Union County Lynchings of 1871
In 1871, one of the worst waves of white supremacist violence in S.C. history unfolded in Union County. During two raids in Jan. and Feb. of that year, twelve Black men were forcibly taken from this jail by the Ku Klux Klan while awaiting trial. Most were members of the S.C. militia accursed of killing a white man. Ten men are known to have been shot or hanged to death in the two attacks. The fate of the other two is unknown.
National press described the lynchings as “outrages” and “inhumane barbarities.” These murders and other acts of intimidation and violence aimed at disenfranchising Blacks led President Ulysses S. Grant to declare a state of rebellion in Union and eight other S.C. counties. Danger and inequities led some Black families to leave Union Co., while others remained and built community institutions.
Where it stands. N. Enterprise St. and W. Main St., in front of Union County Jail, Union, Union