Slocum, Texas
| Slocum | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
  Slocum Location within the state of Texas | |
| Coordinates: 31°37′53″N 95°27′44″W / 31.63139°N 95.46222°WCoordinates: 31°37′53″N 95°27′44″W / 31.63139°N 95.46222°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Anderson |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
Slocum is an unincorporated community in southeast Anderson County, Texas, in the United States. It has a population of approximately 250.
Schools
The Slocum Independent School District serves area students who attend Slocum High School and Slocum Elementary School. It is a very small school that as of 2014- 2015 has around 500 students in the grades k-12.
Fire Department
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.
Post Offices
There is no post office in Slocum. The nearest post office is in Elkhart located 7 miles from Slocum.
1910 Massacre of Black Residents, "The Slocum Massacre"
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]
Sources
- Rucker, Walter C. and James Nathaniel Upton, "Encyclopedia of American Race Riots." Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007.
- Ginzburg, Ralph, "100 Years of Lynchings." Black Classic Press, 1996.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Cavalry to Quell Outbreak in Texas". The New York Times. 1910-08-01. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Madigan, Tim (2011-02-27). "A century later, Texas race massacre forgotten by all but a few". Fort Worth Star-Telegram (The McClatchy Company). Retrieved 2011-03-02.
- ↑ "Score of Negroes Killed by Whites". The New York Times. 1910-07-31. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
- ↑ "More Texas Riot Arrests". The New York Times. 1910-08-07. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
External links
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