Moore's Ford Bridge

(See also Lynching in the United States)

Moore's Ford Bridge is located on Moore's Ford Road, Off of Georgia Hwy 53 in between Watkinsville, Georgia and Monroe, Georgia coord|33.85489|N|-83.57524|W. The bridge connects Walton to Oconee County. It is the site of a notorious lynching of two young African-American couples on July 25,1946, the last mass lynching in US history.

History

On July 25, 1946, four young African Americans, two married couples, were shot and killed near the Moore's Ford Bridge spanning the Apalachee River, 60 miles east of Atlanta, Georgia. George W. Dorsey (born November 1917) a veteran of WWII had been in the United States less than nine months after serving nearly five years in the Pacific. He was with wife Mae Murray Dorsey (born September 20, 1922), Roger Malcolm (born March 22, 1922) and his wife Dorothy Malcolm (born July 25, 1926). They were accosted by a mob as they headed to their home. Dorothy Malcolm was seven months pregnant at the time. [ [http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/1999_00/leg/fulltext/hr477.htm HR 477 - State Resolution - Urging investigation of certain murders; President & Atty Gen] , Georgia General Assembly, Last accessed, July 4, 2008]

J. Loy Harrison, a Caucasian man, employed the two young couples as sharecroppers on his farm. Malcolm was in jail for stabbing another Caucasian man eleven days prior. Harrison drove Dorothy Malcolm and the Dorseys to Monroe and personally posted the $600 bail for Roger Malcolm to be freed on bail. Malcolm was born in Fairplace, (Fair Play) Georgia and attended Brownhill Baptist school in Goodhope, (Good Hope) Georgia. ['He Did Not Deserve It!' Says Lynch Victim Kin,ROSE E VAUGHN, The Chicago Defender (National edition) (1921-1967); Aug 17 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers "The Chicago Defender", pg. 12 ] After Harrison drove them from the jail back to the farm, at 5:30 p.m. the car was stopped at the bridge by an armed gang numbering between fifteen and twenty people.

According to Loy Harrison:

"A big man who was dressed mighty proud in a double-breasted brown suit was giving the orders. He pointed to Roger and said, 'We want that nigger.' Then he pointed to George Dorsey, my nigger, and said, 'We want you, too, Charlie.' I said, 'His name ain't Charlie, he's George.' Someone said 'Keep your damned big mouth shut. This ain't your party.'" [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,777007,00.html The Best People Won't Talk] , "Time", August 05, 1946, Last retrieved July 4, 2008]

Silently Harrison watched. One of the assailants was identified by one of the women and they too were dragged to a big oak tree and tied beside their husbands. Three point blank volleys were fired. A coroner's estimate counted sixty shots fired at close range [ [http://www.citypaper.com/arts/review.asp?rid=5088 "In Black and White" ] , "Baltimore City Paper", Last accessed July 4, 2008] .

The killings outraged President Harry Truman and the nation, leading to historic changes [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2717 New Georgia Encyclopedia: Lynching] , Last accessed July 4, 2008] Georgia Governor Ellis Arnall offered a reward of $10,000 for information, to no avail. After the FBI interviewed nearly 3000 people in their six-month investigation, 100 subpoenas were issued. The investigation received little cooperation, no one confessed, perpetrators were offered alibis for their whereabouts. No one was indicted for the crime and little physical evidence was found. [ [http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fsl6EBe0_PE Massacre at Moore's ford bridge 2006] , Youtube, Last accessed July 4, 2008] No one was ever brought to justice for the crime.

Grand jury investigation

U.S. District Judge T. Hoyt Davis ['U. S. JURY ORDERED TO PROBE GA. LYNCHINGS',
Atlanta Daily World (1932-2003); Oct 30, 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Daily World: 1931-2003, pg. 1] selected and charged a 23-man jury, which included two African-Americans, to hear testimony in the case on Monday December 2, 1946. ['Federal Jury Hears 100 On Lynching Orgy',
New York Amsterdam News (1943-1961); Dec 7, 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers New York "Amsterdam News": 1922-pg. 5] At the time Governor Ellis Arnall claimed "that 15 to 20 of the mob members are known by name." The case was presented to the jury by United States District Attorney John P. Cowart and John Kelly from the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice. ['ATHENS U. S. GRAND JURY HEARS F.B.I. TESTIMONY', Atlanta Daily World (1932-2003); Dec 4, 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Daily World: 1931-2003pg. 1] The judge "pointed out that federal courts have no jurisdiction over the offense of murder except under well defined conditions." ['Athens Grand Jury Queries Loy Harrison', Atlanta Daily World (1932-2003); Dec 5, 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Daily World: 1931-2003,pg. 1] "

Harrison testified for six hours after Barney Hester, the man who was stabbed by Roger Malcolm, concluded his testimony. The following Monday was the fifth day of testimony. On that day Harrison's sons Loy Jr. and Talmadge testified. Additionally, B.H. Hester, the father of Barney, testified. Perry Dillard, Eugene Evans, Emmerson Farmer and Ridden Farmer, nearby residents to the location of the shooting, testified that day as well. It is significant that Clinton Adams, who later claimed to witness the shooting as a 10-year-old, identified Emmerson Farmer as being his companion when he watched the events take place that day, but was not called to testify before the grand jury. The last to be questioned that day was FBI Agent George Dillard ['Athens Grand Jury Hears Relatives Of Harrison', "Atlanta Daily World" (1932-2003); Dec 10, 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers "Atlanta Daily World": 1931-2003pg. 4] .

Tuesday, December 10, the sixth day of hearings heard ten witnesses. They were Joe Parrish; Harrison's brother-in-law, George Robert Hester and James Weldon Hester; brothers of Barney Hester, Grady Malcom, Weyman Fletcher Malcom, Cleonius Malcom, Levy Adcock, Willie Lou Head and FBI Agent Dick Hunter ['Jury Continues Probe In Lynching At Athens', "Atlanta Daily World" (1932-2003); Dec 11, 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Daily World: 1931-2003 pg. 4] .

The seventh day of testimony was Wednesday. That day six people were questioned. Among them were Mrs. Elizabeth Toler, Eugene White, Boysie Daniel and Paul Brown ['4 Negroes Take Stand In Athens', "Atlanta Daily World" (1932-2003); Dec 12, 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Daily World: 1931-2003, pg. 1] .

Monday's testimony was highlighted by the appearance before the grand jury of Mrs. Jessie Warwick. The wife of a Monroe minister, she testified to seeing men in at least two carloads gather on a roadside in the vicinity of Monroe at some point between the stabbing of Hester and the incident at Moore's Ford. That event was believed to have been a rehearsal for the lynching. The government intended to show advance planning possibly with the knowledge of Walton county law officers and Harrison. Other witnesses that day were Monroe chief of Police Ben Dickerson; Gene Sloan, a youth from the Georgia Boys' Training School at Milledgeville, and Mrs. Monia Williams, mother of Dorothy Malcom, who said that Dorothy was killed on her twentieth birthday. ['Jury Questions 30 In Monroe Ga. Massacre', JOHN LeFLORE, "The Chicago Defender" (National edition) (1921-1967); Dec 14, 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Chicago Defender, pg. 1]

George Alvin Adcock, a resident of Monroe, was indicted by the federal grand jury for perjury. He was accused of two counts of false testimony regarding his statements on December 11, 1946. The first count alleged he denied leaving his house the day of the crime. He supposedly visited the town of Monroe that day. The second count states that he denied visiting the scene of the crime July 26th. Sixteen witnesses were questioned that day, including Mrs. Powell Adcock. ["First Break In Walton Lynch Probe Comes With Indictment For Perjury", "Atlanta Daily World" (1932-2003); Dec 17, 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Daily World: 1931-2003pg. 1]

After hearing nearly three weeks of testimony, the grand jury was "unable to establish the identity of any persons guilty of violating the civil rights statute of the United States." ["Athens Grand Jury Unable To Tag Lynchers", "Atlanta Daily World" (1932-2003); Dec 20, 1946; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Daily World: 1931-2003pg. 1] "

The beating of Lamar Howard

Months later, 19-year-old Lamar Howard was brutally attacked by two men at his job in the municipal ice house on January 1, 1947. They attempted to extract the testimony he had given to the grand jury about the Moore's Ford lynching. At about four o'clock that afternoon, James and Tom Verner walked into the municipal ice house, briefly speaking with plant manager, Will Perry. When the pair walked to where Howard was sitting, Tom Verner slapped the young man's cap onto the floor. James asked him, "What did you tell 'em down at Athens?" To which he replied he knew nothing to tell them. They started to attack him. Howard's employer, Will Perry, allegedly suggested the two "take him out in the back ["MONROE LYNCH PROBE WITNESS BADLY BEATEN WILLIAM A FOWLKES", "Atlanta Daily World" (1932-2003); Jan 3, 1947; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Daily World: 1931-2003 pg. 1] ."

The men continued the beating while questioning Howard. The beating concluded after 10 or 15 minutes with no resistance from Howard, as he feared he would be killed. Upon the cessation of the assault, he was forced to get in his car and go home.

U.S. Attorney John P. Cowart arrested the Verner brothers and charged them with "unlawfully injuring Golden Lamar Howard because of his having testified before a federal grand jury" and "conspiring to injure" him. The Verners' $10,000 bonds were signed by H.L. Peters of Walton county who put up 316 acres of land as security. ['BROTHERS ARRESTED IN MONROE BEATING', WILLIAM A FOWLKES, "Atlanta Daily World" (1932-2003); Jan 5, 1947; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Daily World: 1931-2003, pg. 1] .

Verner acknowledged he had beaten Golden Lamar Howard until his fists were bloody. His brother testified, as did other witnesses, who stated James Verner committed the crime for which he was charged. Despite the testimony, the jury struggled in deliberation for nearly two hours before rendering a verdict of not guilty. ['Walton Farmer Wins Freedom on Beating Charge Of Lamar Howard', J RICHARDSON JONES, "Atlanta Daily World" (1932-2003); February 25, 1947; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Atlanta Daily World: 1931-2003, pg. 1] "

Memorial committee and reopened investigation

In 1992, Clinton Adams, a witness to the murders at Moore's Ford Bridge, told his story to the FBI. Only ten years old when he saw the lynching, Adams had been on the run for 45 years fearing for his life.

In 1992 "the Atlanta Constitution" told Adams' story and the history of the unsolved lynching. Five years later, the "Oconee Enterprise", "Walton Tribune", and the "Athens Daily News" also published accounts.

In 1997 Georgia citizens established the biracial Moore's Ford Memorial Committee to commemorate the lynching and work for racial reconciliation. They have conducted a number of activities, including restoration of cemeteries where victims were buried, erecting tombstones at the previously unmarked graves, conducting education about the events, and setting up scholarships in the names of those who died. They worked with the Georgia Historical Society to get a state historical marker placed near the site on U.S. Highway 78 in 1999, the fifty-third anniversary of the incident. The marker, 2.4 miles to the west, identifies the site as the location of the last unsolved mass lynching in America. Additionally, it recognizes the biracial memorial service held there in 1998. [ [http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gahistmarkers/mooresfordhistmarker.htm GeorgiaInfo - Moore's Ford Lynching GHS Historical Marker] , Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Last accessed July 4, 2008.] In 1999 the Memorial Committee arranged for a military memorial service to honor George Dorsey, who was killed less than nine months after his return from serving for years in the military during WWII. [http://mooresford.org/history.html Moore's Ford Memorial Committee] , accessed 22 Aug 2008]

In 2001 then-Gov. Roy Barnes officially reopened investigation into the case with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The FBI also reentered the case by 2006 and is working with Georgia investigators.

In June 2008, as part of the continuing investigation, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation dug up a back yard at a home in Walton County, Georgia near the Gratis community and collected material they believed related to the infamous racial crime. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/01/lynching.investigation/index.html New evidence collected in 1946 lynching case] ,CNN,Last accessed July 4, 2008.]

Bibliography

*

References

External Links

* [http://www.mooresford.org/index.html History—Moore's Ford Memorial Committee, Inc.]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=27624637 Roger Malcom] at Find A Grave
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2260275&GRid=27624574& George W Dorsey] at Find A Grave
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2260275&GRid=27624626& Mae Murray Dorsey] at Find A Grave
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2260275&GRid=27624645& Dorothy Dorsey Malcom] at Find A Grave
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fsl6EBe0_PE Massacre at Moore's ford bridge 2006] on Youtube