[26] Gilmer said he heard Floyd Allen say two or three times, "I am shot, but I got the damn scoundrel. On March 14, 1912, the Floyd Allen Clan carried out one of the most brutal attacks in Appalachian history. Was Clerk of Carroll County Circuit Court During the Famous Allen Trial. [citation needed], Floyd Allen was tried for the first-degree murder of Commonwealth's Attorney Foster. The discovered papers do little to shed new light in the darkended corners of the tragedy. We must have similar tendencies as I like to pick up a few books about the history of any area I spend some time in. A ghoulish spectacle occurred when the bodies of the two men were placed in public view at a Richmond funeral home, where as many as 5,000 people lined up to gawk at the mountain outlaws they had read about. Justice came swiftly to the Allens, perhaps a bit too swiftly for those folks who began to believe that a grave conspiracy among county officials had provoked the Allens in order to bring them down. Synopsis On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. At a church service the next morning conducted by Wesley's uncle, Garland Allen, Thomas reportedly called out Wesley into a fight. The bullet came up under the skin of her right breast. Although some stories say she didnt know she was shot and some say she said I am killed, no documentation exists to confirm either. The ex On the cold Spring morning of March 14th, 1912 shots rang out inside the tiny mountain courtroom. 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. [1], In his testimony at his murder trial, Floyd Allen admitted he had fired at Deputy Clerk Quesinberry and again twice more at other unknown persons once he had left the courthouse.[28]. HILLSVILLE Howard Sadler held the last words of a dead man in his hands. Now, the manner by which he freed them depended on who was telling the story. Alex Murdaugh listens to Dr. Paul McManigal's testimony during Murdaugh's trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. [4] At the next term of court, Allen produced an order of clemency from Governor Andrew J. Montague suspending the jail sentence. 1912 SIDNA ALLEN CRIMINAL HOUSE FANCY GAP HILLSVILLE VA COURT SHOOTING ~ A1 (#185771767538) s***s (604) - Feedback left by buyer s***s (604). Maybe he didnt want anybody else rifling through those things, Hall said. Commonwealth's Attorney, Sheriff, some jurors and others shot on the conviction of Floyd Allen for a felony. At least two of the participants, Judge Massie and Sheriff Webb, had told friends that they expected trouble. "Floyd Allen Defense Gets Well Into Case", Bluefield, W. Va.: "Accuses Dexter Goad Of Shooting Betty Ayers". A second shot entered the back about four inches lower, while a third shot cut the sheriff across the chin. . It would take another tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic, to remove the focus from Carroll County. Again, no investigation was made at the scene. 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. Floyd, 56, a once proud man now destroyed, was strapped to the electric chair, a leather mask placed over his face and four, 1-minute bursts of 2,000-volt electrical shocks were sent coursing through his body until he was pronounced dead at 1:26 p.m. Claude, just 24, was electrocuted in the same chair 12 minutes later. In the confusion there was a lot of shooting. Hillsville Diner. [34] He also said he went to Blankenship's Livery Stable after the incident, where he met other family members and left Hillsville with Claud Allen, Wesley Edwards, and Sidna Edwards. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [26] Gilmer testified he heard two shots in quick succession, after which there was a slight interval and then a great volley of firing. ")[1] Floyd Allen stated that only then did he draw his own revolver and begin shooting. - Carroll law officers did not cross into North Carolina to arrest the Edwards brothers as has long been claimed. Was it Floyds son Claude? Two months after the shootout, Floyd Allen was convicted in Wytheville of killing Foster, the commonwealths attorney. - William McDonald Foster, Commonwealths Attorney in 1912, had been a Democrat but turned Republican when he ran for the post. There were also five others wounded, including Floyd Allen. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court; Videos; The Holstein Dilemma. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. COOPERSTOWN NEW YORK POSTCARD~Orphanage Building/House~Cart 1911 (#185750574261) l***n (1544) - Feedback left by buyer l***n (1544). Otherwise, he would not have been armed. I enjoyed the book even though it took me a while to get into it. 1 minute, 47 seconds Read. In response, the judge told the two men that if the law could not be faithfully enforced in Carroll County by the county's deputized officers he would bring in state troops if necessary to maintain order. The U.S. Revenue Service had sent Deputy Agent Faddis to investigate reports of illegal liquor trafficking by the Allens. She was shot on Thursday morning and lived until early the next morning. [34] Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards then left Virginia, eventually reaching Des Moines, Iowa. Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. Interest in the story never wanes, even though, as the historian Hall said, weve about beaten the thing to death.. To find the prized ear meant he could kiss any girl there. There were, however, nearly 20 Allen men among the spectators in the courtroom. Features three historians (two that have written books about the incident)and their interpretations of the events that led up to the shooting and the consequences. "Allen Boys Tell of Shooting", Bluefield, West Virginia: "State Closes Case In Sidna Allen Trial". He never carried a gun as a matter of course, but on his way to court, the first day of Floyd Allens trial, his cousin, Allan Webb, advised him to borrow a pistol. Ninety seconds later, 57 bullets had been fired. "There were five people murdered. The animosity derived from a feud between Thomas father, George W. Thomas, and Floyd Allen. 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. [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. -- Sidna Allen, leader of the Allen clan, which shot up the Carroll County Court at Hillsville last March, causing the death of five person, was to-day found guilty of . Then a cacophony of gunfire. 10994 Hillsville Masscre Sidna Allen, No. He teased Horney about Wythe County losing such valuable historical artifacts. The next morning, the jury quickly returned a guilty verdict and a sentence of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. - After his release from prison in 1922, Friel Allen came back to Hillsville and had Attorney John Alderman arrange a meeting with Dexter Goad. Now, thanks to Gerald Goads interest in this, the return of these documents can be part of a healing process. Preserving and Presenting the History of the County of Carroll, Commonwealth of Virginia. He found trial transcripts. Carroll County Historical Society and Museum. [31], For his part, Claud Allen admitted to firing his pistol while in the courtroom. When it was over the judge and the sheriff laid dead. Bowman grew up in Hillsville, VA where the county seat is located, and has nurtured a life-long fascination with this story. Officers often had a violent past. Interesting story. [34] He stated that he fired back at Goad on the courthouse steps, but denied shooting at Treasurer J. J. E. Kearn, a traveling salesman from Roanoke, testified he sold Sidna Allen a lot of ammunition at the March term of the Hillsville court, specifically 500 each of .32 and .38 caliber pistol cartridges and 500 12-gauge shotgun shells. The remaining prisoners received pardons (from a different governor) in the 1920s. After getting down the steps he leaned against the window of his office when two girls, Dora and Elizabeth Ayers, passed him. Too many other projects. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court, is a documentary feature concerning the Carroll County Courthouse shootings that occurred in Hillsville, Virginia. Horney told Sadler he decided to take one more look in the basement for the lost documents, moving more than 700 boxes. Two were executed and a number went to prison for their part in the tragedy. . shot up the Carroll county court at Hillsville last March, resulting in the death of five persons, was found guilty of murder in the Second degree for the killing of Judge Thornton L. Mas sie. One can wonder if that was a sign that she blamed her husband for the tragic calamity that befell the family. We dont sell ads, or block you with a paywall. Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court watch movie for free Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court full movie *Watch Movie Online or Watch Best Free HD 1080p Videos on Desktop, Laptop, Notebook, Tablet, iPhone, iPad, Mac Pro and more. Just a Presbyterian Church and a store. It is amazing how nothing changes Today, a story gets retold till its stale, unless something big happens to push it off the headlines. Ron Hall, a local historian who has written a book about the shootout and is considered one of the best sources for factual information about the story, told Sadler that he was probably the first person to see those documents in 100 years. 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. In 1912 a Carroll County, Virginia, man was sentenced to serve a one year sentence in the state penitentiary. - In 1912, the Carroll County courtroom was some 20 feet shorter than it is today. [6], Sidna Allen pleaded guilty and received a total of 35 years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter of Commonwealth's Attorney Foster, and for second-degree murder of Judge Massie. [4][2] Sidna promptly appealed and won a new trial on the perjury charge. Is Hillsville 1912: A Shooting in the Court (2011) streaming on Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Peacock, or 50+ other streaming services? His grandfather had taken the round from the courthouse the day of the killings. [32] Claud testified that he saw Sidna Allen firing just about the time he saw Deputy Clerk Goad fire. Floyd stood up, his hands fidgeting with the bottom of his sweater, and he spoke his defiant words. Barely one year after the courthouse shootout, Floyd Allen and his son Claude were executed minutes apart at the Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond. The deputy clerk of Carroll County, Dexter Goad, obtained a new warrant for the brothers' arrest, notifying the sheriff in Surry County, North Carolina, who soon arrested both men. On the cold spring morning of March 14th, 1912, shots rang out in the tiny rural mountain town of Hillsville, Virginia. As the smoke cleared the sheriff, judge, and the common wealth attorney all lay dead. Tipton testified he saw Claud Allen in the courthouse with a pistol raised in both hands as if he had just fired it. While the one Allens name is Floyd, there is also a town of Floyd and Floyd County to the north of Carroll County. He was called Pink because of a birthmark on his cheek. The 1912 documents referred to in this story were scanned and digitally archived by Delilah Brady, a volunteer and director for the Carroll County Historical Society and Museum. He was shot dead in the courtroom.. - Floyd Allen had a long history of serving the law in Carroll County as a deputy sheriff and was, in fact, a special policeman at the time of the tragedy. He borrowed a .38 automatic from another cousin, Church Alderman. Those old papers were lost or stolen, Horney replied. In the 1960s, a boisterous flea market and liquor store owner in Cana named Rufus Gardner took up the Allens cause and found two men who claimed one of Goads assistants admitted to firing first at Floyd Allen. Upon conviction of interfering with an officer of the law, Judge Thornton Massie oversaw the jury's imposed sentence of one year imprisonment. Who fired their pistol first? Or the Clerk of Court Dexter Goad, who seems to have first pulled a gun? The execution of father and soon occurred in 1913. It also hired Baldwin-Felt hired detectives (a group like the Pinkertons). It was a huge goal to get this back in Carroll. Steep Canyon Rangers, Amythyst Kiah, Sam Bush highlight Blue Ridge Music Center season; more Former Fieldale High School in Henry County is being turned into housing. I just can't bear to see anyone drug around."[13]. [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. On March 28, 1913, barely a year after the bloodshed in Hillsville, Floyd and Claude Allen were executed in the same electric chair. Floyd Allen was the first to be brought to trial on a charge of murdering Judge Massie, Sheriff Webb, and Commonwealth's Attorney Foster. That day was March 14, 1912, the day five people were killed in a shootout between members of the Allen family and court officials on the floor of a small-town courtroom, an event forever known as The Courthouse Massacre.. Virginia law held that when a sheriff died his deputies lost all legal powers, so the shooting left Carroll County without law enforcement. But it turned out that he actually had left behind one document about what he saw and heard on March 14, 1912. Ive already read four books and have another four lined up to read!. They didnt find Andrew because the cell was dark and he had climbed up between the chimney and wall near the ceiling. WYTHEVILLE, Va., Nov. 22. He asked her if she was hurt or mashed and her sister-in-law responded that she was just scared. The documents were found in the basement of the Wythe County Courthouse and have now been returned to Carroll County. According to local legend, a headstone placed atop their graves read: Sacred to the memory of Claude S. Allen and his father, who was judicially murdered in the Va. Penitentiary March 28 1913 by order of the Governor of the State over the protest of 100,000 citizens of the state of Va.. "Floyd Allen Defense Gets Well Into Case", Bluefield, West Virginia: "Defense Continues Efforts To Disprove Conspiracy". Supposedly Floyd said, as the Sheriff and the Clerk of the Court approached to take him into custody, Im not going. The shooting then started. Floyd Allen (July 5, 1856 March 28, 1913) was an American landowner and patriarch of the Allen clan of Carroll County, Virginia. Movies. 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