney about Wythe County losing such valuable historical artifacts. Was Clerk of Carroll County Circuit Court During the Famous Allen Trial. "Accuses Dexter Goad of Shooting Betty Ayers". Ron Hall, a local historian who has written a book about the shootout and is considered one of the best sources for factual information about the story, told Sadler that he was probably the first person to see those documents in 100 years. Not knowing all the details, I wasnt sure what to do with this information. [10] Rather than face arrest, the two men fled over the state line to North Carolina, where they found jobs in a granite quarry. [20], Within a month, all suspected shooters were in custody, except Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards. 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 . - After the shootout ended, people in Hillsville were afraid the Allen family would come back into town and kill everyone in sight. A jury foremans handwritten verdict in blotchy ink condemns Claude Allen to death. After those five shots, he dropped to his knees and reloaded his revolver. - William McDonald Foster, Commonwealths Attorney in 1912, had been a Democrat but turned Republican when he ran for the post. - William Fosters daughter, Aline, married George Ellison Bud Edwards in 1917. In 1921, however, Victor moved his family to Tabernacle Township, New Jersey. All men were pardoned by Gov. The spotlight returned to the story of the shootout when the centennial of the tragedy was marked in 2012. The property is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. There are many questions as to what led up to this event, but it seems to have begun with Wesley Edwards getting a red ear of corn at a corn shucking. The U.S. Revenue Service had sent Deputy Agent Faddis to investigate reports of illegal liquor trafficking by the Allens. - William Sidna Edwards, the nephew of Floyd Allen, was sentenced to 18 years in prison as a result of the Courthouse Tragedy, although he never fired a shot. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court - Actors and actresses. It would take another tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic, to remove the focus from Carroll County. Floyd once got in a tangle over a business deal with his younger brother Jasper Jack Allen, who might have been the toughest Allen of them all, and the two men shot and wounded each other. The house back in 1911 was worth 13,000.00 and was said to be the most beautiful house in South-West Virginia. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [7] In 1908, while serving as special deputies, Allen and a relative, Henry "H.C." Allen, were charged with unlawful assault upon prisoners held in their custody who they claimed had resisted arrest. Hillsville, Virginia is part of the Preserve America program. Such an interesting, but tragic, history, Jeff! He only picked up Victors gun when he left it in the hotel room on the morning of March 14th. I enjoy learning about local history. Who fired their pistol first? He was convicted and executed for murder in 1913 after a sensational courthouse shootout the previous year that left a judge, prosecutor, sheriff, and two others dead, although the validity of the conviction has been a source of debate within Carroll County for decades. [20], Sidna Allen denied that he shot Judge Massie, or that he fired at Commonwealth's Attorney Foster, Sheriff Webb, or at Juror Fowler. Ive already read four books and have another four lined up to read!. He asked her if she was hurt or mashed and her sister-in-law responded that she was just scared. [1], In his testimony at his murder trial, Floyd Allen admitted he had fired at Deputy Clerk Quesinberry and again twice more at other unknown persons once he had left the courthouse.[28]. In April 1926, Governor Harry Flood Byrd pardoned Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards. Perhaps to get even, Goad charged Allen with falsifying expense reports when he worked as a county deputy. Synopsis On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. Harry F. Byrd Sr. in the 1920s. I like how youre reading books about where you live. The law provided that everything could be seized with the exception of a few bare essentials necessary for existence, for example, 1 cow, 1 pig, etc. In his defense testimony, Floyd Allen stated that Sheriff Lew F. Webb fired first, but that the shot missed Allen, at which point Deputy Clerk Goad, the Clerk of Court, fired and hit Allen, causing him to fall. [4][2] Sidna promptly appealed and won a new trial on the perjury charge. [26] Though wounded by four bullets himself, Goad recovered. The judge hopes that since the normal court opening time is 9 a.m. the Allen case can be dispensed with rapidly and the normal caseload handled in due time. Floyd freed his nephews and took them himself to the Hillsville jail two days later. Marshall. Witnesses said she never looked Floyds way. Everybody was packing weapons, it seemed. Sadler, a real estate broker in Blacksburg who lives on a family farm in Pulaski County, had taken an interest in the shootout story after looking at old scrapbooks kept by his grandmother, Howard Gilmers daughter. He was with his brother when the shooting occurred and was in jail with him when a vigilante mob took his brother into the jail yard and killed him. Spray bottom of pans with Pam baking spray apply the waxed paper and spray the pan, waxed paper and sides with Pam. Supposedly, Andy Griffins father would take him up there when he was a boy (it was about 25 miles from Mt. The definitive history, Mr. Ron Halls Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy is still published and is available at the Museum bookstore. Follow Us. Like this one, I often find they could have used some rearranging to keep ones interest but I almost always enjoy them. He was the patriarch of the county's most prominent family, which, in addition to owning large tracts of farmland and a prosperous general store, were also active in local politics as proud Southern Democrats. Entdecke 1960er Jahre ORLANDO FLORIDA MCCOY FLUGHAFEN ~ Delta Air Lines Flugzeug Start- und Landebahn ~ Postkarte ~ A5 in groer Auswahl Vergleichen Angebote und Preise Online kaufen bei eBay Kostenlose Lieferung fr viele Artikel! "[4], Judge Jackson recalled a trial in 1904 in which Allen was convicted of assaulting a neighbor, Noah Combs. After getting down the steps he leaned against the window of his office when two girls, Dora and Elizabeth Ayers, passed him. [32], Sidna Edwards testified that he was not armed on the day of the shooting and that he did not like to carry guns. But the documents do bring humanity to a story often told through tintype pictures, brittle newspaper clippings, hazy memories and fables passed down through generations. Allen was noted for his generosity, but also his quick temper and easily injured pride. Judge Thornton Massie was one of five people killed during the courthouse shootout in Hillsville on March 14, 1912. Three trials were needed to finally convict Claude. Although some stories say she didnt know she was shot and some say she said I am killed, no documentation exists to confirm either. Sheriff and Commonwealth's Attorney dead, court serious. But there they were, hidden in a drawer in the basement of the Wythe County Courthouse, where a longtime clerk discovered them in the fall of 2016. 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. 1 minute, 47 seconds Read. Allen once accused Goad of running liquor, which forced the clerk to resign from a prestigious post as federal commissioner. The trials happened quickly in 1912 and early 1913. As Foster followed the judges instructions to re-write the verdict on the indictment, Allens lawyer, W.D. Another of those events that have passed into history. 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. Upon conviction of interfering with an officer of the law, Judge Thornton Massie oversaw the jurys imposed sentence of one year imprisonment. There were also five others wounded, including Floyd Allen. As the late Roanoke writer and broadcaster Seth Williamson wrote in The Roanoker magazine in 1982, the Allen men were not a race of mild country squires.. Photo courtesy Carroll County Historical Society and Museum Howard Gilmer was a young attorney and protege of Judge Thornton Massie, who cradled the dying judge during his last moments in the courtroom. About; Contact; Links; Search for: Tags. '"[11][17] At this point, shots broke out in the courtroom. One local historian interviewed by Williamson for The Roanoker magazine in 1982 stated unequivocally that Claude Allen, Floyds son, fired first. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court is a 70 minute film that will be presented to The History Channel and PBS, and entered in film festivals across the US. When the jury returned a guilty verdict against with a sentence of one year in the penitentiary, Floyd Allen is reported to have said to Judge Massie: "If you sentence me on that verdict, I will kill you. "[1] Not long afterward, Allen shot and wounded Combs, and was indicted and tried on charges of assault. The historical societys museum resides on the first floor of the old courthouse, which no longer is a government building but still majestically commands the high ground of Main Street like it did in 1912. Floyd admitted that he mightve gotten rough with Samuels. View Map and Driving Directions Phone: (276) 728-2594 So, in late 1910 when two of Floyd Allens nephews got in a little trouble with the law, the consequences would be deadly. [34] He stated that he fired back at Goad on the courthouse steps, but denied shooting at Treasurer J. We must have similar tendencies as I like to pick up a few books about the history of any area I spend some time in. . The pop of a single revolver. He worked for the Edison Lighting Company. These mostly came from recent labor disputes in coal country and their mannerism didnt endure them to anyone, it seems. [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. I dont know too much historical facts about where I live. The answer would soon become obvious. They were arrested by Caleb Haynes and Oscar Monday of the Mount Airy police department and brought to the state line. And forensic science was almost non-existent, at least in rural areas. Barry Lopezs book (above) sounds good. [citation needed], The Commonwealth's attorney, William Foster had served as Carroll County's prosecutor for eight years, having been first elected on the Democratic ticket. Floyd Allen was born in 1856 and spent much of his life living in Cana, Virginia, located below Fancy Gap Mountain in Carroll County. Accounts differ as to who actually fired the first shot. Nearly impassable muddy roads and a raw wind that carried snow flurries did not stop nearly 100 people from jamming the 1873 courthouse to see the spectacle of Floyd Allen possibly being led away in handcuffs. His grandfather had taken the round from the courthouse the day of the killings. Located in the Fancy Gap community near I-77 Exit 14. Otherwise, he would not have been armed. [2] Sentenced to a $100 fine and one hour in jail for wounding Jack, Floyd refused to go, saying that he "would never spend a minute in jail as long as the blood flowed through his veins". Most likely, someone had intentionally hidden the drawer to keep people from pawing through and perhaps removing the papers. To this day, 110 years later, nobody who has studied this notorious event can say with any assurance who fired that catastrophic first shot. Because of his vision to preserve and protect these exhibits, theyll never be lost again.. Roanoke, Va., March 16, --The prisoners from Hillsville are not expected here before 3 o'clock Sunday morning. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. Most of the documents from the subsequent murder trials that followed the shootout had been lost or were thought to have been lost or stolen. WYTHEVILLE, Va., Nov. 22. The deputies, though, accused Floyd of forcibly freeing the brothers, assaulting the lawmen and smashing Deputy Samuels pistol against a rock. For a while, Hillsville was at the top of the nations newspaper. [8], In 1910, Sidna Allen was tried in the United States court at Greensboro, North Carolina for making twenty-dollar counterfeit coins. 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. [4] In September 1889, after pleading no contest to the assault, Garland and Sidna were fined $5 each plus court costs, and the prosecutor dropped the weapons charges. Airy). I recently learned that our town had a number of hiding spots on the Underground Railroad. Interest in the story never wanes, even though, as the historian Hall said, weve about beaten the thing to death.. [34] Allen claimed that when the shooting began, he drew his own revolver and fired five times at Deputy Clerk Goad and Deputy Sheriff Gillespie, because both men were firing at him. Many of Allen clan members were spectators in the courtroom, most of them armed with pistols. Sheriff. As the deputies were taking the Edwards back to Hillsville, Floyd released the boys from custody. More leniency was given to the other Allens and their family members. Justice came swiftly to the Allens, perhaps a bit too swiftly for those folks who began to believe that a grave conspiracy among county officials had provoked the Allens in order to bring them down. [2] Deputy Samuels pulled a gun (later determined to be inoperative) and ordered Floyd to move away, and Floyd rode back past the buggy to Sidna's store where he then blocked the narrow road with his mare. Floyd, with a concealed pistol, began to shoot, but only after the mayhem began. Two bullet holes Floyd Allens final shots in the massacre are still visible in the wooden steps. Hillsville Diner. He was tried in federal court, found guilty, and sentenced to a year in federal prison at Moundsville, West Virginia. The jury fixed the penalty at fifteen years in the penitentiary. Generations of Carroll Countians would grow up and grow old hearing about the shootout, arguing over who the true perpetrators were, creating and dismissing wild theories and resolving nothing. Check your inbox now to confirm your subscription. J. E. Kearn, a traveling salesman from Roanoke, testified he sold Sidna Allen a lot of ammunition at the March term of the Hillsville court, specifically 500 each of .32 and .38 caliber pistol cartridges and 500 12-gauge shotgun shells. It was Thomas and his father who swore out warrants for the Edwards brothers as a result of the fight at the schoolhouse/church the next day. The jury found Allen guilty of assault on 14 March and sentenced him to one year in the penitentiary. There is a story of where I live now that has never been written about that I have found very fascinating and have extensive notes on it. Sadler knew that tragic story, and he understood his familys connection to it. Maybe so, but people just keep coming back to this story. 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. There it was, the script of a doomed man, written in the final minutes of his life. Who shot whom? [1] Sentenced by the jury to an hour in jail and a $100 fine, plus costs, Allen immediately posted bail pending an appeal. Their trials took place in Wytheville. Sidna Allen and Claud Allen stood on benches in the courtroom's northeast corner to see over the crowd. Far from the backward, murderous mob of hillbillies as they would later be portrayed in sensational news accounts, Floyd and his brothers were farmers, business people and even occasional lawmen who sometimes had their own run-ins with the law, usually stemming from their participation in the illegal liquor trade. 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. The courtroom buzzed. Allen rose to his feet and calmly said, "Gentlemen, I ain't goin'." Mt. Sadler took the file drawer to a vault in the courthouse and dove into the trove. [4] His defense team included former Commonwealth's Attorney Walter Tipton and recent County Court Judge Oglesby. Easter ran to an acquaintance's home, and he telephoned the sheriff at Hillsville. The Allens were unreconstructed Democrats, the county fathers were mildly progressive, albeit still conservative, Republicans. Spread the loveOne of the first writers to bring the real Appalachia to the world was John Fox Jr., who had come to the coal boom town of Big Stone, Spread the loveWe have a two-fer for you this week! The home is owned by Bert and Marlene Widener, who offer tours by appointment. Later, the Thomas boy and others scrapped with the Edwards boys outside a church service, with the Edwards brothers getting the best of their rivals. Petty also witnessed a pistol duel between Sidna Allen and Deputy Clerk Dexter Goad. The battle of tradition against modernity seemed to be the heart of the rivalries: Would Carroll County be a 20th century civilized bastion of law, order and rules, or would the hidebound rugged frontier individualism of taking law into ones own hands and the bucking of authority prevail? 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. In our first story, from Pennsylvania, we tell of a murder with a wizardly twist. 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. 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