Victim ID: VA1891061301
Victim Name: Robert Clark
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Age: 20
Job: Unknown
Method of Death: Hanged
Accusation: Assault on a white woman
Date: 1891-06-13
City: Bristol
Mob Composition: About 3,000, unmasked
Summary: On June 13th, 1891, Robert Clark, a 20-year-old Black youth, was lynched on the Virginia side of the city of Bristol, accused of sexually assaulting a white woman. A mob of about 3,000 people took Clark from jail and hanged him from a tree, about a mile from the courthouse.
On June 9th, 1891, Robert Clark was arrested for the assault on Mrs. John Warren, a prominent white citizen of Bristol. The day after, the 20-year old Black youth was brought before the Mayor of Bristol for a preliminary hearing; the trial lasted two days, after which he was sent to the local jail (Roanoke Times). A large crowd that had attended the trial on June 13th, 1891 soon threatened to lynch Robert Clark. According to the Bristol Herald Courier, “the husband of the woman who had been attacked appeared and, getting the attention of the assembly, plead with them to let the law take its course, saying that he was not convinced that Clark was the guilty party.” Other officers of the law also tried to plead with the mob, but around 12:30PM the crowd broke into the jail with an axe and finding little resistance took Clark from his cell and brought him into the streets. “At that moment, it looked as if the entire male population of Bristol was in the mob […] There were hundreds of hurrahs and hats were being tossed into the air on every side” (Bristol Herald Courier). The unmasked mob of some 3,000 people took Clark to Lindsey’s Grove, about a mile from the courthouse; after he was given a chance to talk, Clark denied all accusations against him. The mob then proceeded to hang him to a chestnut tree with a chain. After a few hours, Clark’s body was let down and the coroner summoned a jury to investigate the lynching; they came to the conclusion that “Robert Clark had come to his death by hanging by persons unknown” (Bristol Herald Courier).
A special grand jury investigated the lynching of Robert Clark and on June 19th, 1891, they indicted five white men: Charles Davis, Flemming Littrell, Nick Detter, Steve Collins and Frank Nave (Roanoke Times). According to court records, the grand jury had determined that the five men “feloniously, willfully, deliberately, premeditately, and of their malice aforethought did kill and murder” Robert Clark, but none of them were arrested. In July 1891, Charles Davis, one of the five men indicted for the lynching, was arraigned for trial before the Hustings Court; according to the Chattanooga Daily Times, Davis “was released on a bond of $500, which was signed by several prominent citizens.” On January 13th, 1892, Davis went on trial, accused of being one of the leaders of the mob who killed Robert Clark (Richmond Dispatch); Davis was acquitted of all charges and no other legal proceedings took place against the other four white men that had been indicted for the lynching (Roanoke Times). According to the Richmond Dispatch, “The town and county express general satisfaction over the acquittal” of Charles Davis.
In December 2024, the Bristol Community Remembrance Project and Equal Justice Initiative unveiled an historical marker memorializing the lynching of Robert Clark. The marker reads: “On June 13, 1891, a mob of white people brutally lynched a 20-year-old Black man named Robert Clark, in a wooded area in Bristol, Virginia, known as Lindsey’s Grove believed to be a quarter mile south of here. The mob, numbering as many as 3,000 people, hanged Mr. Clark from a tree after kidnapping him from the city jail. Mr. Clark had been arrested after being accused of sexual impropriety with a white woman. Almost 25% of lynchings involved allegations of inappropriate behavior between a Black man and a white woman that was often characterized as “assault.” The mere accusation of sexual impropriety regularly aroused violent mobs and ended in lynching. There was no direct evidence that Mr. Clark committed the alleged offense, and many citizens, including the husband of the woman who reported being assaulted, expressed doubts that Mr. Clark was the perpetrator. Nevertheless, a large mob, which reportedly faced no resistance from police, broke into the jail and abducted Mr. Clark. The mob then paraded him along Lee and Mary streets as white Bristol residents cheered. By 1 pm, the mob had dragged Mr. Clark to a grove of trees a mile from town. There, the mob took a chain from a nearby wagon, tied it around his neck and hanged him to death from a chestnut tree, mutilating his body as he was suspended. No mob members were ever held accountable.”
For additional information about this lynching, you can read this webpage by Black in Appalachia and watch the short documentary An Intense Feeling: The Lynching of Robert Clark.
Archival Sources: Court Records
News Coverage: Bristol Herald Courier, Chattanooga Daily Times, Richmond Dispatch, Richmond Times, Roanoke Times, Shenandoah Herald, Staunton Spectator, The Comet
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1892-01-13)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1892-01-16)
Article Link (from Richmond Times published on 1891-06-14)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1891-06-11)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1891-06-14)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1891-06-20)
Article Link (from Roanoke Times published on 1892-01-14)
Article Link (from Shenandoah Herald published on 1891-06-19)
Article Link (from Staunton Spectator published on 1891-06-17)
Article Link (from Staunton Spectator published on 1891-06-24)