An Unfortunately Busy New Year's Eve

It is 1:15 a.m., December 31, 1906. Residents of Kingstree are roused from their slumbers by the incessant clanging of church bells, a signal that there is a fire somewhere in the village. As they stumble out of their homes, checking first to make sure that their own roofs aren't on fire, they can see the glow of a large blaze coming from the heart of downtown Kingstree.

A mid-20th century view of the buildings on Main Street which replaced

those destroyed in the December 31, 1906, fire.

The first to arrive on Main Street found that all the buildings on the south side of Main from the Courthouse Square to Jail Street (now Jackson Street) were ablaze. This included the Central Hotel, formerly known as Barr's Hotel and owned by Dr. R.J. McCabe, Dr. W.L. Wallace's drugstore, and two buildings owned by W.T. Wilkins and rented by black-owned businesses. The fire apparently had started in one of the Wilkins buildings, rented by Wilson McCullough & Co. This store was located between the store on the corner of Jail and Main streets and Dr. Wallace's drug store. The fire quickly spread in both directions, engulfing all four buildings.

All four of the buildings were old, frame structures and burned like kindling. The volunteer bucket brigade, made up of townspeople, was unable to bring the fire under control. However, the efforts of the volunteers did keep the fire from spreading to the courthouse, the stables located behind the four burning buildings, and John A. Kelley's law office.

The County Record noted, somewhat sarcastically, "As usual, the engine, "Our Pet," came prancing to the scene after the fire had burned itself out." 

The block of buildings that replaced those lost in the 1906 fire is now owned

by Williamsburg County. In 1988, it was consolidated into one building and

now houses the county's Alex Chatman Judicial Complex.

Before the fire had stopped smoldering, there was already talk of replacing the buildings lost with more modern construction. The fire was estimated to have caused $4,300 worth of damage, with the various building owners carrying insurance that amounted to $3,150.

In its heyday, Barr's Hotel, located just off the Courthouse Square, was considered one of the town's best advertisements. George S. Barr, who owned and operated the hotel, was described as genial, jolly, and big-hearted. He had himself worked as a traveling salesman, so he made sure that the hotel catered to salesmen, who were called drummers in those days, as well as "Knights of the Grip." Barr had a horse and buggy from the livery stable he operated behind the hotel meet every train arriving in Kingstree to ensure that the drummers could easily get to lodging for the night. 

After the sinking of the Navy ship, the USS Maine, during the build-up to the Spanish-American War in 1898, The County Record received regular bulletins by telegraph. These were posted in front of the hotel each evening to keep the community informed of the latest news.

The Western Union Telegraph was located in the hotel, and in 1900, George Barr's 10-year-old son, Willie, was put in charge of telegraph operations. He was the youngest telegraph operator in the United States and was known by other operators as "The Baby." His story was printed in newspapers throughout the country. Willie Barr, the stories said, had traveled to Western Union headquarters and undergone rigorous testing before the company allowed him to take over the Kingstree telegraph.

On Presidential election nights, crowds would gather at the hotel, awaiting results to come in over the wire.

Sadly, George Barr died in August 1902, at age 48, after suffering for weeks with typhoid fever. After his death, B. Heyward Myers took over operation of the hotel, renaming it The Central Hotel. In 1906, J.P. Wheeler was running the hotel.

Dr. R.J. McCabe owned the hotel building, and soon after the fire, he started building a new 30'x80' two-story, brick building. That building became home to Kingstree's first movie theatre, but we'll look at that in another post.

Dr. W.L. Wallace

Dr. W.L. Wallace's drugstore was located beside the hotel. At the time of the fire, Dr. Wallace had been practicing in Kingstree for 49 years. He was a graduate of the National Medical College in Washington, DC, and had done post-graduate work at Baltimore Medical College.

Dr. Wallace was fully engaged in the civic life of Kingstree, serving on town council as mayor pro tem. And, he did not mind speaking his mind about things he felt were not right. In a January 1903 letter to the editor of The County Record, he stated that there was "too much thievery" going on around town. He wrote that harnesses and other small items had been taken, but he had totally lost patience when his medical bag was stolen from his own piazza. He had left the bag there, as he always did, on Saturday night, but when he went out on Sunday to respond to an emergency house call, the bag was nowhere to be found. Therefore, he was calling for the town to enact a curfew in the winter months. He wanted a bell to ring promptly at 9 p.m. on Saturday nights as a signal for all businesses to close immediately. He also wanted the town to hire some "burly policemen" to enforce the curfew.

After the fire destroyed his drugstore, he opened temporarily in a small cottage that had once served as The County Record's office on the corner of the J.N. Hammet lot on Main Street. A year or so later, he built a two-story, brick drugstore on the site of his burned building. In 1908, Dr. E. Theron Kelley moved from Timmonsville to partner with him. Dr. Wallace, then 77, retired from active medical practice in January 1910. He had practiced medicine for 53 years, all within an eight-mile radius of Kingstree. He was described as a big-hearted, philanthropic physician, nurse, and pharmacist who not only filled his own prescriptions, but also often gave food and clothing to his patients. Dr. Wallace died in 1918 at age 84.

W.T. Wilkins sold the two lots closest to Jail (Jackson) Street to F.C. Thomas of Manning, who had also bought the livery stable once associated with Barr's Hotel. Mr. Thomas constructed a two-story brick opera house on those two lots. Again we'll look more closely at the opera house in another post.

Trains still come through Kingstree daily.

The fire was not the only tragedy to happen in Kingstree on New Year's Eve 1906. Later in the day, as the Number 50 train from Charleston approached the water tank several hundred yards below the depot, it struck Austin Hines, fatally injuring him. Hines had lived in Kingstree for the past couple of years. He was a retired Atlantic Coast Line employee, having worked as a cook on the railroad's work train. A North Carolina native, he was 53 years old and appeared to have no living relatives. A coroner's jury ruled Hines' death a result of his own negligence. A look through records available online show that Hines was married at least twice. His first marriage was to Ella Whitehead in January, 1876, and his second was to Penny Mercer in February, 1879. The 1880 census shows him living in Wilson, NC, with Penny and a five-year-old daughter, Emma. The 1880 census also shows 16-year-old Neptune Baker living with the Hines family. Baker is described as a domestic servant.

The Great Christmas Eve Explosion

One of my most favorite Bessie Britton stories is actually a John Britton story. It involves the cannon which still sits on the Courthouse Square, and a number of Kingstree boys from a bygone era. No one could tell a story like Bessie Britton so I won't try; however, I have added some information at the end of the story which may help date when this event occurred. Here in Miss Bessie's words is the tale of the Christmas Eve explosion:

The cannon as it looks now on the Courthouse Square in Kingstree.

"In mid-December 1961, John and I were living in the white cottage where I now live on the corner of Academy and Church streets in Kingstree. One rainy night after we had finished the last of the Christmas decorations in the living room and dining room, John said he was going to take a shower and put on his formal evening clothes. That meant his pajamas and a shabby, old maroon lounging robe, which he had refused to discard because it was so comfortable.

"When he came back, I was rearranging a centerpiece in the dining room. He took his seat at one end of the oblong table and began playing solitaire. After threatening to kill him if he disturbed the centerpiece, I kicked off my high heels and flopped into an easy chair with a magazine that described the childhood Christmases best remembered by several men and women of national prominence. There wasn't a sound to be heard except for the slap-slap of John's cards on the polished table. The game was relaxing to him, and he could play for hours, or maybe it was just that I couldn't keep quiet that long.

"'John,' I asked, "which Christmas gave you the biggest bang when you were a child?'

"He laughed and said without hesitation, 'It was the Christmas a group of little boys made the Confederate cannon bang on the Courthouse Square, and I got a licking for my part in it.' He put the cards down, lit a cigarette, and asked if I wanted to hear about it. I said yes but to wait until I had put on my evening clothes, too.

"A Confederate cannon, which is now mounted on a permanent base at the Williamsburg County Courthouse, was then mounted on its original caisson, which had huge wooden wheels with iron rims and could be shifted to different positions on the Courthouse Square.

"The small sons of elected officials who had offices inside the Courthouse liked to play on the cannon. I don't remember whose bright idea it was to fire it at dusk on Christmas Eve.

John and Bessie Britton in 1962.

"County Auditor J.J.B. Montgomery's sons were Benton, Sam John, Donald, and Zeno, but I think John said only Donald and Sam John were among the culprits. Superintendent of Education, J.G. McCullough had several sons, and Dr. Jack McCullough might have been in on the mischief, and also Treasurer J.W. Cook's oldest son, Earle. Probate Judge S.M. Scott's sons were too old, but Magistrate John Gamble's son, Frank, might have been among the guilty; likewise Sheriff George Graham's little son, Willie. But Supervisor J.N. Hammet's only son George was then too young to be trusted not to tell the big secret.

"Clerk of Court H.O. Britton's sons were Harry, John, and Billie. I doubt that Harry, who was a steady, quiet fellow, joined in the mischief, but he would not have told on the younger boys. In fact, he talked so little, he would hardly tell you the time of day. No doubt Billie Britton, youngest of the brothers was among the culprits, though he might not care to admit it now. 

"Of course, the little boys had never heard a cannon go off, and they knew nothing about loading one, much less firing one, but they knew it was gunpowder that made such a thrilling noise when stumps were blasted. They somehow managed to get an unknown quantity of it to mix with brickbats and old iron nails, and they packed the cannon full. I don't know who lit the match, but the good Lord was with him. Otherwise, he and his buddies hovering close by would have been blown to kingdom come.

"The cannon went off with such a roar that people as far distant as Salters thought the Yankees had launched a new attack. A few nervous Nellies took to the woods, but able-bodied men from every direction grabbed their guns, jumped on their horses, and galloped to Kingstree, ready to fight again.

"By a miracle, the explosion did no serious damage, so a great time was had by all–except for the small culprits. The roar of the cannon has scared them half-witted, and insult was added to injury when they got their little bottoms nearly blistered as a Christmas bonus."

I have never found any news report to corroborate this story, but I think that the most likely date would be Christmas Eve 1905. J.J.B. Montgomery was elected County Auditor in 1902, and did not move his family to Kingstree until January 1903. So, for Donald and Sam John Montgomery to participate in this escapade, it would have to have occurred after 1902. For unknown reasons, there are no County Record newspapers available for 1906, so that if a story was written about it, we have no access to it today. Finally, the ages of the boys in question seem to make Christmas Eve 1905 a likely candidate. Donald Montgomery was nine; his brother Sam John was 12. Jack McCullough would have been 10; Earle Cook, 8; Billie Britton, 12. Frank Gamble would have been 15, and John Britton 14, making them likely ringleaders of this enterprise. And we know that once Capt. Conrad Constine began firing the cannon with some regularity on Memorial Day that John Britton helped him. Willie Graham, however, appears to have been too old to have participated in this mischief, as he would have been 23 in 1905. As further evidence, George Hammet would have been only six in 1905 and likely considered too young to keep the plot a secret.

Dear Santa 100 Years Ago

Local newspapers began printing children's letters to Santa Claus in the late nineteen teens. Today, let's take a look at what Williamsburg County's boys and girls were asking St. Nick for a hundred years ago in December 1920.

A  box for Santa Claus letters in downtown Kingstree, December 2020.

Dear Santa Clause (sic)

I am a little boy six years old and in the first grade at school. I am writing to tell you what I want for Christmas. I want a little car, a billy goat wagon, a little train that runs on a track, a little drum, some fireworks and some fruit.

Your friend,

Buster McIntosh

Kingstree

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Dear Old Santa–

I am a little boy, and Santa, I want you to bring me a gun, a horn, bucket and shovel, hoe and rake, and would like a horse and wagon, too, if you can bring it, and all kinds of fruit, and, Santa, don't forget my little sister, Helen. She is five years old, too. She wants a doll and doll carriage, a cup and saucer, a picture book, and all kinds of fruit. Santa, I live five miles from Cades on RFD 1, Box 13, now dear old Santa, don't forget my house when you are passing. Please bring me those things, and I will save you some turkey.

Your little friend,

W.D. and Helen Coker

Cades

Dear Santa Claus–

I am a big little boy now, almost seven years old, and I want you to please bring me an air rifle, some fruit, and lots of nice things. Now don't forget my little brother, Merridan, he will soon be two years old. He wants a rubber ball and a stocking full of good things to eat. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Your little boy,

Harry Huggins

Hemingway

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Dear Old Santa Claus–

I am writing to tell you what I want you to bring me for Christmas. I am a little girl seven years old. Please bring me a big doll with curly hair, a doll bed, a little stove, and lots of fruit, candy, and nuts, and please don't forget to bring my little baby sister a rattler.

Your little friend,

Florie Smith

Kingstree, Rt. 1

Dear Santa Claus–

I thought I would write you and tell you what I want you to bring me. I am a little boy four years old, and I want you to bring me a little pony and buggy, also a saddle and bridle. Don't forget to bring me lots of fruit and candy. I won't ask for much as times are hard.

Your friend,

James Guess

Lane

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Dear Santa Clause (sic)–

I am a little girl going to school and am seven years old. I want a beauty pin, a story book, a doll stove, and some fruit, and some fireworks.

From your little friend,

Virginia Gowdy

Cades

Dear Santa–

A Merry Christmas to you. I am a little boy eight years old. I want you to please remember me with a little automobile, a horse and wagon, some candy, fruit, nuts and also some fireworks.

Your little friend,

Elwin Haselden

Andrews

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Dear Old Santa–

Please bring me a horn, a drum, an automobile, some candy, a toy Christmas tree, and a toy Christmas house. I know these are hard times, so if you can, bring me all these. Bring something nice to my new little sister. I will be sleeping when you come. I try to be good but am bad sometimes.

With lots of love,

Claude McCabe

Kingstree

Dear Santa Claus–

I am a little girl five years old, and I want you to bring me a hobby horse, airplane, duck and all kinds of fireworks for Christmas.

Your little niece,

Edith Camlin

Trio

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Dear Old Santa–

Christmas is almost here, so I am going to write you and tell you what I want. I want oranges, apples, raisins, and, Santa, please bring me anything else you would like me to have. I won't ask for much this Christmas as money is scarce, and you have so many children to give presents to. Santa, I am 11 years old. Please don't forget me.

Your friend,

Juanita Duke

Kingstree

Dear Old Santa–

Will write you a short letter to tell you what I want you to bring me. Some fireworks and a rifle. That is all I will ask of you this time.

Your little friend,

Edward McCants

Andrews

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My Dear Old Santa–

I thought I had better write and let you know who I am and where I am. I am at Hemingway, have been adopted in this home since last Christmas. Please bring me a mouth organ, a pistol, some fruit, some candy and nuts. Now, dear Santa, please don't make a mistake in finding me in the home of Brooks Altman, the only little boy here.

Joe Altman

Hemingway

When Cars Came to Kingstree

Some time ago, I got a question about early car dealers in Kingstree. It's taken awhile, but I've now managed to pull together information and stories from the first 10 years of cars in Kingstree.

This vintage postcard shows an REO in the intersection of Mill and Academy 

streets in Kingstree. Kingstree did not have an REO dealer. The nearest one

was in Lake City.

Ford first began mass-producing automobiles in 1908. It took almost two years for a few Kingstree residents to become car owners, but once cars began appearing on our streets, the new mode of transportation caught on quickly.  In January 1910, Dr. E.T. Kelley and attorney J.D. Gilland were the first Kingstree residents to buy cars. Both bought Buicks, which The County Record noted were "quite speedy."

By April 1910, cars on the streets of Kingstree were not uncommon. Dr. C.D. Jacobs had a Buick roadster to use in his medical practice. J.H. Scott won a Buick touring car raffled off at the Elk's Lodge in Charleston. Visitors were also coming to town now in automobiles rather than solely on the train. In April, J.H. Cunningham visited from Sumter and O.H. Camlin from Bloomingvale, both arriving in their motor vehicles.

By May, the Rev. W.E. Hurt and Dr. W.G. Gamble had joined the parade of car owners. Dr. Gamble, like those before him, bought a Buick, but the Rev. Mr. Hurt was driving a Maxwell runabout.

In September 1910, there were 32 autos in Williamsburg County, compared to only four in 1909.

In early 1911, F.W Fairey bought an Oakland that was considered one of the prettiest cars anywhere around. W.H. Carr was driving a Brush roundabout, and W.J. Wilkins was "dashing about in a Ford."

A 1911 Oakland.

By September 1911, there were 50 cars in Williamsburg County. However, most of those who owned cars were buying them from dealers in Sumter.

In late 1913, the Hamer-Thompson Company of Salters, Overland Auto dealers, opened a garage at the Central Warehouse on the corner of Hampton Avenue and Mill Street, where they exhibited "sample" cars. They would also demonstrate the cars for prospective buyers. The next year, a large building was constructed on the Kennedy lot, across Mill Street from the Central Warehouse. Hamer-Thompson used the building as a showroom and garage.

An advertisement for the Hamer-Thompson Overland business in Kingstree.

One local car owner had a most interesting adventure. One evening in July 1914, Dr. E.T. Kelley was attending a "smoker" at the Kellahan Hotel when he received a call from Andrews that one of his patients needed his assistance as soon as he could get there. Dr. Kelley, by then the owner of 2,200-pound Hupmobile, left Kingstree around midnight. Crossing the swamp about 19 miles from Kingstree, he saw what he thought was a big log lying across the road in front of him. However, as he approached it, he realized that instead of a log, it was a monster alligator stretched all the way across the road. The County Record noted, "He got out of his car and procuring a fence rail, attempted to urge the reptile out of the road by administering several heavy blows. This did not seem to disturb the old fellow's rest, so the doctor got back into his car, and driving ahead full speed, ran his car upon the monster. Then with the front wheels of the car on his back, the old 'gator began to rear and squirm and bellow, rocking the car about as if it were a light buggy. The car finally got over, but one of the tires was badly torn."

Dr. Kelley reportedly decided to run over the alligator after he became afraid to hit it again with the fence rail because of the vigor of the alligator's "swishing tail." He said he would have driven around it, but the monster was so long there was no room to get by on either side. After he drove over it, he said it moved on across the road and into the swamp. Presumably, Dr. Kelley repaired his tire and went on to his house call in Andrews.

A 1914 Hupmobile.

By early 1915, there were three car dealers located in Kingstree. Hamer-Thompson was still located on Hampton Avenue, where L.T. Thompson was billed as one of the best auto mechanics in the South. Thomas McCutchen was selling Fords, although the factory was not able to keep up with the demand. D.C. Scott, Jr, had just become a Maxwell dealer. Maxwell was an early carmaker, but only a few people in Kingstree had considered buying one. E.C. Burgess was an early Kingstree owner of a Maxwell. Jeweler T.E. Baggett bought himself a Maxwell as a New Year's gift to begin 1916.

An advertisement for D.C. Scott, Jr.'s Maxwell dealership.

Thomas McCutchen, along with other Ford dealers, had trouble throughout 1915 in getting cars from the factory. Therefore, McCutchen accepted the agency for the famous Dodge Brothers Car in November 1915. In early January 1916, a rail carload of Fords arrived in Kingstree. All were sold by the end of the month. A Ford touring car cost $440, with a new Ford runabout costing $390.

Harold Steele, 12, may have been the first person injured by a motor vehicle on the streets of Kingstree.  He was struck late one January afternoon on Main Street in front of his home. His father, J.B. Steele, had ordered a load of coal, but the loaded down wagon was too heavy for the horses to pull it up the embankment to the house. Harold was on the street at one of the rear wagon wheels when W.H. Carr, returning from a trip to the country, hit him, crushing him between Carr's auto and the wagon. It was dark and stormy, and although Carr's oil running lights were working, he was unable to see Harold until too late. Drs. E.T. Kelley and T.S. Hemingway stabilized him before moving him to McLeod's Infirmary in Florence, where he underwent abdominal surgery for a punctured intestine. In those pre-antibiotic days, it was doubtful he would survive, but doctors soon declared him out of danger, and he returned home by mid-February. Harold Steele, after obtaining a degree in engineering from Clemson, worked for an oil company in South America for a few years before returning to South Carolina to pursue a degree in medicine. After graduating from medical school, he practiced in St. Louis, MO, until his death in  February 1948. Dr. Steele is buried in Williamsburg Cemetery.

For those of you who may think "Drive-In Church" was invented out of necessity because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kingstree saw something like it in April 1916. Evangelist Baxter McLendon, known as "Cyclone Mac," held a three-week revival in Kingstree, renting the Central Warehouse on Hampton Avenue. He held three services on Sunday and two each week day. Between 1500 and 2000 attended the first Sunday service, and the closing convocation was attended by what The County Record called, "the largest crowd that has ever been brought together in Kingstree." Hundreds were unable to get into the building and sat outside in their buggies, wagons and automobiles, listening through the open doors and windows.

Also in 1915, attorney LeRoy Lee bought a six-cylinder Anderson automobile, built in Rock Hill, SC. This was the first of its kind in Kingstree.

One of the Anderson vehicles manufactured in Rock Hill.

M.F. Heller, who had long run a livery stable on Academy Street, saw that times were changing and began selling Saxon automobiles along with wagons and buggies. A five-passenger, six-cylinder touring car cost $870, as did a six cylinder roadster.  A four-cylinder roadster with electric lights and starter was $475. Mayor W.R. Scott and surveyor P.G. Gourdin were the first residents to own Saxons.

M.F. Heller advertisement for Saxon Automobiles.

By summer 1916, two new car dealers had opened in Kingstree, bringing the total to six. F.W. Fairey was selling Hudsons, buying a Super-6 seven passenger Hudson for himself, which The County Record noted, could go 55 miles-per-hour "without the least jar or jolt." The Rev. D.A.  Phillips was the local agent for the Grant-Six auto and was driving one himself as advertising. Clarence Alsbrook became the local sales agent for the Motor Sales Company of Sumter, which sold Paige automobiles.

A 1916 Hudson Super-6.

A Grant-Six automobile.

On the evening of January 20, 1917, Henry Ford himself and a group of friends passed through Kingstree in a private railcar attached to train #89 on their way to Charleston.

In early 1920, J.W. Lewis opened a Studebaker dealership in Kingstree. J.V. Jeffords managed the Kingstree operation, which had its showroom in the Kellahan Hotel. Lewis also owned the Studebaker dealership in Lake City.

D.J. Epps & Son's ad for their new Buick dealership.

Also in early 1920, D.J. Epps opened a garage and auto repair shop on Hampton Avenue. He, later that year, became the Buick dealer in Kingstree.

He Shot the Sheriff

Frenchy's murder was not the only blockbuster news story from Williamsburg County to make front page headlines in newspapers across the country during the latter half of November, 1926. Exactly one week before Frenchy's head was found on the bottom of Black River, Williamsburg County Sheriff Henry S. Gamble was shot in the face as he tried to arrest a suspect for attempted train derailments between Cades and Lake City.

Sheriff Henry Sims Gamble.

Between 9 p.m. Thursday, November 19, and 5:30 a.m. Friday, November 20, in an area 3.5 to 4 miles north of Cades, someone attempted at least three times to derail trains by placing cross-ties on the tracks. In each case, the engineer saw the obstruction in time to stop the train safely for his crew to clear the tracks. The Atlantic Coast Line police force was notified, and Capt. J.A Dorsey led an investigation  which concluded early Friday morning that Harold Wheeler, 31, was a prime suspect in the attempted derailments.

Capt. Dorsey came to Kingstree, swore out a warrant for Wheeler's arrest, and Sheriff Henry Gamble and Chief Deputy Henry Wheeler, no known relation to Harold Wheeler, went to the home of Harold's parents, Joseph and Rosa Wheeler, located approximately three miles north of Cades on the Florence-Charleston Highway (now known as US52). The railroad track ran through a field directly behind the Wheeler's house.

Harold Wheeler was no stranger to law enforcement in Williamsburg and Florence counties. He had been a troubled youth, arrested multiple time for petty thefts. After each arrest, news reports noted, he would disappear into the swamps near the Wheeler home for several weeks. He had spent time at least twice in the South Carolina State Hospital in Columbia. One news report said he had been admitted in June 1925 and was released in June 1926. Another reported that he had escaped in June 1926, but because hospital officials didn't consider him dangerous and because he was in the custody of his parents, they didn't require his return to the hospital. Probate records available on Ancestry.com show that Joseph Wheeler signed committal papers for his son as early as 1910, which would make Harold 15 years old at the time of his first stay at the State Hospital.

Sheriff Gamble and Deputy Wheeler arrived at the Wheeler home around 9 a.m. Friday, November 19. That is undisputed. What transpired next is complicated as at least three different versions were reported in newspaper across the state. The Charleston Evening Post's story related that Joseph Wheeler met the officers in the yard. Gamble explained that he had an arrest warrant for his son. This report noted that a shot was fired from the house, striking Sheriff Gamble in the side of the face. A second shot followed but went astray, although, the paper stated, Deputy Sheriff Wheeler was hit in the face by one of the gun waddings. Deputy Wheeler fired in the direction from which the shots had come. He then heard the sound of someone running and dashed around the house to see Harold Wheeler crossing the railroad tracks behind the house.

The Associated Press story has Gamble and Wheeler approaching the house from the rear and talking to both of Harold Wheeler's parents on the back porch. This report says Gamble walked into the house and knocked on Harold Wheeler's bedroom door. When he was told to come in, Gamble pushed open the door. Wheeler fired at close range, hitting Gamble on the side of the face, crushing both his upper and lower jaw. Harold Wheeler then dashed from the house, taking a shot at Henry Wheeler as he passed. He missed, and Henry Wheeler returned fire, also missing his target. The Associated Press correspondent, unable to get interviews with law enforcement, relied largely on talking to neighbors and passersby who had gathered near the scene. The AP report relayed that by early afternoon Harold Wheeler had returned home and barricaded himself in the house, holding his mother hostage. None of the story relating to the hostage situation proved to be true, and the Associated Press retracted the story the same day, although it had already gone out on the wire, and newspapers across the country played up the "hostage" situation on front pages from New York to California.

Sunday's News & Courier story began, "Harold Wheeler, potential man-killer, has gone back to his lair in the swamps, leaving behind a trail too cold for bloodhounds to follow and too twisted for the merged police forces of two counties to disentangle without passing days sleuthing in a no man's land through which ball-bearing loaded shotgun shells threaten to rake."

This article has Sheriff Gamble and Deputy Wheeler finding only Rosa Wheeler at home, although they suspected Harold was hiding in the house. Henry Wheeler was questioning her when Sheriff Gamble brushed past them, opened the door and yelled, "Wheeler!" Rosa Wheeler warned him not to go inside, but the sheriff ignored her. As Gamble stepped into the house, a gunshot was fired from inside. Gamble fell against Henry Wheeler, and Harold Wheeler then trained his gun on the deputy sheriff. However, as Harold Wheeler was running for the door at the time he fired his second shot, he missed Deputy Wheeler. Henry Wheeler reportedly told the News & Courier that the room was so full of smoke from the gun blasts that he barely saw Harold as he ran by him. 

Henry Wheeler told the News & Courier that he did not follow Harold, instead turning his attention to the wounded sheriff. He reportedly dragged Sheriff Gamble from the house, through the field to the railroad track where he found a handcart and attendant. They placed the sheriff aboard and pushed the handcart down the tracks all the way to Kingstree. Gamble's pulse was barely detectable on arrival at the hospital. Wheeler then formed a possé and returned to the Joseph Wheeler home. Former deputy sheriff Haselden had rushed bloodhounds to the scene. J.H. Epps, the owner of a meat market in Kingstree, an experienced tracker, and a close friend of Sheriff Gamble's, also arrived to help "scent" the dogs.

Reports of Sheriff Gamble's condition also varied. Early reports said his tongue had been almost severed from his mouth. That was later discounted, as the hospital released a statement that the Sheriff could recover if meningitis and sepsis were avoided. He was conscious, the report said, but had lost a considerable amount of blood. A second report noted that x-rays showed extensive fractures of both upper and lower jaws. Three steel bearings were lodged against the back of his skull and doctors were waiting for him to regain strength before attempting to remove them. The medical report said the entire wadding in the load fired was found embedded in the sheriff's face. If he recovered, the medical report warned, he would be disfigured.

Meanwhile, an 18-year-old black youth was being held as an eyewitness to the attempted train derailments. His name was either David Simmons, David Summers or David Simons, as all three names were used in various newspapers. He told law enforcement he saw two white men, placing the cross-ties on the tracks. This prompted officers to interrogate Harold Wheeler's father, Joseph, who vehemently denied any kind of collusion with his son in that respect. It was later reported that Simmons had signed a confession that he himself had attempted to derail the trains.

Sheriff Barnes of Florence County joined forces with Deputy Sheriff Wheeler of Williamsburg in the manhunt for Harold Wheeler. Both Joseph and Rosa Wheeler were active in the search for their son, with Joseph Wheeler looking in all the hiding places he knew his son had used over the years.

The search continued the following week. Warren McCants discovered Frenchy missing on Thursday, which pulled Williamsburg County deputies from the search for Harold Wheeler. Jospeh Wheeler meanwhile was also arrested and charged with being an accessory after the fact when he allegedly admitted that he had told his son to shoot anyone attempting to arrest him in connection with the train wrecking. He was released Friday, November 26, on bond. He was held in the Florence County jail as Williamsburg County's jail was full with the 13 railroad workers held in Frenchy's murder. On his release, Wheeler reportedly thanked the Florence County jailers for their kindness and particularly for the bountiful Thanksgiving dinner.

In Kingstree, there were many rumors that Harold Wheeler had been spotted in town, and many residents were convinced that he had murdered Frenchy.

However, those rumors were dashed when word reached Kingstree on November 27 that Savannah railroad police had arrested Harold Wheeler on Monday, November 22. Wheeler was discovered in an empty refrigerator car on a freight train. When discovered, he pulled a .45-calibre revolver but was disarmed before he could fire. He refused to identify himself and Georgia officials thought he was an escaped federal prisoner from Leavenworth. However, on Saturday, Wheeler finally told them he was H.L Wheeler, "the man who shot the sheriff's head off in Williamsburg County." A call to Williamsburg County confirmed his identity, and the process was put in motion to extradite him to South Carolina.

Wheeler had been charged in Georgia with illegally being on a train and with carrying a concealed weapon. He had already begun serving the 90-sentence for those charges on the chain gang in Savannah. He apparently served 30 days of that sentence before Williamsburg County authorities were able to bring him back to South Carolina.

In March 1927, Wheeler's attorney, J.D. Gilland, a Kingstree native then practicing law in Florence, convinced a judge to move the trials for both Wheelers to Clarendon County. Harold Wheeler had been charged with assault with intent to kill and with interfering with an officer in the discharge of his duties.

In entering a guilty plea for attempting to wreck trains, David Simmons testified that he was forced to place the cross-ties on the railroad tracks as Harold Wheeler held a gun on him. Williamsburg Magistrate J.B. Gamble interrupted him, noting that in his original confession, he stated that he acted alone. Judge J.J. Mann accepted Simmon's guilty plea but reserved sentencing for a later date.

At the March term of court in Clarendon County, both Wheelers were committed to the State Hospital for 30 days of observation. Harold Wheeler was declared sane after that period and was transferred to the State Penitentiary, where he was later released on a $3,000 bond.

In November 1927, he was arrested in Charleston by the Atlantic Coast Line Police for "beating a ride" on a train. While he was being fingerprinted, the Charleston Police officer recognized the name and seeing that Wheeler had given Tampa, FL, as his address, asked him if he had shot Sheriff Gamble. Wheeler said yes and that he had done his time. When asked for how long, he replied, "Thirty days." Thinking this odd, the officer reported the conversation to the Charleston sheriff, who called Sheriff Gamble, who by then was again on the job. Gamble asked that Wheeler be held as Williamsburg County had a warrant for his arrest for breaking into the home of S.O. Bird and stealing two shotguns and a pistol. Wheeler was taken to Union Station in Charleston where he was handed off to Williamsburg County between trains. This was the first time Gamble and Wheeler had seen each other since the shooting. Gamble reportedly said, "Hello, Harold. You shot me, but that's all right. I'll shake hands with you."

Gamble told reporters at that time that he expected Wheeler to go to trial in February 1928. I've found no news reports of a trial in 1928. On June 5, 1928, Gamble resigned as sheriff after he was unable to furnish the bond required for sheriffs. Later in the month, a federal district judge ruled in favor of Williamsburg County in a suit against Gamble for $40,023.32, and US Fidelity and Guaranty Company was ordered to pay the county $20,000. Gamble blamed the shortages in his office on funds lost in banks that had failed. Governor John G. Richards appointed Chief Deputy Henry Wheeler to serve out Gamble's unexpired term.

Gamble died in a Columbia hospital in 1929 at age 44. Harold Wheeler was 70 years of age at his death in 1965.