Chief Askew's Diary: May 21, 1930

Witnesses are gathered for a change-of-venue trial; Ladies Hospital Committee reports

Sheriff R.L. Banks and a deputy had gone to LaGrange, Georgia today “gathering witnesses in the Negro case that was transferred up here from Lagrange [stet] on change of venue and will be tried here on the 29th of May,” Chief Askew wrote in his diary.

According to the May 16 editon of the Newnan Herald, this was the case of Leonard Philpot, who had been charged with “criminal assault on two white women of LaGrange” a few weeks before. Because of the “state of feeling” in LaGrange — and probably because of the ever-present threat of lynching when a Black defendant was charged with assault on a white woman — the case had been transferred to a special session of superior court in Coweta County. I’ll share the story of how this turned out on May 29th.

Paid subscribers can read on about the activities of the Ladies Hospital Committee of Coweta County, including a “shower” given for the Newnan hospital.

The 1930 postcard of the Newnan Hospital is offered by a dealer on eBay. Today, the hospital is the centerpiece of the Newnan campus of the University of West Georgia.