The Buckingham Outlaws: Part I

Only months prior to the murder of the Stewart brothers in Buckingham County, in the late summer and autumn of 1908, a gang of outlaws, in the style of Western desperados, terrorized the town of Arvonia and its environs, burning and looting. For at least three years, they had operated a “blind tiger,” in a secluded spot, across Bumpass’s Bridge, about three miles west of Arvonia. There, they sold illegal liquor mostly to Blacks in the neighborhood, though often to Whites, as well. Their business was undoubtedly booming. In 1903, Buckingham County’s “Whiskey Wars” had left the county nearly dry. By 1904, a lone saloon survived at Warren Ferry far from the thirsty men near Arvonia’s slate quarries.

The Zimmerman-Thomas Gang

On July 31, 1908, a posse captured four men responsible for a reign of terror in northeastern Buckingham County. They stood before Justice of the Peace D. Livingston Pierce and were tried in front of a large crowd of citizens – Black and White. Found guilty, they prepared to face a grand jury.*

The next day, five constables, all heavily armed, guarded their prisoners — the Zimmerman brothers, Ben and Arthur, and the Thomas brothers, Willie and Charley. According to Richmond’s The Times-Dispatch, they were “four desperate men, with hands tied with ropes and legs chained together and locked with padlock.” At dusk, a wagon containing the criminals pulled out of Arvonia and a large crowd watched the men head for the Buckingham County jail in Maysville.

They were arrested for housebreaking, though the list of charges against them, individually and collectively, went back many months. The Times-Dispatch concluded that “it was generally understood everybody was afraid to attempt to arrest them.”

Everybody? It is understandable that a single, local constable might hesitate to serve a warrant, but what about Sheriff Lewis W. Williams? Why should he and his deputies be intimidated by this gang of outlaws? Is it possible he was looking the other way for his own purposes?

Coming Next: Attack on Seven Islands

Need to catch up on the story of the murder of the Stewart brothers?

Click here: The 1909 Buckingham Murders: Part I

*The newspaper may have been in error and this J.P. was D. Livingston Jones.  See comment below.