In November 1901, a Black man named John Laddison was lynched near the Rock Mill community of Anderson County. His death was reported in local newspapers through the racialized lens common to that era—stories that relied heavily on white witnesses, sensational details, and assumptions about guilt, while omitting basic facts about Laddison’s life, rights, or perspective.
According to the Anderson Intelligencer, Laddison was accused of shooting a young white woman, Mrs. Perry Craft, after stopping at her home. A large, armed posse formed within hours. Bloodhounds were brought in, neighbors searched overnight, and by Sunday a crowd estimated at nearly two hundred people had gathered. Laddison was captured, brought back to the Craft home, and—after being identified—was taken by the mob and lynched near Gray’s Gin House. His body remained on public display until the next day.
No court was convened.
No evidence was reviewed.
No defense or legal process was allowed.
A coroner’s jury later ruled, as was common practice, that Laddison died “at the hands of parties unknown,” despite many participants being publicly named in the newspaper.
Laddison was described as an ex-convict who had recently worked on farms near the Savannah River, including at the Cooley plantation convict camp—one of the forced-labor systems that often criminalized Black men for minor or fabricated offenses. His life, family, and full story were never recorded.
Mrs. Craft survived her injury, though early reports feared the wound might be fatal.
Today, through renewed historical research and community remembrance efforts, we recognize that John Laddison’s lynching was not justice, but an act of racial terror intended to reinforce white control during the Jim Crow era. Remembering his story challenges us to confront the ways violence, rumor, and racialized fear shaped our county’s past—and to honor the humanity of a man denied the right to defend himself in a court of law.
His name is remembered here as part of our collective work toward truth, acknowledgment, and reconciliation.
Anderson University’s COM 451 Documentary Storytelling Team:
Brianna Talton: Producer, Editor, Writer
Kylie Hurst: Film Crew
Christina McEwen: Producer, Writer
Drew Cagle: Writer
Jerrod Woods: Film Crew
Joe Hunter Bolen: Editor
Condy Richardson: Writer
Cole Hallmark: Film Crew
Special Thanks:
Anderson Area Remembrance and Reconciliation Initiative (AAR&RI)
Equal Justice Initiative
Mr. Terence Hassan
Dr. Stuart Sprague
Dr. Otis Pickett
Anderson University
Anderson County Museum
This documentary was a product of Anderson University’s COM 451 Class: Documentary Storytelling. This project was created in the Fall 2025.
Bobby Rettew, MA / COM 451 Instructor
Assistant Professor
Anderson University
Department of Communications