Pound in Wise County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Leonard Woods Lynched

Photographed by Mason Newton, June 8, 2022

1. Leonard Woods Lynched Marker

Inscription. Leonard Woods, a black coal miner from Jenkins, KY, was lynched near here on the night of 29-30 Nov. 1927. Officers had arrested Woods for allegedly killing Herschel Deaton, a white man from Coeburn, VA, and had taken him to the Whitesburg, KY jail. On the day of Deaton's funeral, a white mob numbering in the hundreds broke into the jail and brought Woods close to this spot, where they hanged, shot, and burned him. No one was ever arrested. In the aftermath, at the urging of Norfolk editor Louis Jaffé, Norton's Bruce Crawford, and other journalists, VA Gov. Harry F. Byrd worked with the General Assembly early in 1928 to pass the nation's first law defining lynching as a state crime.

Erected 2021 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number XB-27.)

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 Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical date for this entry is November 29, 1927.

Location. 37° 9.285′ N, 82° 37.852′ W. Marker is in Pound, Virginia, in Wise County. It is on Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23) 0.1 miles west of Apostolic Drive, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map

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. Marker is at or near this postal address: 12510 Orby Cantrell Hwy, Pound VA 24279, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

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.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Pound Gap (a few steps from this marker); Wise County / Kentucky (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Caudill’s Army (about 800 feet away in Kentucky); Brothers Once More (approx. 0.2 miles away in Kentucky); Pound Gap Massacre (approx. 0.2 miles away in Kentucky); The Teardrop Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away in Kentucky); a different marker also named Pound Gap (approx. 0.4 miles away in Kentucky); Pound Gap Engagement (approx. 0.4 miles away).

Photographed by Mason Newton, June 8, 2022

2. Leonard Woods Lynched Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on May 15, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 25, 2022, by Mason Newton of Fredericksburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 828 times since then and 30 times this year. Last updated on March 9, 2023, by Gianluca De Fazio of Harrisonburg, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 25, 2022, by Mason Newton of Fredericksburg, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.