Hayneville in Lowndes County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Varner's Cash Store
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 4, 2020
1. Varner's Cash Store Marker
Inscription.
Varner's Cash Store. . On August 20, 1965, Jonathan Myrick Daniels, a 26-year-old Episcopal seminarian from Keene, New Hampshire, was shot dead at point blank range here. He was a graduate of Virginia Military Institute and was attending Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Daniels came to Selma in March, 1965, and led a movement to integrate the Episcopal Church there. On August 14, he went to support a demonstration in Fort Deposit. The group was arrested, brought to the Hayneville jail, and held for six days. Released on August 20, Daniels and the others walked from the jail to Varner's Cash Store to buy soft drinks. As they approached, Tom Coleman emerged with a shotgun, raised it, and fired. Daniels pushed Ruby Sales, a seventeen-year-old Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee worker, out of the way before being killed by the blast. As the others fled, Coleman fired again, wounding Father Richard Morrisroe, a Catholic priest. Coleman was tried for manslaughter and acquitted by an all - white jury. Hours after the verdict, Federal Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. dismissed all charges from the Fort Deposit demonstration. Daniels is honored on August 14th on the calendar of the Episcopal Church.
On August 20, 1965, Jonathan Myrick Daniels, a 26-year-old
Episcopal seminarian from Keene, New Hampshire, was shot dead
at point blank range here. He was a graduate of Virginia Military
Institute and was attending Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Daniels came to Selma in March, 1965, and led a
movement to integrate the Episcopal Church there. On August 14, he
went to support a demonstration in Fort Deposit. The group was
arrested, brought to the Hayneville jail, and held for six days.
Released on August 20, Daniels and the others walked from the jail
to Varner's Cash Store to buy soft drinks. As they approached,
Tom Coleman emerged with a shotgun, raised it, and fired. Daniels
pushed Ruby Sales, a seventeen-year-old Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee worker, out of the way before being killed
by the blast. As the others fled, Coleman fired again, wounding
Father Richard Morrisroe, a Catholic priest. Coleman was tried for
manslaughter and acquitted by an all - white jury. Hours after the
verdict, Federal Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. dismissed all charges
from the Fort Deposit demonstration. Daniels is honored on
August 14th on the calendar of the Episcopal Church.
Erected 2015 by Alabama Historical Association.
Topics and series. This historical
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marker is listed in this topic list: Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Association series list. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1965.
Location. 32° 10.88′ N, 86° 34.845′ W. Marker is in Hayneville, Alabama, in Lowndes County. Marker is on South Commerce Street (Alabama Route 97) south of Oak Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 206 South Commerce Street, Hayneville AL 36040, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Weeks before the marker was erected the former Varner's Cash Store was suddenly demolished without any notice. The building seen on the left, was built later.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 4, 2020
3. Memorial to Jonathan Myrick Daniels located about 500 feet north.
This memorial was erected in 1997.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 4, 2020. It was originally submitted on April 4, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 597 times since then and 123 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on April 4, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
