Greenville in Greenville County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Lynching in America ⎯⎯⎯ The Lynching of Tom Keith
Community Remembrance Project
Photographed by Jeffery S Auerhamer, September 17, 2022
1. Lynching in America Marker
Inscription.
Lynching in America, also, The Lynching of Tom Keith. Community Remembrance Project.
Lynching in America. Between 1877 and 1950, thousands of African Americans were victims of mob violence and lynching across the United States. Following the Civil War, many white Southerners fiercely resisted equal rights for African Americans and sought to uphold an ideology of white supremacy through intimidation and fatal violence. Lynching emerged as the most public and notorious form of racial terrorism, and state and federal officials largely tolerated these lawless killings of Black women, men, and children by not holding mob participants accountable for their crimes. Many African Americans were lynched for resisting economic exploitation, violating perceived social customs, engaging in interracial relationships, or being accused of crimes, even when there was no evidence tying the accused to any offense. White mobs regularly displayed complete disregard for the legal system, seizing their victims from homes, public places, even jails, prisons, courtrooms, or out of police hands without fear of legal repercussions. Racial terror lynchings often included burnings and mutilation, sometimes in front of crowds numbering in the thousands. Although many victims of racial terror lynchings will never be known, at least 189 racial terror lynchings have been documented in South Carolina between 1877 and 1950, with at least four victims in Greenville County.,
The Lynching of Tom Keith. On the night of August 16, 1899, a white mob lynched an elderly African American man named Tom Keith after he was accused of falling asleep in the same room as white children. Mr. Keith, who was described in news reports as "old and trusted," lived in the home of his white employer, J.B. Hawkins, Jr., and worked as a long-time employee on Hawkins's farm in Greenville. On August 16, news spread that Hawkins had found Mr. Keith asleep in the same room as his daughter and son that morning. Hawkins reportedly struck Mr. Keith on the head with a gun, waking him violently. Mr. Keith explained that he must have wandered into the room by accident after having been drinking the night before. When Hawkins told him to pack his things and leave town, or else he "would kill him," Mr. Keith left. When the story reached Hawkins's white neighbors, they became enraged and organized a mob of white men to find Mr. Keith. Although information is scarce about exactly where the mob found Mr. Keith, the mob likely captured him somewhere along or near what is now Roe Ford Road. The mob then tied Mr. Keith to a tree, shot him multiple times, and threw his body weighed down with stones into the Saluda River. Many Black people during this era were lynched following unconfirmed suspicions of wrongdoing before they ever had a chance to stand trial and defend themselves. No one who participated in the mob was held accountable for Tom Keith's lynching.
Lynching in America
Between 1877 and 1950, thousands of African Americans were victims of mob violence and lynching across the United States. Following the Civil War, many white Southerners fiercely resisted equal rights for African Americans and sought to uphold an ideology of white supremacy through intimidation and fatal violence. Lynching emerged as the most public and notorious form of racial terrorism, and state and federal officials largely tolerated these lawless killings of Black women, men, and children by not holding mob participants accountable for their crimes. Many African Americans were lynched for resisting economic exploitation, violating perceived social customs, engaging in interracial relationships, or being accused of crimes, even when there was no evidence tying the accused to any offense. White mobs regularly displayed complete disregard for the legal system, seizing their victims from homes, public places, even jails, prisons, courtrooms, or out of police hands without fear of legal repercussions. Racial terror lynchings often included burnings and mutilation, sometimes in front of crowds numbering
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in the thousands. Although many victims of racial terror lynchings will never be known, at least 189 racial terror lynchings have been documented in South Carolina between 1877 and 1950, with at least four victims in Greenville County.
The Lynching of Tom Keith
On the night of August 16, 1899, a white mob lynched an elderly African American man named Tom Keith after he was accused of falling asleep in the same room as white children. Mr. Keith, who was described in news reports as "old and trusted," lived in the home of his white employer, J.B. Hawkins, Jr., and worked as a long-time employee on Hawkins's farm in Greenville. On August 16, news spread that Hawkins had found Mr. Keith asleep in the same room as his daughter and son that morning. Hawkins reportedly struck Mr. Keith on the head with a gun, waking him violently. Mr. Keith explained that he must have wandered into the room by accident after having been drinking the night before. When Hawkins told him to pack his things and leave town, or else he "would kill him," Mr. Keith left. When the story reached Hawkins's white neighbors, they became enraged and organized a mob
Photographed by Jeffery S Auerhamer, September 17, 2022
2. Lynching of Tom Keith Marker
of white men to find Mr. Keith. Although information is scarce about exactly where the mob found Mr. Keith, the mob likely captured him somewhere along or near what is now Roe Ford Road. The mob then tied Mr. Keith to a tree, shot him multiple times, and threw his body weighed down with stones into the Saluda River. Many Black people during this era were lynched following unconfirmed suspicions of wrongdoing before they ever had a chance to stand trial and defend themselves. No one who participated in the mob was held accountable for Tom Keith's lynching.
Erected 2021 by Community Remembrance Project, 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 August 16, 1899.
Location. 34° 56.188′ N, 82° 26.835′ W. Marker is in Greenville, South Carolina, in Greenville County. It is at the intersection of West Duncan Road (U.S. 25) and Exeter Way, in the median on West Duncan Road. In a triangle median between 3 roads. Touch for map.
Photographed by Jeffery S Auerhamer, September 17, 2022
3. Lynching in America Marker
Marker is in this post office area: Greenville SC 29617, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Upstate and in the Foothills. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Photographed by Jeffery S Auerhamer, September 17, 2022
4. Lynching of Tom Keith Marker
of all markers in Greenville.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Clark Murphy Housing Complex (was approx. 0.9 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Photographed by Brandon D Cross, June 14, 2024
5. The Lynching of Tom Keith Marker
A Replica marker of one side is located at the Equal Justice Initiatives' National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. The Equal Justice Initiative supports efforts to locally memorialize documented victims of racial violence and to educate communities about the history of racial injustice. Mark Hilton
Credits. This page was last revised on August 12, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 18, 2022, by Jeffery S Auerhamer of Greenville, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 944 times since then and 65 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 18, 2022, by Jeffery S Auerhamer of Greenville, South Carolina. 5. submitted on October 14, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
