| Slocum | |
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| — Unincorporated community — | |
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Slocum
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Anderson |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
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Slocum is an unincorporated community in southeast Anderson County, Texas, in the United States. It has a population of approximately 250.
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The Slocum Independent School District serves area students who attend Slocum High School and Slocum Elementary School.
Slocum, Texas has one volunteer fire department. The VFD holds an annual BBQ and school reunion to raise money to provide for the needs of the fire department. Slocum Fire Department
There is no post office in Slocum. The nearest post office is in Elkhart Post Office, 100 Sheridan Street, Elkhart, Texas 75839-9998 located 7 miles from Slocum.
In late July 1910, between 14 and 25 [1] people were murdered by a large mob. The victims were all African-American; the mob of 200 to 300 people [1] was all white. Before the massacre, the majority of Slocum's several hundred residents were black; afterward, many black residents of Slocum fled the town, losing real estate, homes, and other assets that they had to leave behind. [2]
Several events may have sparked the attacks. After a black person was lynched nearby, rumors spread among whites that blacks were planning revenge. Also, a scuffle broke out over a business disagreement between a white and black resident, and many accounts say a man named James Spurger instigated events by claiming he was threatened by blacks. [2]
Once the attacks began, Anderson County Sheriff W. H. Black reported, "Men were going about killing Negroes as fast as they could find them, and, so far as I was able to ascertain, without any real cause". [1] All known victims were unarmed and most were shot in the back; [2] no whites were injured. [3]
Spurger, Reagon McKenzie, S.F. Jennings, and at least 13 other white men were arrested for the attacks, [4] but none were ever tried. [2]
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