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Walker County and Reconstruction

by Robin Montgomery
 
By 1870, sixty percent of Walker County citizens were African-Americans. As in other counties of old Washington Municipality at the time, racial tensions ran high. A case in point in Walker County in seen in repercussions of the death of Sam Jenkins in 1870. In January 1871, Captain Lander H. McNelly of the State Police began an investigation into Jenkins’s alleged murder, arresting four suspects. Three of the men were
convicted.

In the court room, at the three’s sentencing, high drama occurred.  Before the judge could pronounce sentence on them, sympathizers armed the prisoners right there in the courtroom resulting in a shooting spree. Captain McNelly and another lawman were wounded. With the aid of numerous townspeople, the convicted trio managed to escape.

In response to this event at Huntsville, the Republican Texas Governor, Edmund J. Davis, declared martial law in Walker County, giving it the distinction of being one of three counties so designated. The governor also ordered into the area a militia. The county would remain under martial law for sixty days.

During the remainder of the 19th century, politics in Walker County were volatile, with power swinging between the republicans and democrats. During eras of republican ascendancy several prominent African-Americans received election to political office. One of these was C.W. Luckie who obtained a position on the school board. Elected to the position of county commissioner were Joshua Houston, former slave of Sam and
Margaret Houston, and Memphis Allen and Joseph W. Mettawer. The latter ,  incidentally, was a barber and banjo player. In 1868 Mettawer organized the first band in Walker County, referred to at the time as a “Negro Brass Band.”

Thank you.


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