This project was a simple intervention into the space that was once city hall and where John Metcalf was taken from his cell and eventually lynched. The pamphlet aimed to inform frequent users of the space of a history that is no longer present. The pamphlet briefly outlined the incident that occurred in the space, and provided the address to this site as well as an e-mail address so readers were able to inquire further if interested. The pamphlet reads as follows:
"On July 25, 1903 John Metcalf, a black man, allegedly shot and killed Henry Gatterman, a white man, outside of a saloon after the two men got into a scuffle. Metcalf was quickly taken into custody by the law enforcement and transported to a cell at City Hall, which in 1903, stood in this exact location. Word quickly spread through the town, and soon after a mob was formed. The mob, estimated at a couple thousand, marched to city hall and with a rail used as a battering ram they demolished the door and forced their way in. The law enforcement stationed at City Hall was made up of only three men, Sheriff Hardy Whitlock and his two deputies. As the mob stormed city hall through the demolished door, the Sheriff and his deputies, after failed attempts to prevent the mobs entry, walked out. At this point Metcalf was found and beaten in his cell. He was extracted by the mob and eventually his body was dragged (and continuously beaten) to the location, several blocks from here, where the shooting had taken place earlier that evening. When the mob reached the saloon, a rope was tossed over a telephone pole and Metcalf was hanged, despite having already been killed. Metcalf’s lifeless body received several shots fired into it from the massive crowd of people. It was reported that the rope was severed due to a bullet fired from the crowd and Metcalf’s body fell to the ground. The mob continued to drag him to the county jail where the mob lit Metcalf’s body on fire."
On the rear of the pamphlet: "Platial History, Danville Race Riot, 1903"