Hillsville Remembered

Public Memory, Historical Silence, and Appalachia's Most Notorious Shoot-Out

Travis A. Rountree

• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9780813197227
• eBook ISBN:
  9780813197241
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

On March 14, 1912, Hillsville, Virginia, native Floyd Allen (1856–1913) was convicted of three criminal charges: assault, maiming, and the rescue of prisoners in custody. What had begun as a scuffle between Allen's nephews over a young woman ended with him being charged as the guilty party after he allegedly hit a deputy in the head with a pistol. When the jury returned with the verdict, Allen stood up and announced, "Gentleman, I ain't a-goin." A gunfight ensued in the crowded courtroom that killed five people and wounded seven others. The state of Virginia put Floyd and Claude Allen to death by electrocution the following spring. More than a century later, the event continues to impact the citizens and communities of the area as local newspapers recirculate the sordid story and give credence to annual public reenactments that continue to negatively impact the national perception of the region.

In this first book-length scholarly review of the Hillsville shoot-out, author Travis A. Rountree examines various media written about and inspired by the event and explains how the incident reinforced the nation's conception of Appalachia through depictions of this sensational moment in history. In all, this book provides an extensive analysis of this historic conflict and reveals a new understanding of the shaping of memories and stories from the event.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. “The Many Untruths”: Newspaper Representations of the 1912 Hillsville, Virginia, Courthouse Shoot-Out
• 2. Performing Hillsville, Part One: Rhetorical Discourse on the Allen Ballads
• 3. Performing Hillsville, Part Two: Rhetorical Uptake of Frank Levering’s Shoot-Out Plays
• 4. “Feelings Are Still Very Strong”: Sites of Public Memory in Hillsville, Virginia
• 5. “I Wish You Had Not Thought to Come Here”: Feminine Silences, Pleas, and Community Rhetorics from the 1912 Hillsville, Virginia, Courthouse Shoot-Out
• Conclusion: Hillsville Remembered
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index