Mary Turner and the Lynching Rampage of 1918

1. Mary Turner and the Lynching Rampage of 1918 Marker

This is the marker prior to original installation on May 15th, 2020.

Inscription. Near this site on May 19, 1918, twenty-one year old Mary Turner, eight months pregnant, was burned, mutilated, and shot to death by a local mob after publicly denouncing her husband’s lynching the previous day. In the days immediately following the murder of a white planter by a black employee on May 16, 1918, at least eleven local African Americans including the Turners died at the hands of a lynch mob, in one of the deadliest waves of vigilantism in Georgia’s history. No charges were ever brought against known or suspected participants in these crimes. From 1880–1930, as many as 550 people were killed in Georgia in these illegal acts of mob violence.

Erected 2010 by Georgia Historical Society, Lowndes/Valdosta Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Valdosta State University — Women and Gender Project, and The Mary Turner Project. (Marker Number 92-2.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. A significant historical date for this entry is May 19, 1918.

Location. Marker has been permanently removed. It was located near 31° 0.018′ N, 83° 27.281′ W. Marker was near Hahira, Georgia, in Lowndes County. Marker was at the intersection of Wells Road and

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Georgia Route 122 on Wells Road. About 5 miles west of Hahira, Georgia. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Hahira GA 31632, United States of America.

We have been informed that this sign or monument is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies. Barney Colored Elementary School (approx. 3.6 miles away); Old Coffee Road (approx. 3.7 miles away); Mount Zion Camp Ground (approx. 3.8 miles away); The Old Morven School (approx. 4.7 miles away); Hahira Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.8 miles away); a different marker also named Old Coffee Road (approx. 5 miles away); Hahira High School (approx. 5.2 miles away); a different marker also named Old Coffee Road (approx. 9.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hahira.

Also see . . .
1. Mary Turner marker has been removed. (Submitted on October 11, 2020, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)
2. Update: Replacement marker installed in new location. The original bullet-scarred and vandalized Mary Turner historical marker will become a display in the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. A new, replacement, historical marker was installed at the Webb Miller Community Church on Blakely Street in Hahira. The new marker notes the change in location. (Submitted on April 26, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

3. Georgia Historical Society Rededicates Civil Rights Trail Marker for Mary Turner

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The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) has announced the unveiling and rededication of a replacement Civil Rights Trail historical marker in Lowndes County recognizing Mary Turner and the Lynching Rampage of 1918. The Marker was re-erected by GHS, The People’s Tribunal, Valdosta State University Woman and Gender Studies Program, and the Mary Turner Project. [...] Originally dedicated in 2010 at the site where the lynching took place, the marker was repeatedly vandalized, including being shot several times by gunfire. In 2020, vandals attempted to break the post, leaving large cracks in the marker base. The replacement marker is located five miles from the original site at Webb Miller Community Church, where it will be more readily and safely accessible to the public and help to better tell the story of Mary Turner and the events of 1918. The church is located at 300 Blakely Street in Hahira, Georgia.

(Submitted on October 22, 2023, by Gianluca De Fazio of Harrisonburg, Virginia.)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 20, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 14, 2018, by Daniel Eisenberg of Boca Raton, Florida. This page has been viewed 580 times since then and 48 times this year. Last updated on April 2, 2023, by Gianluca De Fazio of Harrisonburg, Virginia. Photo 1. submitted on March 14, 2018, by Daniel Eisenberg of Boca Raton, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. Photos of replacement marker, in its new location, added as a new marker page. Text of the marker has changed. • Can you help?