TexasEscapes.com HOME Welcome to Texas Escapes
A magazine written by Texas
Custom Search
New   |   Texas Towns   |   Ghost Towns   |   Counties   |   Trips   |   Features   |   Columns   |   Architecture   |   Images   |   Archives   |   Site Map


Texas History

Counties
Texas Counties


Texas Towns
A - Z

Hotels




Columns | Bob Bowman's East Texas

George Washington’s
Execution


by Bob Bowman
Bob Bowman

When the Texas prison system plugged in its electric chair in 1924, would you believe that George Washington was one of the first four men to be executed?

Don’t laugh, it really happened.

But the George Washington who sat in “Ol' Sparky” was not our first president, but a man who lived around Scrapping Valley in Newton County.

I923, Levi Todd, who lived in the same area, made himself a new gambling table and promised George Washington he would give him the left-over lumber.

But Levi gave the wood to another man and Washington was so incensed that he shot and killed Levi as he sat playing poker with some friends seated around his new table.

And to compound his crime, George shot Levi’s terrified wife as she ran past a window in the Todd home. Mrs. Todd, fortunately, didn’t die. George wasn’t so lucky.

He shot the Todds’ dog and emptied his gun trying to kill one of the poker players, Frank Larry. But none of Washington’s bullets struck Larry, and he emptied his own shotgun at Washington, hitting him with a load of buckshot.

When the shooting subsided, Washington ran into the woods.

Sheriff Dave Humphreys rounded up a posse, but failed to find Washington.

Everyone figured that George had skipped the county, but a few days later Rich Martin was hunting along the creek’s banks and stumbled across George sound asleep in the brush.

Rich stepped firmly on Washington’s hands, and he woke up staring into the barrel of Rich’s gun. Washington was jailed at Newton and convicted of Todd’s murder back in 1923.

On February 9, 1924, at the age of 39, George had the dubious distinction of being one of the first four men to be executed by “Old Sparky.”

The source for this story was the Newton County News.



© Bob Bowman
Bob Bowman's East Texas
December 26, 2010Column.
A weekly column syndicated in 109 East Texas newspapers



More
Texas Murders & Hangings
Small Town Sagas
Texas People

 

 

 

 

 

 


Texas Escapes Online Magazine »   Archive Issues » Home »
TEXAS TOWNS & COUNTIES TEXAS LANDMARKS & IMAGES TEXAS HISTORY & CULTURE TEXAS OUTDOORS MORE
Texas Counties
Texas Towns A-Z
Texas Ghost Towns

TEXAS REGIONS:
Central Texas North
Central Texas South
Texas Gulf Coast
Texas Panhandle
Texas Hill Country
East Texas
South Texas
West Texas

Courthouses
Jails
Churches
Schoolhouses
Bridges
Theaters
Depots
Rooms with a Past
Monuments
Statues

Gas Stations
Post Offices
Museums
Water Towers
Grain Elevators
Cotton Gins
Lodges
Stores
Banks

Vintage Photos
Historic Trees
Cemeteries
Old Neon
Ghost Signs
Signs
Murals
Gargoyles
Pitted Dates
Cornerstones
Then & Now

Columns: History/Opinion
Texas History
Small Town Sagas
Black History
WWII
Texas Centennial
Ghosts
People
Animals
Food
Music
Art

Books
Cotton
Texas Railroads

Texas Trips
Texas Drives
Texas State Parks
Texas Rivers
Texas Lakes
Texas Forts
Texas Trails
Texas Maps
USA
MEXICO
HOTELS

Site Map
About Us
Privacy Statement
Disclaimer
Contributors
Staff
Contact Us

 
Website Content Copyright Texas Escapes LLC. All Rights Reserved