Lynching in Wicomico County

LYNCHING IN WICOMICO COUNTY
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Between 1898 and 1931, at least three Black men were victims of racial terror lynchings near
this courthouse. On May 26, 1898, a mob of over 100 white people lynched Garfield King, a
Black teenager who lived near present-day Allen, MD. Garfield was being held in the
Salisbury Jail after an alleged altercation with a white man outside of Twigg's Store. The mob
kidnapped Garfield and hanged him from a nearby maple tree before riddling his body with at
least 50 bullets. On December 4, 1931, a white mob lynched Matthew "Buddie"Williams, a 23-
year-old Black man recovering from gunshot wounds at Peninsula General Hospital following
an altercation with his white employer. Without resistance from hospital staff, the mob
kidnapped Mr. Williams from his bed and dragged him to the courthouse lawn where he wss
beaten, stabbed, and hanged. The mob set Mr. Wiliams on fire and dragged his charred
remains through Salisbury's Black community as a reminder of the lethal racial order. Days
later, on the morning of December 6, the body of an unidentified 33-year-old Black man was
found beaten to death near railroad track in Salisbury. Evidence indicates the man was killed
by the same mob that lynched Mr Williams just hours before. During this era, a strict racial
hierarchy prevailed in Wicomico County that enabled white people to lynch and terrorize Black
people with impunity. No one was held accountable for the lynchings of these three men.
Salisbury Lynching Memorial Task Force
EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE
2001