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History of Oscarville
edit1912 Timeline of Forced Displacements of Black Residents
In 1912, there were a series of events that led to the forced displacements of Black residents in Oscarville. There were still Black people living in this area, but there were racial tensions in the area following the 1906 Atlanta race riot. Many disputes eventually led to the racial expulsion and forced displacements of African American residents.
Ellen Grice Incident
Ellen Grice was a white woman who was a resident of Forsyth County. She, among others, claimed that a Black man entered her home at night and attacked her. Her husband and other white residents went on a search for the alleged Black man who assaulted the woman. (cite the Atlanta history center). The search party captured a man named Toney Howell among four others and accused them of being the assaulters of Ellen Grice.
- what ended up happening?
Rape and Murder of Mae Crow
Another incident followed after the Ellen Grice incident. Mae Crow, a white resident of Oscarville, went missing. A couple of days later, a search party found Crow in the woods with her throat slashed, beaten and half-undressed. She was unconscious but alive. . Crow went to the hospital and was in a coma for two weeks until she passed away due to the severity of her injuries.
Due to the racial tensions following the 1906 Atlanta race massacre and the Ellen Grice incident, many would respond by alleging Black men as perpetrators. Ernest Knox was one among a group of Black men who gathered to watch what happened at the crime scene. Knox was coerced to admit to attacking Crow. One of his extended cousins, Rob Edwards, was named as an accomplice and was lynched. Then, a couple of days later, the sheriff arrested three more Black residents who were deemed as accomplices.
On the day of Mae Crow’s funeral, the “Night Riders,” who were a group of white individuals, committed group attacks in which white men on horses would go out at night and wreak havoc amongst Black communities in Oscarville and around Forsyth County. For example, they would set fires to their businesses and local churches. These attacks happened over a couple of months. Many of the residents of Oscarville ended up passing away from the attacks and many others fled the community to a relatively safer area. The rest of these residents ended up moving to Gainesville in Hall County.
References
edit- Lake. (2022). LANIER. LANIER. https://www.laniermovie.com/
- Forsyth 1912. (n.d.). Atlanta History Center. https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/learning-research/projects-initiatives/originals/forsyth-1912/
- Nast, C. (2023, August 18). This Deadly Georgia Lake Holds Secrets About US History. Teen Vogue. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lake-lanier-deaths-history-black-town