The Buckingham Whiskey Wars: Part II
Coincidentally, this advertisement for Hires Rootbeer ran under the news article.
The Votes Are In
On April 14, 1903, buried on page four, The Times-Dispatch ran the following:
Drys Win in Buckingham.
Mount Vinco, VA, April 12 – There was an election on last Saturday in the Courthouse District between the wets and the drys. One hundred and seventy votes were cast, and the drys won by a vote of two to one. Every registered voter in the district answered to his name except ten. Before the present suffrage law was adopted the usual number of votes was over 300.
This lower turnout was primarily due to the new requirements for voting which made it difficult for Blacks and working class Whites to register to vote. The doctors, lawyers, and ministers in the Maysville district would have had much less trouble providing the new poll tax of $1.50 and meeting the literacy requirements.
For more about Virginia’s suffrage law in 1903: “Virginia Constitutional Convention (1901–1902),” Encyclopedia Virginia.
Despite the low turnout, this was a decisive vote, to be sure.
Marshall District was up next in the fight to close saloons in Buckingham County.
Coming Next: Marshall District: Wet or Dry?
Need to catch up? Click here: The Whiskey Wars, Part I
slate river ramblings . . . . 
Leave a Reply