The Lynching of Preston Porter, Jr. Historical Marker

Dedicated in 2020 by the Equal Justice Initiative & Colorado Lynching Memorial Project, this marker shares the tragic history of a lynching that occurred here 120 years prior. On November 16, 1900, a white mob seized Preston Porter Jr., a 15-year-old African-American boy, near the town of Limon in Lincoln County. Unwilling to hold a trial for a crime the mob convinced themselves that Porter had committed, they tied the boy to a railroad stake and then burned him alive. The lynching followed shortly after the murder of Louise Frost, a 12-year-old white girl who was killed in Limon on November 8. Porter Jr., his father, and brother were all employed by the Union Pacific Railroad and worked near the town at the time, but there was no formal investigation. Instead, suspicion alone led police to arrest Preston Porter Jr. in Denver on November 11. The police then tortured Porter Jr. by putting him in a sweatbox until he "confessed" to the murder, which he did on November 14. Porter Jr. was then sent on a train back to Lincoln County. Not willing to allow the legal process to continue any further, a mob of white people assembled at Limon, forced the train to stop, boarded the train, and seized the fifteen-year-old boy before torturing him and then burning him alive. No one was charged for the murder of Preston Porter.

Railroad construction foreman, John Limon, established Limon in 1888. It developed into a minor railroad hub and attracted workers seeking jobs like the Porters, who lived permanently in Lawrence, Kansas. They belonged to a railroad maintenance crew that was working a couple of miles east of Limon. On November 8, Louise Frost left her family's ranch on a horse and buggy to pick up mail at the post office which was only three miles away. The horse rode back to the ranch but the buggy was empty. Her father, R. W. Frost, formed a search party to look for Louise. They found her alive in a ravine but mortally wounded with multiple stab wounds. She died at the ranch.

The police questioned several possible suspects but became suspicious of the Porters because they left for Denver after the murder (they went to Denver intending to cash a check). Lincoln County Sheriff John Freeman interrogated them and was convinced Porter Jr. committed the murder. According to him, Porter Jr.'s boot tracks matched footprints at the scene of the crime, and he claimed Porter Jr. had difficulty answering questions. However, Porter Jr. said he had not worn the boots in several weeks and did not have any injuries indicative of a physical altercation. Another piece of evidence for Porter's defense was that he had been found mentally incompetent in Lawrence (he injured his head when he was a child). Denver police were initially skeptical of the accusations against Porter and initially did not allow the boy to be sent back to Lincoln County. However, after the forced confession, they handed Porter Jr. to Freeman. During the interrogation that led to the forced confession, the police threatened Porter Jr. that if he did not confess his father and brother would probably be lynched. A mob of around 200-400 people witnessed the lynching. Porter Sr. and the brother were released a week later.

News of the lynching spread around the country and even to London. Local and national press and many Colorado residents condemned the lynching and its barbaric nature. Others believed Porter Jr. was guilty and should have been hung after a trial and saw the mob action as uncivilized. Some blamed the lack of the death penalty in Colorado, and calls for one to become law grew after the lynching. Governor Charles Thomas, who was a Confederate veteran, was criticized for not intervening even though he knew that there were plans to form a mob and lynch Porter Jr.

The lynching faded from memory in Colorado until the 2010s when the Equal Justice Initiative began investigating lynchings across the United States. In 2018, some members of the Colorado Lynching Memorial Project went to the site of the lynching and held a soil-gathering ceremony. The soil was sent to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

Alejo, Anna & Adams, Justin. "Colorado racial terror lynching victim Preston Porter Jr. remembered after 122 years." CBS Colorado. https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-racial-terror-lynching-victim-preston-porter-jr-remembered.

"The Lynching of Preston Porter, Jr." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=176150.

"Preston "John" Porter Jr.'s Story." Colorado Lynching Memorial. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.coloradolynchingmemorial.org/preston-porter-jr.

"Preston Porter, Jr." Colorado Encyclopedia. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/preston-porter-jr.