Port Jervis in Orange County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

1892 Lynching

Photographed By Friends of Robert Lewis, June 2, 2022

1. 1892 Lynching Marker

Inscription.
On June 2nd Robert Lewis, a local Black resident, was mob lynched near this site. No one was held accountable for his murder.

Erected 2022 by Friends of Robert Lewis & Minisink Valley Historical Society (MVHS).

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Law Enforcement. A significant historical date for this entry is June 2, 1892.

Location. 41° 22.591′ N, 74° 41.169′ W. Marker is in Port Jervis, New York, in Orange County. Marker is on East Main Street (U.S. 6) west of Ferguson Avenue, on the right when traveling west. The marker stands in front of a parking lot for an adjoining church. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 32 E Main St, Port Jervis NY 12771, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Oldest Church (within shouting distance of this marker); Marion Rohner (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Crane House (about 500 feet away); Korean War Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Stephen Crane (approx. 0.2 miles away); The American Revolution (approx. 0.2 miles away); Vietnam War Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Civil War Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Port Jervis.

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. Installing the marker was a project advanced by a community building, education, and social justice group called Friends of Robert Lewis and its partner, the Minisink Valley Historical Society. The location is very near the exact spot where, on June 2, 1892, Robert Lewis was lynched by a race and rumor crazed mob that newspapers of the day claimed numbered in the thousands. While a coroner's inquest and grand jury hearings were conducted, no one was held accountable for his death.

The marker was dedicated on June 2, 2022, 130 years to the day after the lynching, as a conclusion to ceremonies and a remembrance walk that followed the route Robert Lewis was dragged and brutalized before being murdered. Soil taken from this site is part of a collection held by the Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. This marker memorializing Robert Lewis is believed to be the first of its kind to publicly acknowledge a heinous historical injustice suffered by an African American in New York State.

Regarding 1892 Lynching. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, almost 6,500 lynchings of African Americans occurred in the United States between 1865 and 1950. While far more frequent in the former slave holding states of the South, such terror inspiring violence also took place in the North. At this writing,

Photographed By Friends of Robert Lewis, 2022

2. 1892 Lynching Marker

with the exception of the July 1863 Draft Riots in New York City, only two such lynchings are documented as having occurred in New York State. The other also took place in Orange County when an itinerant Black laborer by the name of Robert Mulliner was mob lynched in Newburgh on June 21, 1863.

Also see . . . Minisink Valley Historical Society. (Submitted on June 9, 2022, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 7, 2022, by Friends of Robert Lewis of Port Jervis, New York. This page has been viewed 1,295 times since then and 82 times this year. Last updated on June 9, 2022, by Friends of Robert Lewis of Port Jervis, New York. Photos: 1. submitted on June 7, 2022, by Friends of Robert Lewis of Port Jervis, New York. 2. submitted on February 2, 2023, by Friends of Robert Lewis of Port Jervis, New York. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.