Macon County Board asked for apology for 1893 lynching

Nov 23, 2023

County board member Karl Coleman asks the board and Sheriff Jim Root to issue formal apologies for the lynching of Samuel Bush in 1893.

DECATUR — Macon County Board member Karl Coleman, who was part of the effort to place a marker on the Macon County Courthouse lawn in memory of lynching victim Samuel Bush, asked the board and Macon County Sheriff Jim Root, who was in the audience, to consider issuing formal apologies for that lynching.

One such apology was offered to Bush's great-great-nephew Vernon Wimberly, who was present for the dedication of the plaque on Saturday when he received a copy of the proclamation declaring June 3 Samuel J. Bush Remembrance Day from Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe. He asked if he could consider it a formal apology, and the mayor nodded.

Bush, a Black day laborer, was lynched on June 3, 1893 after being forcibly removed from the Macon County Jail. He was accused of raping two white women in separate incidents.

"All governmental bodies that played some part in this atrocity should offer a formal apology as an overture and a form of respect," Coleman said during Thursday's board meeting.

The marker to Bush was dedicated during a ceremony 130 years to the day after the event. Bush was stripped and hanged from a utility pole at the northeast corner of Water and Wood streets, where the courthouse now stands, and reportedly asked Jesus to forgive his murderers before he was hanged. News reports of the time say it took him 12 minutes to die, and pieces of the rope used to hang him were distributed among onlookers as souvenirs.

The board members did not offer any comments or take any action on Coleman's request.

In other business, the board passed a resolution to increase the Macon County Probation Department budget by $56,000. The action was needed account for the distribution of additional funds the department is receiving from the state to pay for a 4% wage increase negotiated for union staff members in October.

It also approved the extension of a special use permit for SolAmerica's proposed solar energy farm to be located near Archer Daniels Midland Co. on Brush College Road. SolAmerica still has several steps to complete before construction can be considered and will have to return to the county board for further approvals, said Macon County Administrator Tammy Wilcox. A previously approved special use permit had expired and SolAmerica needed the board's renewal to proceed, she said.

The General Electric Co. announced in 1959 that they were going out of the plastics business, closing operations in Decatur.

1948: In the shipping room, Charles Freeman and Edwin Swam box the finished product. Mr. Swam is packing,s hipping and receiving foreman in the new plant.

Block & Kuhl occupied this building from August 1934 to May 1949.

Goldblatt Bros. announced in 1981 that they planned to close the Decatur store which opened at Fairview Plaza in 1958.

More from our archives:

• Godlbatt's close-out opens in 'madhouse'

Linn & Scruggs resided at 161. North Main St. from 1924 until Myers and Brothers purchased the Linn & Scruggs operation and moved the business to Water Street in 1970.

1930: This is the Linn & Scruggs building on the corner of North Main Street and Prairie Ave. in 1930. Linn & Scruggs moved to this building (the former Bachman Building) in 1924, having formerly been located in the "Court House Block," the southeast corner of East Main and Water streets. This location was plagued by fires, one in 1895 and the spectacular one in 1914. Linn's has stayed in this buildling almost half of its 100 years.

More from our archives:

• Linn's Is Old Friend

Borger-Warner Corp, which once employed more than 2,500 people at three facilities in Decatur, closed in 1989.

Borg-Warner Corp. announced in March of 1983 that they would close its Marvel-Schebler-Tillotson Division plant in Decatur about April 15.

1950: A general view of the interior of the v factory. Carburetors for 90 per cent of all makes of tractors are made here, as well as aircraft and automotive carburetors. Production began last month and will gradually increase until 70,000 are turned out monthly.

Undated: Decatur Brewing Co. rolled out barrels before prohibition about. The brewery was located at 604-611 E. Cantrell St and closed in 1934 as referenced in this 2013 article.

See a full gallery of the Decatur Brewing Co. here.

The Decatur Division plant of Houdaille Industries Inc., formerly known as the Houdaille-Hershey Corp. plant, stopped production in July of 1956. Houdaille's Macon Arms plant closed in 1957.

1950: In 1950, the first photo of the interior of the Houdaille-Hershey plant was permitted.

Kelly Food Products Co. factory shut down for good in 1996 after employees had started to see trouble in the company's operation about a year before.

1949: Thomas E. Austin watches carefully to see that each chip is the proper shade of brown when it leaves the cooker.

More from our archives:

• Bankruptcy frees Kelly's to sell assets

Firestone closed its doors in 2001 after 38 years of production in Decatur.

1970: Dean Hixon gives final inspection to one of the new Firestone Steel Belt 60 tires being made now at the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Decatur. The product is a belted-bias tire with steel-wire belts and a polyester body.

The Decatur Signal Depot property was released by the House Armed Services Committee for disposal by the General Services Administration in 1961.

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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