1908 Race Riot
Marker 8
Text
Adams between Fifth and Sixth Streets - Site of the Sangamon County Courthouse
After the August 1908 Race Riot, the following events occurred at this site:
- Joe James, a black man, was tried and convicted for the murder of Clergy Ballard. Although Mr. James was eighteen years old and, as a minor, not subject to the death penalty, he was nonetheless executed on October 23, 1908.
- During the Grand Jury investigation of the alleged rape of Mabel Hallam, a white woman, by George Richardson, a black man, Mrs. Hallam admitted that the accusation had been fabricated. Mr. Richardson was released and returned to a peaceful life in Springfield.
- In August 1908 a special Grand Jury returned 107 indictments against nearly 80 white riot suspects on charges ranging from malicious mischief to murder. The trials that followed resulted in only one conviction - petty larceny.
Some victims of the riot are buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery and the Mechanicsburg Cemetery. These burial sites have also been marked to signify each victim's role in the Race Riot events.
The Old State Capitol Building served as the County Courthouse during this period of time.
