Jackson in Madison County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Lynching in America ⎯⎯⎯ Lynching in Madison County
Community Remembrance Project
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 13, 2021
1. Lynching in America Marker
Inscription.
Lynching in America
Thousands of African Americans were victims of lynching and racial violence in the United States between the Civil War and World War II. The lynching of African Americans during this era was a form of racial terrorism used to intimidate black people and enforce racial hierarchy and segregation. Lynching was most prevalent in the South. After the Civil War, violent resistance to equal rights for African Americans and an ideology of white supremacy led to fatal violence against black women, men and children accused of violating social customs, engaging in interracial relationships, or crimes. Community leaders who spoke out against this racial terror were themselves often targeted by violent mobs. Lynching became the most public and notorious form of racial terror and subordination directed at black people and was frequently tolerated or even supported by law enforcement and elected officials. Though terror lynching generally took place in communities with functioning criminal justice systems, lynching victims were denied due process, often based on mere accusations, and pulled from jails or delivered
Click or scan to see this page online
to mobs by law officers legally required to protect them. Millions of African Americans fled the South to escape the climate of terror and trauma created by these acts of violence. Of the more than 237 documented racial terror lynchings that took place in Tennessee between 1877 and 1950, at least three took place in Madison County.
Lynching in Madison County
Between 1877 and 1950, there were at least 237 lynchings in the state of Tennessee. These were acts of terrorism against the African American community. In Madison County on August 16, 1886, Eliza Woods, a black domestic worker, was accused of poisoning her white employer. That night, a mob stormed the jail, dragged Ms. Woods to the courthouse and ripped her clothes off. Although Ms. Woods declared her innocence, she was hanged from a tree and her body riddled with bullets. Ida B. Wells, who would become a leading anti-lynching crusader, protested the lynching of Eliza Woods many times in her writing. Five years later, John Brown and three other African Americans were passengers on an Illinois Central Railroad train. News reports accused Mr. Brown of severely injuring the switchman.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 13, 2021
2. Lynching in Madison County Marker
Mr. Brown was arrested and at midnight on July 26, 1891, was forcibly taken from the jail by a mob of 500 masked men armed with rifles and lynched in the courthouse yard. Neither Eliza Woods or John Brown received due process for their alleged crimes and were killed by mobs who never faced prosecution for their lynchings.
Erected 2020 by Jackson-Madison County Community Remembrance Project and Equal Justice Initiative.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Law Enforcement. In addition, it is included in the Lynching in America series list. A significant historical date for this entry is July 26, 1891.
Location. 35° 36.843′ N, 88° 49.11′ W. Marker is in Jackson, Tennessee, in Madison County. It is at the intersection of South Liberty Street and East Main Street, on the right when traveling south on South Liberty Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 E Main St, Jackson TN 38301, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in West Tennessee. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 13, 2021
3. Lynching in Madison County / Lynching in America Marker
South, and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Also see . . . 1. Eliza Woods Lynched, The Tennessean (Nashville, TN) 19 Aug 1886, Thu p. 1. Newspapers.com clipping. Note: Article contains language that may be offensive but was widely used in media at the time. (Submitted on March 15, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
2. A Stone of Remembrance. Our Jackson Home blog post by Cindy Boyles about the three documented lynchings in Madison County — Frank Ballard was the third, on June 1, 1894 — and modern-day efforts to remember and raise awareness of them. Posted March 8, 2019. (Submitted on March 15, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Credits. This page was last revised on November 11, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 15, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,390 times since then and 76 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on March 15, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
