Hanging of Will Purvis
On February 7, 1894, crowds gathered near this site to witness the hanging of Will Purvis, who had been convicted of the murder of local farmer Will Buckley. When the trap door was released Purvis fell straight through to the ground, the noose having slipped and spared his life. Purvis was given a full pardon in 1898, and his innocence was proven by the deathbed Confession of an eyewitness in 1917. In 1920 Will Purvis was awarded $5,000 in restitution by the Mississippi Legislature for his wrongful conviction.