Scott Taylor

In the small mining community of Acton, Alabama, a routine interaction on May 25, 1910, tragically turned fatal for Special Deputy Sheriff Scott Taylor. The 48-year-old male lawman, accompanied by another deputy, had gone to the home of an Alabama Fuel and Iron Company employee near the Acton No. 2 mine. Their purpose was to simply inform the man that his foreman required him at work.

What began as a straightforward duty escalated quickly when the employee became confrontational. The situation intensified when the man slammed the door of his home, trapping Deputy Taylor inside while the other deputy remained outside. Moments later, the sound of a shotgun blast echoed from within the house. Deputy Taylor had been fatally shot.

The suspect fled his home immediately after the shooting, prompting a swift and determined pursuit. His freedom was short-lived, however, as he was soon apprehended by a large and incensed group of local citizens near Oxmoor. In an act of vigilante justice, the man was lynched by the mob before he could be brought to trial. Deputy Taylor was survived by his wife and five children.