Lynching in Shelbyville

Marker Text: In the early morning of January 15, 1911, a White mob abducted three Black men named Eugene Marshall, Wade Patterson, and Jim West from the Shelby County Jail. Although reports indicate that police were aware of the threat of mob violence, law enforcement failed to intervene to prevent the lynching. During this era, police almost never used force to resist White lynch mobs intent on killing Black people, and it was common for mobs to seize their victims from police custody. The mob dragged the three men to a bridge over Clear Creek and hanged both Mr. Marshall and Mr. Patterson. When the rope broke as they were hanging Mr. Patterson, they severely beat and shot him to death. Mr. West was injured by the mob, but he was able to escape and reportedly fled the county. Later that morning, Mr. Marshall’s body was found hanging from the bridge, and Mr. Patterson’s body was nearby in the creek. All three men had been accused of separate offenses. Mr. Patterson and Mr. West had been accused of offenses against White women at a time when the mere accusation of violence against White women aroused violent mobs. Although Mr. Marshall was accused of killing a Black woman, local accounts indicate he was lynched likely as the result of the mob mistaking his identity. Soon after the lynchings, local authorities initiated a grand jury investigation. Despite the uncommon calls for accountability, no one was held responsible for the lynchings.

On October 2, 1901, a mob of armed White men hanged nineteen-year-old Clarence Garnett and fifteen-year-old Jimbo Fields, two African American teenagers, from the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad trestle over Clear Creek. The two young men had been accused of murdering a White man who drunkenly tried to enter Jimbo’s home. Police arrested the young men and held them at the Shelby County Jail. A White mob intent on lynching both of them entered the unguarded jail, broke down the door, and abducted them. During this era, African Americans faced hostile suspicion and were burdened by a presumption of guilt, that often resulted in fatal violence before an investigation or trial. After kidnapping Jimbo and Clarence, the mob marched them 500 yards to the site of their deaths. Later, a Black man incarcerated at the jail reported that he knew some of the mob participants but had been threatened into silence. Jimbo’s mother was threatened by the mob to leave town. These types of threats of violent retaliation were meant to intimidate people to ensure the mob would not be held accountable. Like nearly all victims of racial terror lynching, Clarence and Jimbo were killed by a White mob that never faced prosecution. Memorializing these victims of racial terror lynchings is critical in addressing our nation’s history of racial injustice and in advancing the continuing struggle for equality and the elimination of bias and bigotry.