The Newberry Lynchings of 1916

On August 19, 1916, African Americans living in the Jonesville and Newberry communities were lynched. At 2:00 a.m., Constable George Wynne, Dr. L.G. Harris, and G.H. Blount drove to Boisey Long's home in Jonesville to serve a warrant and question him about stolen hogs. Gunfire was exchanged with Long after Wynne and Harris entered the home, and all three men were wounded. Long escaped while the other men were taken for medical help. Wynne's wounds were serious, and he died on the train to a Jacksonville hospital. Wynne was related to the Dudleys, a large local family, and a mob formed at their home. During the search for Long, the mob terrorized other African Americans living in the area, many related to Long. James Dennis, suspected of hiding Long, was shot to death by the mob. Local law enforcement helped the mob round up five African Americans and hold them in the Newberry jail. They were Dennis' brother, Gilbert, and sister, Mary, a pregnant mother of four; Stella Young, Long's partner and mother of his son; Andrew McHenry, Stella's brother; and the Rev. Joshua Baskin, a farmer and pastor. The mob took them from the jail to the Newberry picnic grounds (W. Newberry Road and County Road 235) and hanged them. , (Continued on other side)

Side 2 , (Continued from other side) , The lynching was national news, and created a spectacle. Men, women, and children came from miles around to view the bodies. On August 21, 1916, Boisey Long surrendered to the Rev. Squire Long, and was turned over to Alachua County Sheriff P.G. Ramsey in Gainesville, Ramsey, afraid of additional mob violence, transferred Long to a jail in Jacksonville. An Alachua County grand jury took up the case on September 6th and investigated the actions of the lynch mob. The grand jury did not find anyone guilty for the lynchings and nobody was ever punished. Long was indicted for the murder of George Wynne. The trial was swift, and after seven minutes of deliberation, the jury issued a guilty verdict. Long was sentenced to death. The headstones of three victims of the Newberry Lynching of 1916, Andrew McHenry, James Dennis, and the Rev. Joshua Baskin, are in the cemetery of the Pleasant Plain United Methodist Church. Many of the victims; descendants still live in the Jonesville community and attend the church, which traces its founding to 1860.