Lynching of James T. Scott Historical Marker

Dedicated in 2016, this historical marker at a ttrailhead of the MKT trail recognizes a tragic event that occurred at a bridge that was located nearby. On the early morning of April 29, 1923, a white mob broke into a local jail, seized James T. Scott, African American janitor at the University of Missouri, and lynched him on a nearby bridge. Scott had been held in jail awaiting trial after a fourteen-year-old girl had reported an attack nine days earlier and witnessed placed Scott in the vicinity. Scott was active in organizing events for the African American community including the local Emancipation Day celebration. Over a thousand people gathered at the jail demanding that Scott be executed without a trial, and a number of university students participated in the incident. The lynching, which was the last to occur in Columbia, generated nationwide coverage and condemnation. No one in the mob was convicted of the murder.

James Scott was born in New Mexico in 1887. In his 20s he moved to Chicago, got married and had a daughter, Anna. He served in World War I in the all-Black 8th Regiment of Illinois National Guard and then in 1920, moved to Columbia where his parents lived. By then his first wife had apparently died. Scott remarried again and had two additional children, Carl and Helen. He divorced his second wife in 1921 and gained custody of Carl and Helen. Scott married his third wife, a teacher named Gertrude, that year as well.

Working at the university full time significantly improved Scott's standard of living and gave him a level of prestige and respect in the local African American community. His salary of $65 per month was significantly more money than most other Black men and even some white men. He bought a Hupmobile for $600, making him one of the few in town to own a car. Scott was also active in the community. In 1922, he helped organize the city's Emancipation Day celebration, which included a parade, baseball game, speeches and fireworks.

According to Regina Almstedt's account of the attempted assault, on April 20 around 3:30 p.m. she was walking home from school towards Stewart Road and the bridge that once crossed over what is now the MKT trail (MKT stands for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad). She encountered a Black man who said he found a baby down in the ravine close to the railroad tracks. She went down but didn't see the baby. The man had followed her and once Regina realized this she sensed she was in danger and tried to run up the other side of the ravine. He grabbed her but she fought back, hitting him with the umbrella she was carrying. The man eventually gave up and left. Regina was badly injured with bruises and cuts to her face and body but she made it home and told her parents what happened (her father, Hermann, was a professor at the university). They reported the incident to the police who immediately began searching for the man.

In the coming days two witnesses said they saw Scott walking in the area on the day of the attack and his coworkers reported seeing him at the university at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. but not in between. Scott apparently walked home to change clothes during that time. He was taken into custody and Regina identified him as the attacker. On the night of April 28, around 10 p.m., a group of men approached the jail and asked the sheriff to give Scott to them. The sheriff refused but an hour later, they returned, along with around a thousand people who had gathered by this time. The mob entered the jail, broke the jail cell door, and grabbed Scott and put a noose around his neck. By then it was around 12:30 a.m. The sheriff and police did nothing to stop what was happening nor was there a call to the National Guard. The mob brought Scott to the bridge where a crowd of around 2,000 had gathered.

A local young reporter, Charles Nutter, and Hermann Almstedt had arrived on the scene and both pleaded with the mob to stop. Scott, who was badly beaten bruised, pleaded his innocence as well. The mob ignored him and one of the men pushed him off the bridge. Scott died instantly. Some members of the mob were arrested for the murder, including former city councilman George Blackwell, who Nutter claimed put another, larger noose around Scott's neck and pushed him off the bridge. The jury acquitted Blackwell in eleven minutes and no one else was tried. However, most people in town apparently assumed he was responsible and he did not make an effort to refute those beliefs.

Scott was buried in Columbia Cemetery and his grave was marked by a small gravestone placed there in 1994. A large headstone replaced it 2011. Gertrude was never the same after the lynching. She quit teaching and moved into her parent's house where she remained for the rest of her life. Her grave is located in Cavalry Cemetery. She and Scott did not have children. The historical marker was commemorated on April 29, 2021, the 98th anniversary of the lynching.

Howe, Barton Grover. "Legacy of a Lynching: Columbia remembers racial injustice." Columbia Missourian. May 3-8, 2003. https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/columbiamissourian.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/01/d011a4fa-8963-11e5-824c-ef3e5ef91961/5644cf1cd5927.pdf.pdf.

"Lest We Forget: Lynching at the Steward Road Bridge." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed April 19, 2022. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=169415.

"Lynching of James T. Scott, 1923." CoMo Historic Places. Accessed April 18, 2022. https://comohistoricplaces.com/Black-history/lynching-of-james-scott-1923.

Newsome, Langston. "Columbia leaders remember James T. Scott, victim of the last recorded lynching in Boone County." Columbia Daily Tribune. April 30, 2021. https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/2021/04/30/james-t-scott-lynching-death-columbia-remembers-victim-boone-county-white-supremacy/4871336001.

Orosemane, Laura. "James T. Scott's lynching coverage reveals fracture." Columbia Missourian. May 1, 2011. https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/james-t-scotts-lynching-coverage-reveals-fracture/article_a5f60847-1f39-50b3-9bcc-5302326ef690.html.