The City's Only Hanging

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Note: Photo enhance by Aaron-Michael Fox
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In 1892, more than 5,000 people turned out to witness what
 would prove to be Huntington’s only public hanging.

Photo courtesy ‘Doors to the Past’

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On Nov. 21, 1892, a wooded spot along Fourpole Creek —
 the future site of Ritter Park — saw Huntington’s only
 public execution when 26-year old Allan Harrison
was hanged for the murder of
a 16-year-old Ona girl.

 Harrison fled after he shot and killed the girl but was quickly
apprehended and taken to the Cabell County Jail. Later he
 was tried, convicted and sentenced to be hanged. His case
then was appealed to the West Virginia Supreme
 Court of Appeals, which confirmed both
 the verdict and the death sentence.

In an article on the 1892 execution on his “Doors to The Past”
website, Barry Huffstutler quotes the Huntington
Advertiser as describing Harrison as “deeply
 remorseful and even said he believed he
 deserved to die for his crime.

However, as Huffstutler notes, a reporter for the
 Cincinnati Enquirer painted a very different picture,
“reporting that Harrison was a stone-cold,
unremorseful killer and quoting him
 as saying he would kill his young
victim again if he had
 the chance.”

The city was buzzing the night before the hanging.
Special trains brought people to witness the event.
Every hotel in the young town was booked up.
An estimated crowd of 5,000 people flocked
 to see the first public execution in the
 young town. In some cases, people
 even perched in nearby trees
 to get a better view.

As it turned out, the 1892 hanging proved
 to be the only public execution ever
 conducted in Huntington.

Public hangings weren’t unusual in West Virginia’s
 early years. On Dec. 16, 1897, John F. Morgan was
 hanged in Ripley for the murder of a mother
 and two of her sons. It would prove to be
the last public execution in
 West Virginia history.

Thousands of spectators poured into the Jackson County
 seat. Many were drunk, and some even peddled souvenirs.
The rowdy scene prompted West Virginia lawmakers
to take action. A little more than a year later, Gov.
 George W. Atkinson signed a law that banned
public executions, making West Virginia
 one of the first states to do so.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on July 23, 2024.

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