History of Lynching in Lexington County, SC

What is a Racial Terror Lynching?

Racial terror lynchings are extrajudicial murders committed by mobs of white people with the intent to control and intimidate the African American population. The perpetrators of lynchings were not held accountable. In Lexington County, we currently know of 9 racial terror lynchings between 1890 and 1921.

Who are the individual Lexington County victims?

While we do not know if these are the only victims of racial terror lynchings in Lexington County, SC, below are 7 incidents (9 victims) of racial terror lynchings in Lexington County (1890-1910).

  • Willie Leaphart – 5 May 1890

  • Will Thompson, Tom Preston, Handy Kaigler– 30-31 July 1893

  • Gage Roberson* – 24 February 1894

  • Benjamin Gates – 11 December 1901

  • Unknown Black Male – 6 January 1909

  • William Allen – 24 August 1921

*LCCRP worked with EJI to have Gage Roberson added to records, the online Lynching in America map and in the Legacy Museum exhibit.

How do we know that these ‘racial terror lynchings' took place?

Thousands of individuals were victims of racial terror lynchings between the end of the Civil War and the end of WWII. These events were not hidden, but rather were public events used as methods of intimidation and control. We know lynchings happened, in part, because they occurred with numerous witnesses and were documented in newspapers. And, in many cases, descendents and community members also provide a narrative of the events.

Racial terror lynchings are distinct in definition from other racial violence, criminally prosecuted hate crimes, and 'frontier justice'. The lynchings are classified as terrorism because the murders were committed with the intent to control and intimidate the African American population, and they occured with impunity. These lynchings occurred outside of the legal system, but in communities where functioning criminal justice systems existed and perpetrators were not held accountable.

For our group, specifically addressing events in Lexington County, we rely primarily upon the research and work of Lexington Museum director, J.R. Fennell, and the EJI report Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror. Both of these utilized numerous sources including historical books, research papers, newspapers, and archives. Though lynchings occurred in other years, the report focuses on a time period starting at the end of Reconstruction and ending when lynchings became less public: 1877-1950. The lynchings reported in the paper, and in our work, have at least two sources of documentation.

Sources and additional information: