The Allen Family and the “Hillsville Massacre”

On 13 March 1912, in the Carroll County Circuit Court, Floyd Allen was tried for attacking two deputies who had arrested two of his nephews for fighting and disturbing a religious meeting. The jury found Allen guilty of assault on 14 March and sentenced him to one year in the penitentiary.  Allen stood up and stated, “Gentlemen, I ain’t going” and shots erupted in the courthouse leaving several county officials and a spectator dead.  The sensational coverage and gripping photos of the characters and events surrounding the courtroom shooting captured America’s imagination in 1912 and until the sinking of the Titanic a month later, the “Hillsville Massacre” took up a good deal of front page copy in newspapers across the country.

For additional information see:

Virginia Newspaper Project. “100 Years Ago — Law and Disorder." Fit to Print: Dispatches from the Virginia Newspaper Project @ The Library of Virginia. Library of Virginia, 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.

Virginia Newspaper Project. "'Hillsville Massacre' in the News." Fit to Print: Dispatches from the Virginia Newspaper Project @ The Library of Virginia. Library of Virginia, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.

Christman, Roger. "Mug Shot Monday Special Edition: “'Hillsville Massacre.'" Out of the Box: Notes from the Archives @ The Library of Virginia. Library of Virginia, 7 Mar. 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.

Heinemann, Ronald L. "Floyd Allen (1856–1913)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 3 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.