Victim ID: VA1902060501
Victim Name: Wiley (Guynn) Gynn
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Age: 28
Job: Boarding house owner
Method of Death: Riddled with bullets
Accusation: Attempted criminal assault on a 12 year-old white girl
Date: 1902-06-05
City: Bondtown
Mob Composition: Armed mob

Summary: A group of armed men lynched Wiley Gynn, also known as Wiley Guynn or Gwynn, a married 28-year-old African American man, on June 5^th, 1902, in Bondtown, Wise County. Guynn was accused of having assaulted a young white girl.

The 12-year-old daughter of Franklin Green, a white farmer living near Toms Creek in Wise County, was crossing a ridge when she was allegedly seized and dragged by Wiley Gynn (The Times). The young girl’s screams frightened Gynn, who tried to escape, but was soon captured (Richmond Dispatch). In the afternoon of June 5^th, 1902, Gynn “was given a hearing before a Justice at Bondtown, and just at the time the officer was ready to start to jail with the negro, a mob appeared and took Gwynn away from the officer, ordering him to march in front in the direction of a tree on which the accused was to be hanged. The negro stubbornly declined to obey orders and suddenly made a break for his liberty. As he ran the mob fired upon him. A volley of about twenty-five shots ended the negro’s life instantly” (Richmond Dispatch). The lynching occurred in the presence of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, W. G. G. Dotson, who unsuccessfully pleaded the armed mob to let the law take its course (The Times).

In April 2023, the Equal Justice Initiative and the Wise County Community Remembrance Project unveiled an historical marker in Coeburn, Wise County, to memorialize Wiley Gynn. The marker reads: “Near this spot, on June 5, 1902, a white mob lynched a Black man named Wiley Gynn. Mr. Gynn, whose surname was also reported as “Guynn” or Gwynn”, was a 28-year-old Black husband, father, and boarding house proprietor in Bondtown. Earlier that day, a white girl claimed that she had been assaulted by a Black man near Tom’s Creek. Shortly afterwards, police arrested Mr. Gynn. Rumors about the alleged assault quickly spread throughout Coeburn, and a large mob of armed white men formed. The formation of lunch mobs after allegations of sexual assault were made against Black men often preceded any formal investigation by law enforcement officials. Instead, lynch mobs often seized, tortured, and killed their victims, even without any evidence tying the accused to the offense. Mr. Gynn was transported to the Bondtown Jail where he was met by the angry mob. The mob broke into the jail, seized Mr. Gynn from the officers, and began to march him towards a tree. When Mr. Gynn attempted to flee, the mob “riddled his body with bullets.” There are reports of more than 500 shots being fired into Mr. Gynn before the mob left his mutilated corpse near the railroad tracks for passersby to view. Though the lynching occurred in the presence of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, and involved many community members, there is no record of anyone being held accountable for the lynching of Mr. Gynn.” For additional information about this lynching, you can read this essay on lynching in Wise County by a research team at UVa Wise led by Tom Costa.

News Coverage: Alexandria Gazette, Richmond Dispatch, Roanoke Times, Tazewell Republican, The Times, Virginian-Pilot

Article Link (from Alexandria Gazette published on 1902-06-07)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1902-06-07)
Article Link (from Richmond Dispatch published on 1902-06-08)
Article Link (from Tazewell Republican published on 1902-06-12)
Article Link (from The Times published on 1902-06-07)