Reelfoot Lake Analysis

The Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake In 1908 there was a controversy over Reelfoot lake, a dispute about who had rights to develop or fish in the lake. Before this, in 1899, a man by the name of James Harris announced he had bought the lake and planned to drain it, which upset the residents. These shaken residents banded together and sought out to sue Harris. The real question was if the lake was navigable or not. If so then the lake was public property and could not be drained. The Tennessee State Supreme Court ruled that the lake was too shallow to be navigable, but Harris died soon after. James Harris had a son, Judge Harris, who formed the West Tennessee Land Company in 1907, and planned to develop this land that was previously being fought over. They tried to force the farmers working off this land to pay them rent which, in turn, made them feel cheated. The judge did not allow them to fish in Reelfoot Lake, and some of the residents turned to
A woman by the name of Emma Johnson was “... dragged out of her home and whipped by men dressed as riders because she had sued her husband, a rider, for divorce.” Dave Walker, a black man from Hickman County, had insulted a white woman and pulled a gun on a white man, and he took his family to Kentucky to hide; the riders found him. Then, “When he refused to come out of his barricaded cabin, the riders set it on fire. As Walker came out, he was shot and killed. They then shot his family as they fled the flames.His wife was killed along with the baby she was holding. Walker’s 12-year-old daughter was gunned down and killed. The other three Walker children were also shot, but survived. Although there was some outcry against the Walker murders in Kentucky, no legal action was taken against the riders. However, the murder of a white man in October of 1908 did cause Tennessee officials to