Hangman's Bridge

Hays City, Kansas

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 1, 2016

1. Hangman's Bridge Marker

Inscription. Beneath the wooden trestle which originally stood on the site of the railroad bridge north of here, lynch mobs hanged at least four persons in the wild days. In the wee hours of January 7, 1869, Luke Barnes, Lee Watkins and James Sponder, Black soldiers of the 38th U.S. Infantry, were hanged here, while awaiting trial for the murder of James Hayes in Hays City. On August 11, 1871, another mob hanged Jack McGee, a mule team driver being held in the town-county jail for stabbing Big Creek Township’s constable Frank Shepard.

Hays City, Kansas

Erected by City of Hays Kansas Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Bridges & Viaducts • Law Enforcement. A significant historical date for this entry is January 7, 1869.

Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 38° 52.604′ N, 99° 20.647′ W. Marker was in Hays, Kansas, in Ellis County. It was on North Campus Drive (Old Highway 40) 0.4 miles west of Elm Street. Was located right on the Big Creek Trail near Fort Hays State University. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Hays KS 67601, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Kansas’ Smoky Hills.

It was also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

on the prairies,

and on the Southern Plains.

Globally, it was in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance

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of this location: Townsite of Rome (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Fort Hays State University War Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away); St. Joseph Church (approx. 0.6 miles away); St. Joseph Parochial School (approx. 0.7 miles away); The Sporting Palace (approx. 0.7 miles away); Sheriff Bardsley's Home (approx. 0.7 miles away); Jim Curry’s Restaurant (approx. 0.7 miles away); Gospel Hill (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hays.

Regarding Hangman's Bridge. Some sources show James Sponder as James Ponder.

Also see . . .
1. "Black Soldiers At Fort Hays, Kansas, 1867-1869 A Study In Civilian And Military Violence" (.pdf). (Submitted on August 1, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
2. Tougaloo College list of Sundown Towns profile for Hays, Kansas. Per Tougaloo College's sundown town profile for Hays, it is currently unknown whether Hays is currently a sundown town. However the following anecdote is used:

It was always whispered by my family that Nicodemus residents should be out of Hays, KS by sundown.” Apparently, Hays comes close to being a legitimate sundown town in Kansas, based on the town’s history as the home to Fort Hays, a western outpost that garrisoned units of the so called “Buffalo Soldier” black cavalry units between 1865 and 1889. According to Francis Schruben, who grew up in nearby Stockton
Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 1, 2016

2. Area view of Hangman's Bridge Marker along Big Creek Trail.
during the 1920s and 1930s, Hays had a reputation as a town where blacks were not always real welcome, probably owing to the experience of having Fort Hays adjacent to the town.

Francis says that he never heard of any official signs advising black people to vacate at sundown. Ironically, Francis says the local state university in Hays never had any black athletes until well in to the 40s and beyond.

I have talked with that local historian at the Hays Public Library, and she indicated today that Hays never posted a “sundown’ sign although stories to that effect seemed to circulate around the state as late as the 1930s.

(Submitted on December 15, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.)

Current railroad bridge - site of former Hangman's Bridge. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 1, 2016

3. Current railroad bridge - site of former Hangman's Bridge.

Photographed by Bob Cline, November 23, 2017

4. Hangman's Bridge Marker

Former wooden trestle bridge (Hangman's Bridge) image. Click for full size.

Courtesy Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, KS

5. Former wooden trestle bridge (Hangman's Bridge)

Hangman's Bridge Marker no longer there. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, July 2, 2024

6. Hangman's Bridge Marker no longer there.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 15, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 1, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 4,929 times since then and 139 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 1, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 4. submitted on November 25, 2017, by Bob Cline of Loveland, Colorado. 5. submitted on August 1, 2016, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 6. submitted on July 2, 2024, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.