The Lynching of Ell Persons (1 of 2)

Near this spot, on May 22, 1917, a mob tied Ell Persons to a log, doused him with gasoline, and burned him alive. Several thousand people watched in what newspapers described as a holiday atmosphere. Authorities had arrested Persons, a local African American woodcutter, for the murder of Antoinette…

Lynching of Zachariah Walker

An African American steelworker, Walker was burned to death by a mob near here on August 13, 1911. He was accused of killing Edgar Rice, a white security guard and a former borough policeman. Fifteen local men and teenage boys were indicted for their involvement in Walker’s death but were…

Licking County Sheriff’s Residence and Jail

July 8, 1910 was a dark day in local history. Carl Etherington, a detective with the Anti-Saloon League of Ohio, had come to Newark to raid saloons and speakeasies for illegal alcohol. Etherington shot local saloon owner William Howard in self-defense, and was taken to the jail. In retaliation for…

The Lynching of Will Brown

On September 28, 1919, thousands of white people, aided by local law enforcement, lynched a Black man named Will Brown in Omaha, Nebraska. Allegations of crimes against Black people during this era were rarely subject to scrutiny and often sparked lethal violence even if there was no evidence tying the…