Antioch in Brentwood in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Racial Terror Lynchings in America
⎯⎯⎯
Lynching of Samuel Smith

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, April 19, 2023

1. Racial Terror Lynchings in America/Lynching of Samuel Smith Marker

Inscription. Racial Terror Lynchings in America Thousands of African American men, women, and children were the victims of lynching and racial terror violence in the United States in the century following the end of the Civil War. As the federal protection of the Reconstruction era ended, African Americans seeking equal rights suffered violent abuse and resistance from white supremacists, leading to decades of political, social and economic exploitation. Jim Crow laws and threats of violence were used not only to deny African Americans their rights, but also to punish those who disobeyed the racial hierarchy. Lynchings became the most public and notorious form of racial terrorism. Intended to intimidate African Americans and enforce racial segregation. These lynchings took place across the country and were perpetrated by people with no connection to one another, yet these rituals often included many of the same elements including abductions by a large mob (often from police custody), returning the victim to the scene of the alleged crime, stripping the victim further inflict humiliation, and torture or mutilation. Many of the names

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

of lynching victims were not recorded and remain unknown, but over 200 documented lynchings took place in Tennessee alone, at least six having taken place in Davidson County.

Lynching of Samuel Smith The last known or recorded lynching in Davidson County took place in 1924 near this site. Around midnight on December 14, 1924, a mob of at least six armed, white, masked men entered Nashville General Hospital and abducted Samuel Smith, age 15. The men quickly identified Smith, who was in police custody and chained to his bed. Nurse Amy Weagle attempted to hide the chain in an effort to thwart the abduction. In the early hours of December 15, the mob drove Smith to Frank Hill Road. Now Old Burkett Road, near the site of the alleged robbery and shooting that led to his arrest. The mob stripped Smith of his pajamas, hung him from a tree with a thin rope, and shot him multiple times. Despite a grand jury investigation, public outcry and a reward offer in local newspapers, no one was ever arrested, charged or held accountable for the murder of Samuel Smith. This act of racial terror was meant not only to punish Smith for his alleged crimes,

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, April 19, 2023

2. Racial Terror Lynchings in America/Lynching of Samuel Smith Marker

but to intimidate the local African American community and reinforce the racial hierarchy through violence. Though passed down for generations in the community, this story has now been spoken of openly in an effort toward reconciliation.

Erected 2021 by the Historical Commission of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. (Marker Number 238.)

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 December 15, 1924.

Location. 35° 59.552′ N, 86° 40.972′ W. Marker is in Brentwood, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Antioch. It is on Old Burkitt Road 0.1 miles east of Nolensville Pike, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7235 Old Burkitt Rd, Antioch TN 37013, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee

and in Greater Nashville.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, April 19, 2023

3. Racial Terror Lynchings in America/Lynching of Samuel Smith Marker

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.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sunset Park (approx. 2.2 miles away); 1937 Historic Nolensville School (approx. 2.4 miles away); Nolensville School (approx. 2.4 miles away); Nolensville War Memorial (approx. 2.4 miles away); Alfred Z. Kelley (approx. 2.4 miles away); Olive Branch Missionary Baptist Church (approx. 2.6 miles away); Cane Ridge Cumberland Presbyterian Church (approx. 2.8 miles away); Nolensville (approx. 2.8 miles away).

More about this marker. The marker was placed near the site of the lynching in April, 2021 before being stolen a couple of months later. It has been reordered and it is proposed to have some security around it so that it might not happen again. As of January 2024 it still has not been replaced.

Also see . . . Historical marker detailing Cane Ridge lynching in TN stolen (YouTube, 2:22).

Paid Advertisement

WKRN news clip noting the marker was recently (June, 2023) stolen. Note the clip also indicates that there is the intention to replace the marker by the end of 2023. (Submitted on June 20, 2023.)

Additional commentary.
1. Replaced Marker
Samuel Smith's historical marker, reported missing in 2023, was found replaced on Dec 12, 2024.

— Submitted December 13, 2024.

Additional keywords. domestic terrorism

Credits. This page was last revised on August 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 19, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 1,576 times since then and 119 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 19, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.

Racial Terror Lynchings in America⎯⎯⎯Lynching of Samuel Smith

Racial Terror Lynchings in America
⎯⎯⎯
Lynching of Samuel Smith