Lynch Mob Gathers ca 1916

This photo, circa 1918, of the east side of the first block of North Market Street just off the square shows a lynch mob gathering. According to information on the back of the photo the man on the balcony is holding a machine gun. Blowups of the picture show a white man in a dark suit holding a black man in a white shirt by the arm under the balcony. The crowd is split on racial lines with blacks facing south toward the camera and whites facing north with their backs towards the camera.

The store on the corner of E. Union St. doubles as a mortician’s office. Ironically, under the man on the balcony with the machine gun, is a shooting gallery. Closer to the Goodall building on the square is a tin shop and the Little Gem Resteraunt downstairs where dinner is a mere 25 cents with tables available for the ladies.

(Photo and text found in 1995 Marion Daily Republican History Edition, photo provided by Bea Sneddon)