The Holstein Dilemma Trailer; The Holstein Dilemma Preview; The Holstein Dilemma Director's Cut DVD; Screening Dates and Locations; Electronic Press Kit; agriCulture Podcast; About Us. Find out where you can buy, rent, or subscribe to a streaming service to watch it live or on-demand. [2] Wesley Edwards tried to grapple with Easter, but Easter got away and fired a shot at Floyd as he did so, wounding Floyd in the finger. Please visit their website for more information. The Allen clan believed that Goad shot first. How can you have seven murder trials in Wythe County and not have any exhibits whatsoever? Sadler often asked. Gerald Goad said the documents needed to be back in Carroll County. The Allens were unreconstructed Democrats, the county fathers were mildly progressive, albeit still conservative, Republicans. COOPERSTOWN NEW YORK POSTCARD~Orphanage Building/House~Cart 1911 (#185750574261) l***n (1544) - Feedback left by buyer l***n (1544). About; Contact; Links; Search for: Tags. The author is honest and at many times in the book admits we wont know for sure what happened. [34] They returned to their homes by traveling cross-country through the farm fields rather than public roads. Elbert Lee Trinkle and Gov. After all, he agreed hed have the boys in court? "[16] The judge immediately sentenced Floyd Allen to one year's imprisonment.[16]. A stolen kiss. [21] In our first story, from Pennsylvania, we tell of a murder with a wizardly twist. March 14, 1912 - Hillsville Massacre Hillsville's history has a bit of a dark spot within it; the dark spot is known as the 1912 Courthouse Tragedy which was rivaled in the news only by the devastation known as the Titanic. After the Edwards were charged with assault, they fled across the North Carolina border to Mt. The jury could not agree on a verdict immediately as the trial ended, and were sequestered in a local hotel overnight. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Hillsville began as a trading post known as Cranberry Plains. The jury found Allen guilty of assault on 14 March and sentenced him to one year in the penitentiary. The defense attempted to show that Deputy Clerk Goad shot Elizabeth Ayers in his exchange of fire with the Allens, a charge Goad denied. WYTHEVILLE, Va., Nov. 22. M arch 14, 1912, arrives just as badly as the day before. [21] After three wrongful death lawsuits by the victims' estates and survivors, that property was confiscated and sold at auction, forcing Sidna Allen's wife and two small daughters to live in rented quarters and work at menial jobs until Sidna's eventual pardon. In the confusion there was a lot of shooting. The courtroom buzzed. [34] Sidna Allen claimed that when he left the courthouse, Goad followed behind him, shooting him through the left arm, the bullet lodging in his left side. The historical society has raised thousands of dollars and conducted much-needed remodeling work in order to resume free tours, with the next public opening happening June 4-5. Howard Gilmer testified during the subsequent murder trials about the judges fatal bullet wound. Petty also witnessed a pistol duel between Sidna Allen and Deputy Clerk Dexter Goad. There is a story of where I live now that has never been written about that I have found very fascinating and have extensive notes on it. The Hillsville Courthouse Massacre of 1912. Judge W. R. Staples presided over the courthouse shooting trials, which were prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Samuel W. Williams and involved attorneys Draper, Landreth, Poage and Wysor. We depend entirely on donations. HILLSVILLE, Va. On a cold March morning in 1912, this Blue Ridge Mountain town would change forever when gunfire erupted in the Carroll County Courthouse. However, Goad denied firing the first shot in the fusillade. - William McDonald Foster, Commonwealths Attorney in 1912, had been a Democrat but turned Republican when he ran for the post. Allen had been convicted of a serious offense interfering with a deputy (beating up a deputy was closer to the truth) to release his nephews from custody but nothing so serious that rose to the level of instigating a deadly shootout. Mt. The police of 1912 were not exactly professional. Hillsville, Virginia is part of the Preserve America program. Terribly tragic. This is the actual foundation of all of the story, said Goad, whose own great-great-uncle, Dexter Goad, was a Carroll clerk of court who traded bullets with the Allens on that tragic day. I recently learned that our town had a number of hiding spots on the Underground Railroad. Its small enough for that to be possible I suspect. Massie, Foster, Webb and juror Augustus Fowler died in the courtroom. [29] Marshall also testified he had been standing near Sheriff Webb, but did not see any pistol in the Sheriff's hand. See production, box office & company info. The phone hasn't stopped ringing in the. Preserving and Presenting the History of the County of Carroll, Commonwealth of Virginia. [11] There was only one set of handcuffs, and because Sidna Edwards had tried to escape a couple of times, Wesley was handcuffed in the front seat of the buggy and Sidna was tied in the back seat. Sadler took the file drawer to a vault in the courthouse and dove into the trove. "Accuses Dexter Goad of Shooting Betty Ayers". 2023 TheTVDB.com, A Whip Media Company. On March 14, 1912, the Floyd Allen Clan carried out one of the most brutal attacks in Appalachian history. The next witness was Sidney Towe, who largely corroborated the testimony of Sheriff Edwards. Floyd Allens case had been continued a couple of times before he finally appeared in court for a two-day trial that started on March 12, 1912. At least two of the participants, Judge Massie and Sheriff Webb, had told friends that they expected trouble. [32], Sidna Edwards testified that he was not armed on the day of the shooting and that he did not like to carry guns. - Thomas Franklin Pink Samuel, the deputy from whom Floyd Allen released his nephews, moved to Amelia County and never testified at the trial. Later, the Thomas boy and others scrapped with the Edwards boys outside a church service, with the Edwards brothers getting the best of their rivals. 12 talking about this. Sadlers research took him to the Wythe County Courthouse, where he befriended Hayden H. Horney, the longtime circuit court clerk. Sheriff and Commonwealth's Attorney dead, court serious. The prosecutor's case was based on the formation of a conspiracy by the Allens to kill the trial judge, local law enforcement, and others who had wronged them in the event of a guilty verdict. [citation needed], Cousins Claud Allen and Sidna Edwards were soon arrested after a brief search. Many accounts claim that Allen initiated the confrontation by pulling a gun in court. Floyd, wounded too badly in the hip, thigh and knee to leave town, instead spent the night in the Elliott Hotel accompanied by his eldest son, Victor, who was later acquitted of involvement in the shootout. So, in late 1910 when two of Floyd Allens nephews got in a little trouble with the law, the consequences would be deadly. [15] Judge Thornton L. Massie, who had deputized Floyd six months earlier, presided. The answer would soon become obvious. Horney told Sadler he decided to take one more look in the basement for the lost documents, moving more than 700 boxes. It was a huge goal to get this back in Carroll. Or the Clerk of Court Dexter Goad, who seems to have first pulled a gun? Two others had been shot and would soon diethe jury foreman and a 19-year-old girl who had testified against Allen. A jury found Allen guilty, and on March 14, 1912, Allen went to his sentencing hearing before Judge Thornton L. Massie in the Hillsville courthouse. Allen was noted for his generosity, but also his quick temper and easily injured pride. . Many of Allen clan members were spectators in the courtroom, most of them armed with pistols. He worked for the Edison Lighting Company. The historical society held a symposium that featured several speakers, and a play about the tragedy called Thunder in the Hills, written by Carroll County author/playwright/orchardist Frank Levering, was performed before sold-out audiences in the courtroom of the old courthouse where the shootout happened. B. The remaining prisoners received pardons (from a different governor) in the 1920s. Photo courtesy Carroll County Historical Society and Museum Howard Gilmer was a young attorney and protege of Judge Thornton Massie, who cradled the dying judge during his last moments in the courtroom. For a while, Hillsville was at the top of the nations newspaper. After several months' chase, Baldwin-Felts detectives located them in Iowa after an informant's tip. The pop of a single revolver. The author also hints there were issues between the Democratic Allens and the Republicans who made up much of the courthouse crowd. If thats the case, those against the Allens saw a way to get back at them. Spray bottom of pans with Pam baking spray apply the waxed paper and spray the pan, waxed paper and sides with Pam. One bullet entered the back and ranged upward, lodging directly under the collarbone. This film is currently in development. [citation needed]. The presentation will be held Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m. at the Historic Carroll County Courthouse and will be led by Blacksburg . Commonwealth's Attorney, Sheriff, some jurors and others shot on the conviction of Floyd Allen for a felony. [29], Another witness, Walter Petty, also testified that the first shots were fired from the courtroom's northeast corner, where Claud Allen was standing. Howard Sadlers grandfather, Howard Gilmer, who died before Sadler was born, carried the enormity of the tragedy with him throughout his short life. Howard Gilmer had traveled to Hillsville with Massie because he had a case pending in court. He was convicted and executed for murder in 1913 after a sensational courthouse shootout the previous year that left a judge, prosecutor, sheriff, and two others dead, although the validity of the conviction has been a source of debate within Carroll County for decades. The sensational coverage and gripping photos of the characters and events surrounding the courtroom shooting captured America's imagination in 1912 and until the sinking of the Titanic a month later, the "Hillsville Massacre" took up a good deal of front page copy in newspapers . Thats why the discovery of the trial exhibits and documents in Wythe County is significant. Two months after the shootout, Floyd Allen was convicted in Wytheville of killing Foster, the commonwealths attorney. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (2011) Plot Showing all 1 items Jump to: Summaries (1) Summaries On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. [29] He testified that one of the girls pointed out some of the Allens leaving the courthouse, when Sidna Allen came toward him, pointed his pistol at him, and fired. The legend also claims that the marker was removed as a condition of Sidna Allens pardon in 1926 after he served 14 years. As gunmen spilled from the courthouse taking their battle through the downtown streets, the judge, sheriff, and the Commonwealth Attorney lay dead in the smoke-filled courtroom. [37] Allen's death sentence was deeply unpopular with Allen supporters in the county, but many other residents were unsympathetic, surprised by the deaths of so many people over Floyd Allen's refusal to serve a year in prison. The sentence would have had Floyd do time. [20], Sidna Allen denied that he shot Judge Massie, or that he fired at Commonwealth's Attorney Foster, Sheriff Webb, or at Juror Fowler. [4] In September 1889, after pleading no contest to the assault, Garland and Sidna were fined $5 each plus court costs, and the prosecutor dropped the weapons charges. Interesting story. In March 1912, there was a shooting at the Carroll County, Courthouse in Hillsville, Virginia. Three trials were needed to finally convict Claude. In 1921, however, Victor moved his family to Tabernacle Township, New Jersey. Sidna Edwards pleaded guilty in August 1912 to second-degree murder, and was sentenced to 15 years in the penitentiary. Floyd Allen's son, Victor, bought his father's house so his mother would not have to move. A local tradition maintained that if a boy discovered a red ear of corn, he had the choice to kiss any girl at the party. Floyd admitted that he mightve gotten rough with Samuels. - Old timers said that when Wesley kissed the McCraw girl at the cornshucking, it wasnt out of affection for her, it was to irritate her boyfriend, John William Thomas. Their trials took place in Wytheville. - After his release from prison in 1922, Friel Allen came back to Hillsville and had Attorney John Alderman arrange a meeting with Dexter Goad. His brother, Sidna? - William Sidna Edwards, the nephew of Floyd Allen, was sentenced to 18 years in prison as a result of the Courthouse Tragedy, although he never fired a shot. The judge hopes that since the normal court opening time is 9 a.m. the Allen case can be dispensed with rapidly and the normal caseload handled in due time. There are still questions to be answered, but they probably never will be answered. PARROW'S TRIAL POSTPONED Chicago Lawyer Will Not Appear Be fore Jan. 6. Governor Mann, who had received death threats in the same handwriting as the threats previously delivered to the trial judge, had to cut short a trip to Pennsylvania after learning his Lieutenant Governor, James Taylor Ellyson (18471919), had attempted to commute the Allens' sentences in his absence, instigating a brief constitutional power struggle between the two men. [11] On the way to the courthouse, the buggy passed by several properties owned by the Allens. Just a Presbyterian Church and a store. Allen once accused Goad of running liquor, which forced the clerk to resign from a prestigious post as federal commissioner. Contents 1 Early life and activities 2 Arrest of the Edwards brothers 3 Indictment 4 Trial and shooting 5 Manhunt [32] Claud testified that he saw Sidna Allen firing just about the time he saw Deputy Clerk Goad fire. [8] On February 1, 1908, the Allens were convicted of the charge and sentenced to ten days in jail and a fine of $10. Was it Floyds son Claude? - To illustrate the volatility of turn-of-the-century mountaineers, when Jeremiah Allen died in 1898, Floyd and Jack Allen got into a ruckus over a barrel of brandy when the estate was being divided. B. Marshall testified that when the shooting started he turned to escape the courthouse. There were, however, nearly 20 Allen men among the spectators in the courtroom. Airy, North Carolina. "Claude Allen First To Fire At Hillsville". Ronald W. Hall,The Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy(2013 printing, Hillsville VA: Carroll County Historical Society,1998). Nonetheless, the grand jury indicted Floyd Allen, Sidna Allen and Barnett Allen for interfering with the deputies, and Floyd Allen was also indicted for assault and battery upon Samuels. Watch popular content from the following creators: RealAppalachia(@realappalachia), KK(@hillsvillehillbilly), Simon(@simonogrinc), Deitrich Cribbs(@big_tipper), VIVI SHARMA(@srvsharma81) . Five people died and seven were wounded in the gun battle that followed. They were arrested by Caleb Haynes and Oscar Monday of the Mount Airy police department and brought to the state line. The execution of father and soon occurred in 1913. As Sadler studied his grandmothers old scrapbooks, he found a copy of a letter that he had written to state legislators nearly 20 years after the shootout. [21] Agent Faddis and four men raided Floyd Allen's property, seizing illegal stills and fifty gallons of moonshine. Soon afterwards, folks dug bullets buried in the walls as souvenirs. 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