The William Taylor Incident is the story of the killing of an innocent man by self-appointed Dodge City vigilantes. The story is told from the first-person perspective of Herman Fringer, one of the early settlers of Dodge City. No one knows the exact truth about how William Taylor got himself into the trouble that led to his killing. Some say his story could have been told in many different ways. The fact is that William Taylor was executed by a drunken mob who called themselves vigilantes, and someone would need to be held accountable. 

Some say Taylor's murder led Governor Osborn to appoint the first Commissioners of Ford County so a sheriff could be appointed. Others say the first county commissioners came into being, so the Kansas law would not be violated when selling liquor without an organized county. No matter the reason for the formation of the Ford County commission, whether to sell alcohol legally or to obtain a sheriff, William Taylor's murder needed to be resolved through the acts of civil order in a lawless town. The story you are about to hear is sponsored by Boot Hill Distillery of Dodge City. 

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