Runge, Texas. Aug. 6, 1907 — Racial
terror could be quite leisurely and hardly cause any notice, as it was last
night when 35-year-old Tom Hall was lynched from a tree in front of the jail.
Hall was arrested yesterday for the
alleged crime of either frightening two “Little” White girls with some
insulting remarks or attempting to assault two “Young” White women neat the
stable in Runge, a small supply town 60 miles southeast of San Antonio. The
town had a cotton gin, a lumberyard, a livery, sheet metal works and train
depot all of which served the local cotton growers, farming and ranching families.
Whether Hall had done anything or
not isn’t reported in the nearby Palestine, Texas newspaper, or the Houston and
San Antonio papers. What is reported is that the “Black Fiend” was found hanging
from a tree in front of the jail. It was reported that a mob had broken into
the jail overnight and drug Hall out without any resistance, it seems there was
no one else in the jail or at least no deputies or jailers.
The newspapers were much more
delighted to report that some of the local negros had expressed disgust and were
offended that a mob had lynched a Black man. “A great deal of excitement prevailed
here this morning,” the Houston Post reported. “Some of the Negroes in town
seemed offended by the lynching and made remarks about it. A mob was formed to
rush them out of town.”
Whether this would have happened
or not is questionable as Runge was an unusual town having more Black and
Mexican residents than Whites at the time, although the Whites owned all the
businesses in town. In fact, Karnes County, Texas has a moderate history of racial
terror compared to much of the rest of the state as Hall is only the third
lynching ever recorded in the region.
Sources:
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