H. Blackburn
H. Blackburn, a 37-year-old Black man, ran a confectionery store in Argenta, Arkansas. He was held at the Argenta police station on the night of October 7, 1906, when, according to press reports, about four masked men entered from the rear, held the turnkey at gunpoint and took his keys. The men unlocked his cell, led him out, hanged him from a telegraph pole at Sixth and Main streets and shot him, and the reports say the sheriff and deputies did not know until after the shots were fired. A Little Rock dispatch reported that he was not believed to be the man the mob was seeking. A Pulaski County circuit judge later told a grand jury that every member of the mob was a murderer and should be punished.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Four masked men took Blackburn from the Argenta police station cell, hanged him from a telegraph pole and shot him, according to press reports; the station turnkey was held at gunpoint and the officers did not know until the shots were fired.
Reported by: Argenta police station staff (the agency that held him); Kansas City Journal special dispatch from Little Rock (reporters); Semi-Weekly Leader (reporters); Pulaski County circuit judge (court).