The Lynching of George Bush

Marker Text: On September 7, 1889, a white mob abducted a Black teenager named George Bush from the county jail in Columbia and lynched him. He was only 17 or 18 years old when he was killed. On September 5, Mr. Bush was arressted and held in the county jail for having allegedly “mistreated” a white girl. The allegation infuriated the white community and “muttered threats of lynching” began to circulate. Desptire their legal duty to protect Mr. Bush, law enforcement officers failed to take precautions. On the evening of September 6, a mob of about 25 armed white men surrounded the jail intent on lynching Mr. Bush. Around 1:30 a.m. on September 7, the mob broke into the jail, kidnapped Mr. Bush, and carried him to the courthouse next door. They tied a noose around his neck, gagged him with a large stick, and hanged him from a second-story window. A deputy sheriff who watched the mob lynch Mr. Bush did not attempt to intervene. The mob pinned a note to Mr. Bush’s chest that read, “Don’t cut this down till 7 a.m. This is what we intend to do with all who commit this crime” – disregarding the fact that Mr. Bush never had the opportunity to defend himself at trial. The mob further warned that anyone who exposed the mob members’ identities would “be dealth with in the same manner.” Despite the mob’s lawlessness and continuing threats to menace the community with lynching, none of the mob participants were held accountable for lynching George Bush.