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| Swain County's New Courthouse, early 1900's Source: www.courthousehistory.org |
Upon digging into this and accessing an online archival database of newspapers, I found that this claim appears to have some basis in fact, and was proceeded by a good degree of unrest. Several newspapers across the country circulated this news brief:
"In a race riot between whites and blacks here yesterday, five men were shot and a number of others badly injured. Revolvers, iron spikes, and rocks were freely used by both sides.
The most seriously injured are Elmore Banks, eye shot out; William Jenkins, shot in head; James Shuler, shot in mouth; Frank Williams, shot in back; and Silas Cabe, shot in back.
A dozen or more negroes have been arrested and remanded to jail pending an investigation of the difficulty. There is much feeling over the occurrence.
The trouble occurred at the Southern Railway Station, where a large number of passengers were in the waiting room of the station. Bad blood has existed between the whites and blacks for some time. The negroes have indulged in the practice of throwing heavy iron railroad spikes and rocks at white men at night. Serious trouble had been momentarily expected and both whites and blacks have been armed for several days.
About twenty white men were standing on the platform of the station when a squad of negroes approached, stopped a short distance away, and without further warning began to shoot into the crowd, five of the men being struck before their companions had grasped the situation sufficiently to prepare for a defense."
The Raleigh Evening Times, December 31, 1907
Two of the African-Americans who had participated in the riot, Lawson Howell and Will Trotter, promptly fled and hid out in the Balsam Mountains but were captured shortly thereafter.
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| Source: The Raleigh Times, January 1, 1908 |
Apparently the Bryson City town council and Swain County commissioners took action immediately after the affray, passing a curfew applicable only to the African-American population, requiring them to be off the streets of town by 9:00 pm. Any who were not would be arrested. A few days later, this article was circulated:
"A special this afternoon from Bryson City, where occurred a shooting scrape between negroes and whites Sunday night, resulting in the wounding of several, says that Laston Powell and Will Trotter, two of the negroes, believed to be ringleaders, have been held to the grand jury by the mayor of the city. The negroes were not allowed bond. Two other negroes, Tom DeHart and Carey Fisher, arrested charged with carrying concealed weapons, have been placed in jail.
The firing on the whites by the negroes Sunday night was sudden and without provocation. A crowd of 40 or 50 white people were at the railway station while just across the tracks were a dozen or more negroes. Bad blood had existed between the negroes and the whites for some time but no one expected any trouble. Suddenly and without warning the negroes opened fire with shotguns and pistols. The white men took to cover and then made reply with revolvers. The whole population of Bryson City was aroused and shortly a dozen or more negroes were under arrest. Feelings ran high and for a time it was feared that there would be serious trouble. Elmore Banks is the worst hurt. He received half a dozen shots in the head and face, one of the shots putting out his left eye. Silas Cabe was shot in the arm and Will Jenkins was shot in the arm and through the lip. Jim Shuler received a shot in the arm.
All is quiet at Bryson City to-day, so reports, say, and no further trouble is feared. It is said that for several nights past the negroes have sought to terrorize the whites by throwing railroad spikes. The people of Bryson City are not going to take the law into their own hands if they can avoid it but they are determined that the negroes shall behave themselves. It is understood here that the negroes are sufficiently amused and that for a long time in the future they will give no more trouble."
The Lenoir Topic, January 3, 1908
Apparently the white population was deceived. According to several newspapers the following week, the African-American population revolted violently:
Race riots, which have been in progress at Bryson City for several days, culminated in the burning of the Swain County courthouse there. The building was an old wooden structure and was completely destroyed. All the records of the town and county were burned. The fire was undoubtedly of incendiary origin, and it is believed to have been lighted by negroes in revenge for the recent drastic measures which have been taken by the authorities to suppress lawlessness.
The News (Frederick, MD) January 9, 1908
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| Swain County's Old Courthouse, burned 1908 Source: Swain County Heritage Book |
At this point, all records available in Swain County and online come to an end. New entries in the town records (which were burned in the fire) are not re-initiated until late February, 1908. Entries in the County Commissioners ledgers only discuss plans to rebuild the courthouse.
Other than those African-Americans named above, I have no idea of who the other individuals involved in the riots were. The only member of the African-American population who can definitively be excluded from the affray at the depot and the burning of the courthouse would seem to be Christenberry Howell. Mr. Howell was the caretaker for the old courthouse, and was reinstated to his position once the new courthouse was built.
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| Christenberry Howell Source: Swain County Heritage Book |
"Sheriff Hunter will leave today for Clarksville, Georgia to get Will Trotter, alias John Johnson, who made his escape from the chain gang October 20th (1908) and was captured at Clarksville. Trotter was sentenced in Swain County for a term of two years for assault with a deadly weapon and the Swain authorities asked Buncombe county to take charge of him. The chain gang life did not suit Trotter and he left camp with 18 months to serve and he will yet have to serve this term because the time during which he has been enjoying freedom will not be counted off. He does not wish to return and it was necessary for Sheriff Hunter to secure requisition papers."
The Asheville Citizen, February 24, 1909
Other than Will Trotter, the fate of the other defendants involved in the uprising are unknown. I plan to make a trip to the North Carolina State Archives in the upcoming months and most definitely plan to look up the case. If I can locate anything of interest, I will most certainly plan to post an update.
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There is an odd postscript to this story. On January 27, 1910, the new courthouse was rocked by a massive explosion resulting from men thawing dynamite over the courthouse stove in order to fish in the Tuckasegee River. Barrett Banks (brother to Elmore, who was injured in the race riots just two years prior) was nearly killed. Omar Conley was killed in the explosion; his brother, Clint, had been killed less than 5 years earlier by Fred Howell, son of Christenberry Howell.
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| Fred Howell Source: Swain County Heritage Book |
**New Postscript**
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Following the December, 1907 “race riot” – which
was a confrontation at the train depot between blacks and whites which was
reportedly the culmination of on-going hostilities – five individuals were
brought to trial in the Spring 1908 Term of Swain County Superior Court. It should be noted that the claims of the
hostilities being part of a longer-term issue came from newspapers throughout
the country which reported shortly afterward that the burning of the Swain County
courthouse was an extension of the hostilities.
That proved to be almost certainly not the case, so the any claims
regarding rock and rail spike throwing should be viewed with skepticism as
fitting into the overall gossipy nature of most of the newspaper accounts of
the time. The following information has been extracted from the Swain Superior Court
Minute Docket and County Commissioner minutes.
Superior
Court summary
Following the December, 1907 “race riots,” five individuals
were brought to trial in the Spring 1908 Term of Swain County Superior
Court. The presiding judge was Superior
Court Judge Owen Guion, whose home was at the far end of the state in New Bern,
Craven County. The solicitor was Thad D.
Bryson. The following were charged with
Assault with a Deadly Weapon:
- Leroy
Howell
- Will
Trotter
- Laston
Powell
- Cary
Fisher
- Carrie Thomas
All plead not guilty. The jury returned guilty verdicts for Carrie Thomas, Will Trotter and Laston Powell and not guilty verdicts for Leroy Howell and Cary Fisher.
Carrie Thomas was sentenced to two years in the common jail
of Swain County for two years with leave to the Board of County Commissioners
to hire her out. She was pardoned after serving 16 months and moved to Cincinnati where she died in 1911 at the age of 21. She was returned to Bryson City and she is likely buried at the Watkins Cemetery in an unmarked grave.
In a separate sentencing, Will Trotter and Laston Powell were
also sentenced to two years in the common jail of Swain County for two years
with leave to the Board of County Commissioners to hire them out.
“Ordered by the Board that Lasting (sic) Powell and Will Trotter be sent do the Buncombe County chain game (sic) for two years, and Cary Fisher (sic) for six months, as sentenced by Judge Guion at the spring term 1908 of the Superior Court. Provided the Buncombe authorities will accept them."
Some of the individuals named in this blog:
Omar Banks (04 Aug 1884 - 22 Jan 1929)
Silas Cabe (21 Jan 1876 - 04 Dec 1939)
Clint Conley (06 Jan 1891 - 21 Sep 1905)
Omar Conley (Oct 1892 - 27 Jan 1910)
Tom Dehart (~1860 - after 1907) *son of Ruffin Dehart
'Bokara' Carey Fisher (~1883 - after 1910)
Christenberry Howell (10 Apr 1856 - 03 Dec 1938)
Fred Howell (10 Apr 1892 - 14 Feb 1954)
Will Jenkins: As there were several William Jenkins's living in Swain County at the time, the one referred to in this article is unknown at this time.
James Shuler (23 Sep 1876 - 12 Feb 1932)
Will Trotter (~ 1881 - after 1920)
Frank Williams: Information unknown. An African-American Frank Williams was living in Bryson City in 1910, but would have been a 13 year-old youth at the time of the riots. Since the injured were said to be white, this does not appear to be the same individual.
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Sources:
Ancestry.com
Carol Cochran
Swain County Heritage book (1987)
The Charlotte News (Charlotte, NC) January 28, 1910
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC) September 23, 1905
The News (Frederick MD) January 9, 1908
The Raleigh Evening Times, December 31, 1907
The Raleigh Times, January 1, 1908
