Buck Hunter (Lynching of)

On December 1, 1886, an African-American man named Buck Hunter was lynched in Monticello (Drew County) for allegedly threatening to kill “two respected citizens of that county.” While the identities of his intended victims are unknown, Buck Hunter does appear in Drew County records. In August 1884, a man named Buck Hunter married Julia Carr there; they were both listed as residents of Saline Township.

According to the St. Paul Evening Globe, Hunter (referred to as “Brick” Hunter) was being held in the Monticello jail when group of masked men surrounded the jail and demanded the prisoner. The jailer, being outnumbered, surrendered the key. According to the Arkansas Gazette, the mob then “placed a rope around his neck, led him out into the suburbs of the town and strung him up to a limb. To make sure of their work they then emptied shotguns into the suspended body and dispersed.” The Globe noted that the mob left so quietly that the town was unaware of the lynching until Hunter’s body was found the following morning.

Julia Hunter apparently stayed in Drew County until at least 1900, when she was living in Saline Township and taking in laundry and ironing.

For additional information:
“A Negro Lynched.” St. Paul Daily Globe (St. Paul, Minn.), December 3, 1886, p. 3.

“A Prisoner Lynched.” Arkansas Gazette, December 3, 1886, p. 1.

Nancy Snell Griffith
Davidson, North Carolina