Dodge County GaArchives History .....Eastman Riot 
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 December 27, 2004, 5:39 pm

THE EASTMAN RIOT—1882.

  IN THE EARLY HISTORY of Eastman, when the town was only a small village, 
occurred what is known as the "Eastman Riot." The following account of the riot 
was told by Mr. W. B. Daniel, an eye witness to it, to his daughter, Mrs. 
Birdie Daniel O'Callaghan, who penned it as her father told it to her.

  It was on Sunday, August 6th, 1882, that a big negro camp meeting began, 
attended by several thousand negroes from the surrounding country. A few white 
people availed themselves of the excursion rates, and among them was Jim 
Harvard, a boy about eighteen years of age, from Cochran, who came to visit 
relatives.

  At that time there were nine drug stores in Eastman, most of which were open 
for the sale of whiskey, there being a law that whiskey could be sold only in 
drug stores. These places were visited by the negroes, who soon became 
intoxicated. In a gambling game one negro won another negro's watch. The negro 
who had been more successful in the game wanted his watch returned, and when 
this was refused he reported the other negro to Marshal J. B. A. Buchan, who 
arrested him. On the way to the jail Mr. Buchan was thrown into a ditch by the 
negro, who then ran. Buchan and A. P. Harrell, deputy marshal, began to shoot 
at the fleeing negro, who was killed by a shot which was afterwards said or 
proved to have been fired by the negro who caused the arrest. The negroes, in a 
drunken condition, became infuriated over the killing and forming a wild mob 
began to pursue the officers. Buchan escaped without injury, while Pete Harrell 
was caught and cut by the negroes, but succeeded in getting away. During the 
shooting Harvard, who had just alighted from the train, ran behind a house to 
escape a stray bullet. The negroes, thinking he was one of the officers, ran in 
hot pursuit. He ran down Third Avenue and up to the residence of Mr. Wright 
Harrell and hid under the house. Mr. A. H. (Boy) McRae, Mrs. Wright Harrell and 
grandson, Mr. W. B. Daniel, who was just recovering from typhoid fever, were 
the only people in the house at the time. Mr. McRae and Mr. Daniel were 
upstairs, and hearing the shooting, the latter came down to ascertain the cause 
of the disturbance. The increasing mob had surrounded the house, shooting, 
howling, throwing bricks, etc., and were held at bay by Mr. Daniel, whose only 
weapon was a pocket knife, until Mr. Wright Harrell came from his place of 
business. Both talked with the mob, assuring them their man was not there, but 
could do nothing with them. Dr. Latimer and son, Fleming Latimer, Jordan Brown, 
and the Methodist minister, Thompson, came to give them their assistance. The 
negroes had sent for oil to burn the house, so seeing that nothing else could 
be done, and not knowing that young Harvard had in the meantime concealed 
himself in the house in one of the bedrooms under a bed, Mr. Daniel proposed 
that they select three sober men from their number to search the house. This 
the mob refused to do, fearing their men would be killed, but finally agreed on 
five or six to enter and make a search. Others, seeing their selected number 
going in, tore down the fence at the corner, and with that the entire mob 
stormed the house. At the point of weapons Mrs. Harrell was forced to unlock 
all doors. When Harvard was dragged from his hiding place he was recognized by 
Jordan, an old negro man, who told the mob that he had nursed this boy from 
infancy and that they had the wrong man. Wild with excitement and blood-
thirsty, they attempted to beat Harvard over his head with fence pickets, when 
Jordan shielded the young man by throwing his arms over the boy's head. They 
dragged Harvard into the hall and halted just inside the front door, when 
pistols were pointed at his head and some one of them fired and killed him. 
Jordan, supporting him in his arms, carried him to the front gate and laid him 
on the walk.

  Ella Moore, a negro woman, drunken and screaming "You killed my sister's 
child," and pulling his head back by his hair, made several desperate efforts 
to cut his throat with a razor. Jordan shoved her back, saying he was dead. She 
then accused Jordan of siding with the white people, and in order to protect 
himself from the negroes who were about to turn on him, he had to pretend to 
take sides with them. The negroes by this time were yelling and shouting, "Kill 
any white man except Yankee, don't kill Yankee." The news quickly spread and 
soon numbers of men and officers appeared and began arresting the offenders, 
which filled the jail to capacity. Many escaped. The court trial lasted thirty 
days; six men and one woman were sentenced to hang and eighteen were sentenced 
to the coal mines, which was at that time a horrible punishment compared with 
the chaingangs of today.

  It was a day of horrors for the people of Eastman, one which has remained 
fresh in the memories of the citizens to the present day. Several deaths 
occurred during the day from shock and fright.



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