William Hodges Mann from Hillsvilles one outside line brought the famed Baldwin-Felts detectives to town the next day. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court; Videos; The Holstein Dilemma. [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]. You do have some interesting local history. Gilmer accompanied the body on a short train ride from Sylvatus to Pulaski, where a throng of mourners awaited, Sadler said. Wesley was sentenced to sixty days and his brother thirty, which were served outside jail on work-release. Careful who you kiss, huh? The sheriff in Hillsville had the boys arrested there and handed over to his deputies at the state line. The Holstein Dilemma Trailer; The Holstein Dilemma Preview; The Holstein Dilemma Director's Cut DVD; Screening Dates and Locations; Electronic Press Kit; agriCulture Podcast; About Us. Mr. Allen stood and declared, "Gentlemen, I ain't a goin'." Just a Presbyterian Church and a store. [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. Such an interesting, but tragic, history, Jeff! The police of 1912 were not exactly professional. As historian Ron Hall wrote in his book: And for a moment, the world stopped.. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court Great Video Historical documentary of the 1912 Hillsville, VA courthouse shootout between the Allen family and the officers of the court. The historical society has raised thousands of dollars and conducted much-needed remodeling work in order to resume free tours, with the next public opening happening June 4-5. - Sidna Edwards presence at Floyd Allens trial was requested by Floyds lawyers. [30], At Claud Allen's trial for the murder of Commonwealth's Attorney Foster, Judge David W. Bolen was again the prosecution's star witness. The Hillsville Massacre By Seth Williamson Nobody knows who fired the first shot that cold, gray day, but before it was over, four lay dead, one was dying, and Carroll County would never be the same again. Carroll County Clerk of the Circuit Court Gerald Goad sits behind the drawer that holds long-lost documents from the murder trials that followed the infamous "Courthouse Massacre" in 1912. It is amazing how nothing changes Today, a story gets retold till its stale, unless something big happens to push it off the headlines. - J. Sidna Allen, in addition to being a well-traveled and successful businessman, had been a newspaper editor and a schoolteacher. Court testimony says she was outside throwing up on the lawn when Doctor Nuckolls came by. Victor Allen also asserted that Claud had taken Victor's handgun as the two left their hotel in Hillsville on that morning. Sidna Allen and Claud Allen stood on benches in the courtroom's northeast corner to see over the crowd. Discover short videos related to Hillsville 1912 A Shooting in the Court on TikTok. Maybe the county leaders didnt want to find errant bullets from their own guns in the bodies of the dead, some county residents whispered. Eventually, Carroll County deputies Thomas Pink Samuels and Peter Easter nabbed the brothers in North Carolina, shackled them and loaded them on a wagon for the long ride up the mountain, passing by Sidna Allens home and store in Fancy Gap where they were met by none other than a hot-tempered Floyd Allen, who was angered that his kinfolk were hog-tied in a wagon like livestock being carted to market. 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 . It also hired Baldwin-Felt hired detectives (a group like the Pinkertons). Airy, North Carolina. Sidna was released from prison, but he never set foot in his fine house again. It lays the foundation of the events of that tragic story from March 1912.. 1912 SIDNA ALLEN CRIMINAL HOUSE FANCY GAP HILLSVILLE VA COURT SHOOTING ~ A1 (#185771767538) s***s (604) - Feedback left by buyer s***s (604). Floyd Allen was going to trial. "You have no idea how much it means to me for you to be here today. Another entered the body at the cap of the left hip and passed through the abdomen. The identification label on the drawer bore a large A and an X. Horney pulled the label out from its slot, flipped it over and read the typed words on the other side: (Claudes name was frequently spelled with and without an E.). He had them handcuffed and tied up with a rope. [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. The bullet came up under the skin of her right breast. At the 2020 census the population was 186247.5 Located in the I dont know too much historical facts about where I live. 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. "Floyd Allen Defense Gets Well Into Case", Bluefield, W. Va.: "Accuses Dexter Goad Of Shooting Betty Ayers". Wesley Edwards drew nine years for each count of murder for the slaying of Foster, Massie, and Webb for a total of 27 years' imprisonment. Too many other projects. It sounded like Mayberry, but only for a moment! But the governor refused. WYTHEVILLE, Va., Nov. 22. No autopsies were performed. [4], One night in December 1910 (some sources[1] say 1911), two of Floyd Allen's nephews, Wesley and Sidna Edwards, attended a corn shucking bee in Hillsville. Again, no investigation was made at the scene. In 1921, however, Victor moved his family to Tabernacle Township, New Jersey. - After the shootout ended, people in Hillsville were afraid the Allen family would come back into town and kill everyone in sight. He died there in 1953. 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. Foster married Katherine Tipton in 1894 and had 5 children by 1912. Thousands of people wrote letters to Gov. On March 17, 1916, he stopped for the night in a roadhouse near Mt. The answer would soon become obvious. That said, I am glad to have read the book and Ive learned more about this area. The trials happened quickly in 1912 and early 1913. Witnesses said she never looked Floyds way. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. '"[11][17] At this point, shots broke out in the courtroom. Floyd shot Jack in the head and then began to beat him in the head with a rock while he was out cold. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court, is a documentary feature concerning the Carroll County Courthouse shootings that occurred in Hillsville, Virginia. As I always read about where I am living and I spent several summers directing a church camp that was about a dozen miles north of Ketchum. Theres Fosters handwriting and then you realize that within five or six minutes, he was dead. Was Clerk of Carroll County Circuit Court During the Famous Allen Trial. Other members of the family received long sentences. However, no extradition order was issued. SIDNA ALLEN'S TERM FIXED AT 35 YEARS; Head of Hillsville Clan Sentenced for Killing of Three Court Officials. Massie had been urged by Foster and Goad to disarm the throng before the trail began. [29], Another witness, Walter Petty, also testified that the first shots were fired from the courtroom's northeast corner, where Claud Allen was standing. [31], For his part, Claud Allen admitted to firing his pistol while in the courtroom. After all, he agreed hed have the boys in court? [26] Though wounded by four bullets himself, Goad recovered. 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? While the state legislature still appointed circuit judges, the new system reduced the ability of individual delegates to ensure that their preferred judge was selected for their particular county; furthermore, judges could no longer practice law for private clients while on the bench, and as regional judges their susceptibility to local influence and public opinion was reduced. It was a huge goal to get this back in Carroll. Contact us: By Mail PO Box 937 - Hillsville, VA 24343 | By Phone (276) 728 4113 | By Email carrollmuseum@yahoo.com | On Facebook https://facebook.com/CarrollMuseum | Or come visit us in the Historic Courthouse at: 515 North Main Street - Hillsville, VA 24343. On a different occasion, he heard Floyd Allen make the same threat of putting the biggest hole in the courthouse that any man ever had seen. Floyd Allen jury member, John W. Farris, remarked that they wouldnt be back until they were brought back. Floyd Allen's son, Victor, bought his father's house so his mother would not have to move. 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. Sadler looked at Fosters cursive handwriting of Floyd Allens conviction and understood the documents gravity. Their trials took place in Wytheville. He found trial transcripts. Three trials were needed to finally convict Claude. [21] After three wrongful death lawsuits by the victims' estates and survivors, that property was confiscated and sold at auction, forcing Sidna Allen's wife and two small daughters to live in rented quarters and work at menial jobs until Sidna's eventual pardon. - Carroll law officers did not cross into North Carolina to arrest the Edwards brothers as has long been claimed. (Walter Allen had lost the bitterly fought race. Maybe so, but people just keep coming back to this story. The detectives left at Hillsville have gone to the mountains, headed by Lee Felts. Interest in the story never wanes, even though, as the historian Hall said, weve about beaten the thing to death.. Petty also witnessed a pistol duel between Sidna Allen and Deputy Clerk Dexter Goad. It would take another tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic, to remove the focus from Carroll County. In the confusion there was a lot of shooting. When all the smoke cleared, there were five dead, seven wounded. - Lewis Franklin Webb, the County Sheriff killed in the Courthouse Tragedy, had just taken office in January of 1912, but had been a deputy numerous times. Wesley and Sidna were charged with disorderly conduct, assault with a deadly weapon, disturbing a public worship service, and other violations. Wow. The town's name was changed to Hillsville in the late 1820s to honor a local family. 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. 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. Features three historians (two that have written books about the incident)and their interpretations of the events that led up to the shooting and the consequences. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. Nonetheless, the grand jury indicted Floyd Allen, Sidna Allen and Barnett Allen for interfering with the deputies, and Floyd Allen was also indicted for assault and battery upon Samuels. And forensic science was almost non-existent, at least in rural areas. [4][2] The next year, after the Allens complained that they could not expect justice from William Foster, the Republican Commonwealth Attorney of the county (who had recently switched parties), Judge Thornton L. Massie appointed both Floyd and H.C. as police officers for the New River section of the county. He only lived 7 years after the trial. ( Historic Resource | DHR | Carroll County) 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. Site of the Bloody Massacre Photo by Author, Thelma Raker Coffone. Airy, North Carolina where he encountered Will McGraw, a moonshine hauler. He told Sheriff Lewis Webb to take the prisoner. He was tried in federal court, found guilty, and sentenced to a year in federal prison at Moundsville, West Virginia. "The Courthouse Massacre? WALTERBORO, S.C. ( WCSC /Gray News) - Attorneys in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial are expected to deliver their closing arguments beginning Wednesday after jurors visited the scene of the killings . The exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. The was never a barber shop in this Mayberry, however. B. Earle, 1866-1867. Perhaps the hardest thing for an outsider to understand is the frequently heard claim that the subject is dead. In the case of J. Sidna Allen, one of Massies relatives complained that the raw bacon that was seized needed to be sold before it spoiled. On 13 March 1912, in the Carroll County Circuit Court, Floyd Allen was tried for attacking two deputies who had arrested two of his nephews for fighting and disturbing a religious meeting. A jury foremans handwritten verdict in blotchy ink condemns Claude Allen to death. The courtroom buzzed. The execution of father and soon occurred in 1913. There was a massive effort for the governor to commute the sentences of Claude and Floyd, including a petition with over 100,000 signatures. A nation-wide manhunt was called for by the Governor of Virginia which lasted six months. This sideline didnt add to the story. 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. B. [2], Deputy Samuels was left lying unconscious in a ditch, and his horses were run off. 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. Massie, Foster, Webb and juror Augustus Fowler died in the courtroom. Past month; Great transaction. Airy). [32], Sidna Edwards testified that he was not armed on the day of the shooting and that he did not like to carry guns. In 2015 or so, Sadler also found a .38 caliber bullet among the keepsakes. Upon conviction of interfering with an officer of the law, Judge Thornton Massie oversaw the jurys imposed sentence of one year imprisonment. V. Ray Bowman is known for Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (2011). 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. [21] Two more illegal stills were found at Sidna Edwards' house. These mostly came from recent labor disputes in coal country and their mannerism didnt endure them to anyone, it seems. The trouble started with a kiss. A ghoulish spectacle occurred when the bodies of the two men were placed in public view at a Richmond funeral home, where as many as 5,000 people lined up to gawk at the mountain outlaws they had read about. Allen once accused Goad of running liquor, which forced the clerk to resign from a prestigious post as federal commissioner. [38], Victor Allen and Barnett Allen were acquitted. [15] Judge Thornton L. Massie, who had deputized Floyd six months earlier, presided. A witness later testified that Floyd Allen had remarked that he "would not let any man talk to me that way."[14]. [11][10][40][41] A dispute arose between McGraw and Jack Allen about the Hillsville tragedy; during the confrontation McGraw drew a gun and shot Allen twice, killing him on the spot. . They didnt find Andrew because the cell was dark and he had climbed up between the chimney and wall near the ceiling. Courthouse Productions will stage "Thunder in the Hills" again at the historic Carroll County Courthouse, North Main Street, Hillsville, Virginia, beginning April 7. Hillsville began as a trading post known as Cranberry Plains. Neither was prosecuted. Such stories as you mention, deserve being told. Burden "Byrd" Marion, a cousin and neighbor, had all charges against him dropped. Built in 1873, the historic courthouse is the site of the tragic courtroom shooting of 1912 and is the current site of the museum. Steep Canyon Rangers, Amythyst Kiah, Sam Bush highlight Blue Ridge Music Center season; more Former Fieldale High School in Henry County is being turned into housing. [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". To this day, 110 years later, nobody who has studied this notorious event can say with any assurance who fired that catastrophic first shot. He pointed toward what appeared to Sadler to be a metal file. Others state that Miss Iroller's father, who had never approved of his daughter's romance with Wesley Edwards, tipped off the detectives that Maude was going to Des Moines to marry him. In several instances he escaped indictment, I am satisfied, because the witnesses were afraid to testify to the facts before the grand jury. Horney told Sadler he decided to take one more look in the basement for the lost documents, moving more than 700 boxes. When the men were buried, it was beneath one final statement of defiance. The exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. Howard, I believe thats what youve been looking for, Horney said. The exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. Bowman grew up in Hillsville, VA where the county seat is located, and has nurtured a life-long fascination with this story. Wesley and Sidna would be charged with assault, but before they could be arrested, they dashed across the state line, where Carroll County lawmen could not apprehend them. On the cold spring morning of March 14th, 1912, shots rang out in the tiny rural mountain town of Hillsville, Virginia. - Commonwealths Attorney, William McDonald Foster, was a brother-in-law to one of Floyd Allens defense attorneys; Walter Scott Tipton. Sadler knew that tragic story, and he understood his familys connection to it. "Claude Allen Convicted: He Is Found Guilty of Murdering Commonwealth's Attorney Foster", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Allen Clan Hillsville Courthouse Shootout", The Wheeling Intelligencer March 15, 1912 p.15, Transcriptions of contemporary newspaper articles, "Mug Shot Monday Special Edition: Floyd and Claude Allen", The UncommonWealth: Voices from the Library of Virginia at the Library of Virginia, The UncommonWealth: Voices from the Library of Virginia, "Hillsville Massacre - The UncommonWealth", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Floyd_Allen&oldid=1137936144, People executed by Virginia by electric chair, 20th-century executions of American people, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Articles needing additional references from October 2020, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from October 2020, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from December 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lewis Franklin Webb, Carroll County sheriff, William McDonald Foster, Commonwealth's Attorney, Augustus Cezar Fowler, juror (died of wounds), This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 04:22. 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. Floyd even paid their bail. The exciting story of the Allen family and the officials who tried to bring them to justice. Most of the Allens and their cohorts escaped initially, but an emergency call to Virginia Gov. [2] Both Allen and his brother Sidna held legal licenses for the production of alcohol. Virginia law held that when a sheriff died his deputies lost all legal powers, so the shooting left Carroll County without law enforcement. A large collection of portrait photos, newspaper accounts, and a marvelous diorama of the 1912 courtroom scene are on display in the historic courthouse, as is the collection of folk marquetry furniture made by J. Sidna Allen. Family loyalty also played a role as the Allen/Edwards family stuck together to protect the Edward boys and later Floyd. Then a cacophony of gunfire. Convicted on capital murder, both Claude and Floyd were sentenced to death. Upon his arrest by deputies at the hotel, Floyd attempted to slash his own throat with a pocketknife, but was overpowered before he could complete the job.[19]. Now, thanks to Gerald Goads interest in this, the return of these documents can be part of a healing process. Many accounts claim that Allen initiated the confrontation by pulling a gun in court. He teased Horney about Wythe County losing such valuable historical artifacts. Director Rick Bowman Writers Rick Bowman Bill Perrine Stars He found the murder indictment against Sidna Allen, Floyds brother who would be convicted and serve more than 13 years in prison. Airy. . Floyd admitted that he mightve gotten rough with Samuels. Two of the participants were executed and the others received lengthy prison sentences. - William McDonald Foster, Commonwealths Attorney in 1912, had been a Democrat but turned Republican when he ran for the post. Most likely, someone had intentionally hidden the drawer to keep people from pawing through and perhaps removing the papers. 1982-2023 The Carroll County Historical Society, INC. - The Carroll County Historical Society and Museum website, The Carroll County Historical Society and Museum, Welcome To The Carroll County Historical Society and Museum Website, Family Search.org | Carroll County, Virginia Genealogy, Family Search.org | Grayson County, Virginia Genealogy, Mount Airy, NC Museum of Regional History. Floyd? When Floyd Allen's case was set for trial, rumors arose that he had sent word to Deputy Samuels that he would kill Samuels if the deputy testified against him. He asked her if she was hurt or mashed and her sister-in-law responded that she was just scared. On the cold spring morning of March 14, 1912, shots rang out in the tiny, rural, mountain town of Hillsville, Virginia. He only picked up Victors gun when he left it in the hotel room on the morning of March 14th. Baldwin-Felts detectives traveled to Des Moines, arrested the suspects, and returned them to Carroll County to stand trial. Officers often had a violent past. [citation needed]. Mann asking either that the Allens be given clemency or be executed swiftly. A stolen kiss. Then he found the original Floyd Allen indictment that bore William Fosters final written words. Wow. 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. For a while, Hillsville was at the top of the nations newspaper. 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. But a year later the Hillsvile courthouse tragedy occurred and Sidna and his wife had only lived there a year. Such tampering hindered the ability to link bullets to the guns fire or the direction from which they came. 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. - As a result of the deaths that occurred in the courtroom in 1912, the entire estates of Floyd and J. Sidna Allen were seized in settlement of wrongful death suits by the families of Massie, Foster and Webb. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. 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. [20], Sidna Allen denied that he shot Judge Massie, or that he fired at Commonwealth's Attorney Foster, Sheriff Webb, or at Juror Fowler. Ninety seconds later, 57 bullets had been fired. All men were pardoned by Gov. ")[1] Floyd Allen stated that only then did he draw his own revolver and begin shooting. They were arrested by Caleb Haynes and Oscar Monday of the Mount Airy police department and brought to the state line. His mother was afraid theyd find him guilty of 1st degree murder, which carried the death penalty, so she convinced him to plead guilty to 2nd degree murder, which did not. [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. In the space of 90 seconds, 57 bullets were fired into the Hillsville courthouse, killing five men and wounding three more. We depend entirely on donations. 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. Supposedly, Andy Griffins father would take him up there when he was a boy (it was about 25 miles from Mt. [citation needed], On the following Monday, Wesley and Sidna Edwards were turned over to the court by Floyd Allen, and the two Edwards brothers were soon tried and convicted of their crimes. [10][41] Jack Allen was buried near his home in Carroll County, in the presence of a thousand mourners.[41]. - In 1912, the Carroll County courtroom was some 20 feet shorter than it is today. The phone hasn't stopped ringing in the. There is still question as to what happened and who shot first. [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. They, too, were captured by Felts and his men, as Sidna Allen came to believe that Wesleys girlfriend back home had betrayed them. Terribly tragic. 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. The historical society held a symposium that featured several speakers, and a play about the tragedy called Thunder in the Hills, written by Carroll County author/playwright/orchardist Frank Levering, was performed before sold-out audiences in the courtroom of the old courthouse where the shootout happened. Imposed sentence of one year imprisonment be back until they were arrested by Caleb Haynes and Oscar Monday of Allen. 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