Southern Mysteries Podcast

By Shannon BallardSociety & Culture True Crime History

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Southern Mysteries Podcast episodes

September 21Episode 196 The Durham Family Murders
In February 1972, Bryce, Virginia and Bobby Durham were found murdered in their Boone, North Carolina, home during a heavy snowstorm. Within months, four men were charged and two were eventually indicted for murder, but the case against them collapsed. Nearly fifty years later, a story remembered by the son of a Georgia criminal led investigators to four entirely different men and an unexpected explanation for what happened that night.
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Episode Sources
Watauga County Sheriff’s Office, “Sheriff Hagaman Announces That 50-Year-Old Triple Homicide ‘Durham Case’ Solved”
Watauga Democrat, “Suspects Get Counsel for Current Term,” May 15, 1972
Watauga Democrat, “Investigation of Durham Family’s Slaying Continues”
Watauga Democrat, contemporary coverage of the June 1972 preliminary hearing in the Durham murder case
Watauga Democrat, contemporary coverage of the September 1972 grand jury indictments of Jerry Ray Cassada and Dean Chandler
Watauga Democrat, contemporary coverage of Dean Chandler’s 1973 speedy-trial motion and scheduled trial
Winston-Salem Journal, contemporary February 1972 coverage of the Durham family murders and early investigation
The Charlotte Observer, “Family Was Found Dead in a Bathtub 50 Years Ago. Now NC Cops Say They Know the Killers”
The News & Observer, retrospective coverage of the Durham family murders and crime scene
Associated Press, contemporary coverage of the dismissal of the remaining murder charges against Jerry Ray Cassada
Watauga County Sheriff’s Office / Watauga Online, “Sheriff Hagaman Announces That 50-Year-Old Triple Homicide ‘Durham Case’ Solved”
High Country Press, “Watauga County Historical Society Speaker Series: ‘Convoluted: The 1972 Durham Family Triple Homicide,’ with Terry Harmon”
Missing in the Carolinas, “Episode 130: The 1972 Murders of Bryce, Virginia, and Bobby Durham in Boone”
WSOC-TV, 2022 coverage of the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office announcement identifying the men investigators believe killed the Durham family
WBTV, 2022 coverage of the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office announcement that the Durham case had been solved
Georgia Supreme Court, Birt v. State
Georgia court records concerning the murders of Reid and Lois Fleming
Federal court records concerning Bobby Gene Gaddis and crimes associated with Billy Sunday Birt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, reporting on Billy Sunday Birt, his family and his criminal history
North Carolina Newspapers / DigitalNC, Watauga Democrat archive, 1972–1973
Terry Harmon, Convoluted: The 1972 Durham Family Triple Homicide
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
25 min
September 07Southern Mysteries Classics Arkansas Ghost Trial - The Murder of Connie Franklin
In this updated and remastered Southern Mysteries Classic, we revisit the strange disappearance of Connie Franklin and the mystery of the man who returned from the dead. In 1929, five men in Stone County, Arkansas, were charged with the murder of Franklin, a drifter who had vanished from the Ozarks. A teenage girl said he had been brutally attacked and his body burned in the woods, and investigators believed they had found his charred remains. Then, just days before the murder trial began, a man appeared claiming to be Connie Franklin. The bizarre case drew reporters from across the country and became known as the Arkansas Ghost Trial.
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Episode Sources
Brooks Blevins, Ghost of the Ozarks: Murder and Memory in the Upland South, University of Illinois Press, 2012.
Brooks Blevins, “The Arkansas Ghost Trial: The Connie Franklin Case and the Ozarks in the National Media,” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Vol. 68, No. 3, Autumn 2009, pp. 245–271.
Encyclopedia of Arkansas, “Connie Franklin (Alleged Murder of).”
Deane Allen, “Man at Batesville Identified as Franklin,” Arkansas Democrat, Dec. 8, 1929, pp. 1, 8.
“Connie Franklin Reported Living,” Arkansas Gazette, Dec. 5, 1929, p. 1.
“Five Indicted as Climax to Murder Probe,” Arkansas Democrat, Nov. 24, 1929, pp. 1, 6.
Fletcher Chenout, “Four Cleared of Slaying Franklin,” Arkansas Gazette, Dec. 20, 1929, pp. 1, 7.
Carl Olsson, “Startling Franklin Case Development Predicted,” Arkansas Democrat, Dec. 15, 1929, p. 1.
TIME, “The States: Arkansas Vindicated,” Dec. 30, 1929.
“From Baxter Bulletin Files,” Baxter County History, Vol. 7, 1981, pp. 41–42.
Steven Teske, Unvarnished Arkansas: The Naked Truth about Nine Famous Arkansans, Butler Center Books, 2012.
University of Illinois Press, “Q&A with Ghost of the Ozarks Author Brooks Blevins,” July 6, 2012.
KSMU Ozarks Public Radio, “Ghost of the Ozarks: Murder and Scandal in the Hills,” April 30, 2012.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 11, 1942, retrospective account of the Connie Franklin case.
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
23 min
August 24Episode 195 The Murder of William Lewis Moore
In April 1963, civil rights activist William Lewis Moore set out alone on a 320-mile walk from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, carrying a letter for segregationist Gov. Ross Barnett. On April 23, the 35-year-old postal worker was found shot to death in northeast Alabama.In this episode of Southern Mysteries, we explore Moore's life beyond his final walk, the family he left behind, the threats and warnings he encountered along the road, the investigation into his killing, and the questions that remain more than 60 years later.
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Episode Sources
William Lewis Moore — Wikipedia
The Unsolved Civil Rights Murder of William Lewis Moore — Morbidology
Slaying of Baltimore civil rights protester still unsolved — The Baltimore Sun (2013)
A Postman's 1963 Walk for Justice, Cut Short on an Alabama Road — NPR (2013)
The Murder of William Moore — Equal Justice Initiative
William L. Moore — Un(re)solved, FRONTLINE / PBS
Historical Marker Alongside Alabama Highway Will Honor Civil Rights Martyr William Lewis Moore — Southern Poverty Law Center (2019)
Freedom Walk: Mississippi or Bust — Mary Stanton, University Press of Mississippi (2003)
The Mind in Chains: The Autobiography of a Schizophrenic — William Lewis Moore
Civil Rights Memorial — Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, Alabama
A Stain in Alabama — Los Angeles Times (Oct. 27, 2002)
The Injustice Files: He Walked Alone — Investigation Discovery (2011)
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
25 min
August 10Episode 194 Thurmond - The Dodge City of the East
At the bottom of West Virginia’s New River Gorge, the nearly abandoned railroad town of Thurmond hides a history of coal wealth, rival businessmen, gambling, violence and suspicious deaths. This episode traces the rise of Thurmond and the infamous Dun Glen Hotel, the crimes that earned the area a lawless reputation, and the town’s transformation from a booming C&O railroad center into a preserved part of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
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Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
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Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists.
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Episode Sources
“Thurmond.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/thurmond.htm
“Thurmond Walking Tour.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Jan. 6, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/thurmond-walking-tour.htm
“Gambling at the Dunglen Hotel.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/gambling-at-the-dunglen-hotel.htm
“Thurmond Passenger Depot.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
“New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.” National Park Service. Background on the 1978 establishment of New River Gorge National River and the 2020 redesignation as a national park and preserve.
Harper, R. Eugene. “Thurmond Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places nomination form, Sept. 15, 1983. http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/fayette/84003520.pdf
National Park Service. “Thurmond Historic Structures Assessment: New River Gorge National River, West Virginia.” http://www.quid-tum.com/documents/thurmond_assessment_report.pdf
Cox, W. Eugene. “Dun Glen Hotel.” The West Virginia Encyclopedia, April 23, 2019. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1973
“Burning of the Dunglen Hotel.” West Virginia Archives and History, July 23, 1930. http://www.wvculture.org/history/businessandindustry/dunglen01.html
Knight, Wallace E. “Dunglen Hotel.” West Virginia Archives and History, May 4, 1952. http://www.wvculture.org/history/businessandindustry/dunglen02.html
“July 22, 1930: Fayette County’s Dun Glen Hotel Destroyed by Arson.” West Virginia Public Broadcasting, July 22, 2020. https://www.wvpublic.org/radio/2020-07-22/july-22-1930-fayette-countys-dun-glen-hotel-destroyed-by-arson
“The Dunglen Hotel: The Historic Hotspot for Trouble.” New River Gorge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Oct. 22, 2014. https://newrivergorgecvb.com/dunglen-hotel/
Hufford, Mary. “Breaking the Time Barrier: Folklife and Heritage Planning in Southern West Virginia.” Folklife Center News, vol. 15, nos. 3-4, July 1, 1993.
Tabler, Dave. “Women, Booze, Dice and Cards.” Appalachian History, July 23, 2019. https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2019/07/women-booze-dice-and-cards.html
Schnur, Leisa. “Historic Dun Glen Hotel Site Soon Accessible.” Haunt Jaunts, Jan. 2, 2019. https://www.hauntjaunts.net/historic-dun-glen-hotel-site-soon-accessible/
Poillio, Carol. “Haunted National Parks: The ‘Dodge City of the East.’” Intuitive Investigations. https://www.intuitive-investigations.com/single-post/2016/04/12/haunted-national-parks-the-dodge-city-of-the-east
“Longest Poker Game Ever.” Better Poker News. https://betterpokernews.com/betterpokernews-com-longest-poker-game-ever/
Amtrak. “Thurmond, West Virginia.” Station information for the Cardinal route. https://www.amtrak.com/stations/thn
Amtrak. “Cardinal.” Route information for passenger service between New York and Chicago.
“Thurmond, West Virginia.” Historical documentary detailing William Dabney Thurmond, Thomas Gaylord McKell, the development of the C&O railroad junction, Glen Jean, the Dun Glen Hotel and the south-side entertainment district. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwcFcuj-eJ0
“Thurmond.” The Fayette Journal, Nov. 2, 1911, p. 67. Profile of the town, its railroad business, banks, businesses and prominent residents. Newspapers.com.
“Dunglen Hotel, Thurmond, W. Va.” The Fayette Journal, Nov. 2, 1911, p. 68. Newspapers.com.
“Mankin Drug Company, Thurmond, W. Va.” and “The New River Banking and Trust Company, Thurmond, W. Va.” The Fayette Journal, Nov. 2, 1911, p. 69. Newspapers.com.
“National Bank of Thurmond.” The Fayette Journal, Nov. 2, 1911, p. 70. Newspapers.com.
“New C&O Station.” The Leader, Jan. 23, 1947, p. 3. Report on a proposed modern station, passenger and freight traffic, and Thurmond’s reputation as a riotous railroad town. Newspapers.com.
“New Witness in Beckley Kidnap Case Is Found.” Hinton Daily News, Nov. 26, 1943, p. 8. Account involving a Thurmond railroad worker who encountered a kidnapped girl aboard a freight train. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/47911258/?match=1&terms=thurmond%20railroad
“Town of Thurmond Once Was East’s ‘Little Monte Carlo.’” Historical newspaper feature detailing the Dun Glen Hotel, gambling and stories associated with Thurmond’s violent reputation. Newspapers.com.
“Thurmond Reawakened: It’s Not the Same Type of Town It Used to Be.” The Raleigh Register, Nov. 10, 1977, p. 20. Newspapers.com.
“Fire Across From Thurmond Causes Loss of $25,000.” The Independent-Herald, Jan. 30, 1908, p. 1. Report on the fire that destroyed two stores and a residence and threatened the Dun Glen Hotel. Newspapers.com.
“Old ‘Dodge City of East,’ Thurmond, Comes Full Circle.” Sunday Gazette-Mail, June 20, 1976, p. 12. Report on the Bankers Club, the Pugh family and new tourism businesses in Thurmond. Newspapers.com.
“Coal Baron’s Dream Railroad Rusting, Awaits Dismantling.” Sunday Gazette-Mail, Aug. 4, 1974, p. 20. Account of the abandoned Arbuckle Creek railroad and Thurmond’s deterioration. Newspapers.com.
“Thurmond, the ‘Dodge City of the East,’ Is Thriving Again.” Beckley Post-Herald/The Raleigh Register, July 31, 1977, p. 1. Report on rafting, tourism and renewed interest in Thurmond. Newspapers.com.
“Mayor Fined Suicide.” The Fairmont West Virginian, June 14, 1904, p. 4. Reprinted account credited to the Huntington Herald concerning the drowning near Thurmond and the mayor’s reported five-dollar fine.
Account of the drowned man fined for violating a town ordinance against suicide. Shepherdstown Register, June 16, 1904, p. 2. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/375523925/?match=1&terms=thurmond%20railroad
“Conductor Killed.” Hinton Daily News, Aug. 10, 1904, p. 1. Report on C&O conductor J.G. McKenzy, whose body was found on the tracks under circumstances that led residents to suspect murder. Newspapers.com.
“Lawlessness at Thurmond.” Hinton Daily News, June 8, 1903, p. 1. Report on Baldwin detective J.W. Nelson’s alleged blackjack assault on railroad engineer Doggett. Newspapers.com.
“Foolish Girl Lured to Thurmond to Marry a Man Whom She Had Never Seen.” The Independent-Herald, April 24, 1902, p. 3. Newspapers.com.
“Three Miners Are Killed.” Martinsburg Herald, Feb. 2, 1907, p. 7. Report on the mine explosion near Stuart on Loop Creek that killed three miners. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/image/884926213/?match=1&terms=thurmond%20railroad
“Arrest Two at Thurmond for Burdette Hold-Up.” Hinton Daily News, April 25, 1925, p. 1. Newspapers.com.
“Traveling Man Shot at Thurmond.” Hinton Daily News, Feb. 9, 1903, p. 1. Report on the fatal shooting of J.H. Arrington by Walter Smith at the Dun Glen Hotel. Newspapers.com.
“His Throat Cut.” The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Aug. 26, 1893, p. 1. Report on Robert Baines, who was found near Arbuckle Creek with his throat cut and accused Henry Caldwell of the attack. Newspapers.com.
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
31 min
July 27Episode 193 Atlanta's Black Week - The Force Family Murders
In February 1893, Atlanta endured a week of financial scandal, suicide and shocking violence that newspapers would later remember as Black Week. The darkest chapter unfolded inside the home of one of the city's most respected families, where two sisters were murdered and a third calmly confessed. Through contemporary accounts and Julia Force's own writings, this episode explores one of Georgia's most haunting nineteenth-century murder cases and the mystery that still surrounds it.
Join the Community on Patreon:
Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries
Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists.
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Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast
Instagram: @southernmysteries
Email: [email protected]
Episode Sources
Langley, Lee. Inside Scenes of Atlanta's Black Week: A Series of Social Sensations and a Carnival of Crimes. Atlanta: Franklin Printing and Publishing Company, 1893.
"A Carnival of Crime." The True Citizen (Waynesboro, Georgia), March 4, 1893.
"The Trial of Julia Force." The True Citizen (Waynesboro, Georgia), July 1, 1893.
"Miss Julia Force Indicted." The Weekly Banner (Athens, Georgia), March 14, 1893.
"Julia Force Declared Insane." The Hartwell Sun (Hartwell, Georgia), July 7, 1893.
"Julia Force Sent to the State Sanitarium." The Union Recorder (Milledgeville, Georgia), July 11, 1893.
"Thomas Cobb Jackson's Suicide." The Montgomery Monitor (Mount Vernon, Georgia), March 2, 1893.
"Force, Wholesale and Retail Dealer in Boots and Shoes." The Daily Intelligencer (Atlanta, Georgia), Dec. 22, 1865.
"Bankruptcy Notice of Benjamin W. Force." The Daily Opinion (Atlanta, Georgia), Oct. 24, 1867.
The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia), coverage of the Lewis Redwine scandal and Atlanta's Black Week, 1893-1894.
The Atlanta Journal (Atlanta, Georgia), coverage of the Force murders and trial, 1893.
Georgia Historic Newspapers, Digital Library of Georgia. https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu
New Georgia Encyclopedia. "Fulton County." https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
New Georgia Encyclopedia. "Henry W. Grady." https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Your Peachy Past. https://peachypast.blogspot.com
Find a Grave. "Julia H. Force." https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144555327/julia-h-force
Friends of Memory Hill Cemetery. https://friendsofcems.org
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
25 min
July 13Episode 192 The Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp
For more than two centuries, a hidden society existed in one of the most unforgiving landscapes in the American South. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, explore the remarkable history of the Great Dismal Swamp maroons, one of the longest-lasting acts of resistance to slavery in American history. Through historical records, firsthand accounts and modern archaeology, this forgotten chapter of Southern history reveals how an entire community survived in plain sight and why so few people have heard their story.
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Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
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Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists.
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Episode Sources
“The Hidden Black Society They Don’t Teach You About” — In the Margins, PBS. Overview of the Great Dismal Swamp maroons, including interior, fringe and canal communities; the stories of Harriet Jacobs, Venus and Jack; the canal labor economy; and the Easter Conspiracy.
“The Great Dismal Swamp” — 99% Invisible. Podcast episode exploring the landscape, history and archaeology of the swamp’s maroon communities.
“Tom Copper’s Rebellion and Great Dismal Marronage” — National Park Service. Detailed history of Tom Copper, Mingo, New Begun and the alleged Easter Conspiracy of 1802.
“Anthropologist Daniel Sayers on the Maroons Who Found Freedom in the Great Dismal Swamp” — National Endowment for the Humanities. Interview about Sayers’ archaeological research and the evidence of long-term maroon settlements.
“The Dismal Swamp: One Road Out of Slavery Took You Straight to the Boggiest Place You’ve Ever Been” — National Endowment for the Humanities. Background on the landscape, archaeology and people who sought freedom inside the swamp.
“Deep in the Swamps, Archaeologists Are Finding How Fugitive Slaves Kept Their Freedom” — Smithsonian Magazine. In-depth account of Daniel Sayers’ excavations and the evidence uncovered at interior maroon sites.
A Desolate Place for a Defiant People: The Archaeology of Maroons, Indigenous Americans, and Enslaved Laborers in the Great Dismal Swamp — Daniel O. Sayers. Archaeological study of Indigenous occupation, enslaved labor and maroon resistance within the swamp.
Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp — J. Brent Morris. History of the maroons and the ways they created independent lives beyond white-controlled society.
City of Refuge: Slavery and Petit Marronage in the Great Dismal Swamp, 1763–1856 — Marcus P. Nevius. Study of temporary and long-term escape, informal labor networks and the connections between maroons and the swamp’s commercial economy.
“A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp” — Virginia Museum of History & Culture. Program featuring historian J. Brent Morris and his research into the swamp’s maroon communities.
“Gabriel’s Conspiracy” — Encyclopedia Virginia and Virginia Humanities. Historical overview of Gabriel’s planned 1800 uprising near Richmond.
“Letter from Mosby Sheppard to James Monroe, Aug. 30, 1800” — Encyclopedia Virginia and the Library of Virginia. Primary-source warning sent to Virginia’s governor after the planned uprising was revealed.
“Testimony in the Trial of Gabriel, Oct. 6, 1800” — Encyclopedia Virginia and the Library of Virginia. Surviving testimony from Gabriel’s prosecution.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl — Harriet Jacobs, available through Documenting the American South at the University of North Carolina. Jacobs’ firsthand account of her escape from slavery and the time she spent hiding in a swamp.
Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy, Late a Slave in the United States of America — Moses Grandy, available through Documenting the American South. Firsthand account of slavery, waterway labor and the economy surrounding the Great Dismal Swamp and its canal.
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
27 min
June 15Southern Mysteries Classics The Cult of the Unknown Tongues
This Southern Mysteries Classic revisits a chilling historical true crime case from the Kentucky mountains. In February 1933, a church service ended with the death of 72-year-old Lucinda Mills. Nine of her relatives were jailed and accused of murder, while the national press labeled the case a human sacrifice. Decades later, the question remains: what really happened inside that cabin?
Join the Community on Patreon:
Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
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Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists.
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Episode Sources
Laben T. Mills Obituary. Big Sandy News. July 31,1914
Lucinda Ward Mills. Find A Grave. [Lucinda’s age listed as 65 here but based off of census records she was believed to have been 72]
Burning of Body on Altar Halted by Inez Police. The Owensboro Inquirer. February 9, 1933
Cult Victim Held Willing Sacrifice. The Courier-Journal. February 10, 1933
Insanity Plea Planned in Cult Slaying Case. The Courier-Journal. February 11, 1933
Bare Details of ‘Sacrifice’ Death Scene. Indianpolis Times. February 11, 1933
Mills Held Without Bond for Slaying Mother in Cult ‘Sacrifice’. The Lexington Herald. February 12, 1933
Nine Relatives of Cult Victim Are Indicted. The Owensboro Messenger. April 5, 1933
Insanity Held Slaying Cause. The Courier-Journal. April 7, 1933
Two Relative Freed In Cult Slaying Trial. The Lexington Leader. April 9, 1933
Prosecutor Contends Slayers of Mrs Mills Cold Blooded Murderers. The Courier-Journal. April 10, 1933
Mills Kneeling on Mother’s Body Fought Deputies. The Owensboro Inquirer. April 11, 1933
Cult Case Goes to Jury. The Courier Journal. April 12, 1933
Cult Leader Is Given Life Term for Matricide. The Courier-Journal. April 12, 1933
Blaine McGinnis is Given Pardon. Lexington Herald-Leader. November 3, 1933
Odd Fellows Have Skeletons in Their Closets--and Their Walls and Attics. Los Angeles Times. April 2001.
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
40 min
June 01Episode 191 The Rowan County War
In the 1880s, Rowan County, Kentucky, became known as “Bloody Rowan” after politics, old grudges and personal revenge led to one of the state’s deadliest feuds. This episode traces the Rowan County War from an Election Day shooting in Morehead to three years of ambushes, militia intervention and a final armed showdown that ended the violence, but not through justice.
Join the Community on Patreon:
Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries
Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists.
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Episode Sources
Pearce, John Ed. Days of Darkness: The Feuds of Eastern Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky, 1994.
Blair, Juanita and Brown, Fred Jr. Days of Anger, Days of Tears: Rowan County, Kentucky, 1884–1887. 1984. Morehead State University Rowan County War Collection.
Morehead State University Rowan County War Collection. scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/rowan_county_war
Kentucky Historical Society. Rowan County War historical marker, Morehead, Kentucky.
The New York Times. “The Rowan County War: Two Factions Thirsting for Each Other’s Blood.” July 6, 1885.
The New York Times. Coverage of the reported Grace Martin and Frank Tolliver marriage. 1889.
Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin. “Bloody Election Day.” August 6, 1884.
Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin. “A Train Stopped and a Murderer Riddled with Bullets.” December 1884.
Maysville Daily Evening Bulletin. “Deadly Feud Ended in Marriage.” 1889.
Louisville Courier-Journal. “The Rowan County War.” April 4, 1885.
Louisville Courier-Journal. “Rowan County: A Three-Years’ History Written in the Blood of Seventeen Murdered People.” June 12, 1887.
Coats, Harold Wilson. “The Man Unafraid,” from Stories of Kentucky Feuds.
U.S. Forest Service historical account of the Daniel Boone National Forest, Chapter 23.
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
27 min
May 11Episode 190 The Murder of Ella Barham
In 1912, 18-year-old Ella Barham left her family’s farm near Pleasant Ridge, Arkansas, on an ordinary errand and never came home. Her brutal murder shocked Boone County and led authorities to a neighbor accused of killing her after years of rejected romantic interest. More than a century later, Ella Barham’s murder remains one of Arkansas’ darkest and most troubling true crime stories.
Join the Community on Patreon:
Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries
🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries
Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists.
📱 Follow on Social Media:
Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast
Instagram: @southernmysteries
Email: [email protected]
Episode Sources
Gould, Nita. Remembering Ella: A 1912 Murder and Mystery in the Arkansas Ozarks. Butler Center Books / University of Arkansas Press, 2018. (rememberingella.com)
Barham, Ella (Murder of) - Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Gould, Nita, ed. The 1913 Trial of Odus Davidson: The Official Witness Testimony. Companion volume to Remembering Ella.
Encyclopedia of Arkansas — 'Barham, Ella (Murder of)' (encyclopediaofarkansas.net)
Encyclopedia of Arkansas — 'Davidson, Odus' (encyclopediaofarkansas.net)
Find a Grave — Ella Lillian Ethel Barham (memorial #40832262)
Find a Grave — Odus Davidson (memorial #31134642)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — 'The verdict: Guilty of murder' (review of Remembering Ella by Tom Dillard, December 9, 2018)
AY Magazine — 'Murder Mystery: In Memoriam: Ella Barham' (aymag.com)
Case file: State v. Davidson, No. 183 (Ark. Cir. Ct. 1913). Boone County Circuit Clerk's Office, Boone County Courthouse, Harrison, Arkansas.
Case file: Davidson v. State, 108 Ark. 158, S.W. 1103 (1913). University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law / Pulaski County Law Library, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Boone County Court Record Book L, County Clerk's Office, Boone County Courthouse, Harrison, Arkansas.
Lead Hill, Arkansas newspaper, November 22, 1912 — first published account of the murder (via Chronicling America, Library of Congress, loc.gov)
Batesville Daily Guard — editorial on circumstantial evidence and the Davidson verdict
Shiloh Museum of Ozark History — 'Scenes of Boone County' (shilohmuseum.org)
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
23 min
April 27Episode 189 The Burning of Darien
One of the Civil War’s most controversial events unfolded on June 11, 1863, when Union forces entered Darien, Georgia, an undefended town of little strategic importance, and left it in flames. Homes, churches, businesses and one of the oldest Black congregations in the South were destroyed. The troops ordered to take part included the famed 54th Massachusetts, one of the first official Black regiments of the Civil War. But the story of who set the destruction in motion is more complicated than many people came to believe.
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Episode Sources
Burchard, Peter. “One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment.” St. Martin’s Press, 1965.
Burchard, Peter. “We’ll Stand by the Union: Robert Gould Shaw and the Black 54th Massachusetts Regiment.” Facts on File, 1993.
Coulter, E.M. Writings on the burning of Darien, including his characterization of the destruction as a “barbaric act” and “wanton vandalism.”
Duncan, Russell, editor. “Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.” University of Georgia Press, 1992.
Duncan, Russell. “Where Death and Glory Meet: Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.” University of Georgia Press, 1999.
Emilio, Luis F. “A Brave Black Regiment: History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-1865.” Boston Book Co., 1894.
Francis Lieber, “Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field,” General Orders No. 100, April 24, 1863.
Georgia Historical Society historical marker, “The Burning of Darien,” erected in 2001.
Historical Marker Database, “The Burning of Darien,” marker transcription and location information.
King, Spencer Bidwell Jr. “Darien: The Death and Rebirth of a Southern Town.” Mercer University Press, 1981.
Levin, Kevin M. “James Montgomery, the Burning of Darien, and the Innocence of Robert Gould Shaw.” “Civil War Memory,” Oct. 23, 2023.
Levin, Kevin M. “Vindicating Col. Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th.” “Civil War Memory,” May 19, 2013.
Massachusetts Historical Society, “The Destruction of Darien, Georgia,” “The Beehive,” Oct. 25, 2017.
National Museum of African American History and Culture, “The Combahee Ferry Raid.”
National Museum of the United States Army, “Robert Gould Shaw.”
National Park Service, “54th Massachusetts Regiment.”
National Park Service, “Combahee River Ferry & Harriet Tubman Bridge.”
National Park Service, “We Called Ourselves Combee: Freeing the Enslaved People of the Combahee River.”
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XIV.
Shaw-Minturn family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, including Robert Gould Shaw’s June 1863 letters describing the burning of Darien.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Darien, Georgia, church history materials.
“Written in Glory: The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment,” entries related to June 1863, July 1863 and the burning of Darien.
Episode Music
Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.
28 min

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Unearthing the forgotten, the mysterious, and the legendary—one Southern story at a time. Hosted by Shannon Ballard, Southern Mysteries explores the rich and often untold history of the American South…