In the quiet stretch of Rockbridge County, Virginia, a grim discovery was made in the early morning hours of March 20, 1909. The body of Thomas Edward Drawbond, a 51-year-old man, was found mutilated on the Norfolk and Western railroad tracks in an area known as the Cedar Ridge Cut, south of Vesuvius. It was a scene that initially suggested a tragic accident, but the truth would soon reveal a far more sinister story.
Thomas Drawbond was a respected night watchman for the railroad, a
position he had held for several years. On the night of March 19th, he was dutifully patrolling the tracks, checking the railroad bridges along the South River. It was during this solitary watch that he was ambushed, shot from behind with a shotgun. The assailant, after felling the watchman, proceeded to rob him of his service revolver and other personal belongings. In a brutal attempt to conceal the murder, the killer then placed Drawbond's body upon the cold steel rails, hoping the inevitable passage of a train would erase the evidence of the crime. Indeed, his body was struck by two separate trains before being discovered.
The initial investigation, as noted in the county coroner's inquest held on March 22, 1909, quickly determined that Drawbond's death was a "felonious homicide" and that the extensive damage to his body was an attempt to cover up the gunshot wounds that had ended his life. The local community was shaken by the violent death of a man known for his dedication to his work. He was a family man, survived by his wife and several adult children, who were left to grapple with the sudden and violent loss.
The investigation into the murder of the railroad watchman proceeded with diligence. Though the initial coroner's report stated the perpetrator was "some one unknown," law enforcement was able to identify a suspect. The man was arrested and subsequently faced trial for the murder of Thomas Edward Drawbond. The evidence presented was compelling enough for a conviction, and the court delivered the ultimate sentence: death. On September 24, 1909, just over six months after the brutal slaying, the convicted murderer was executed in the electric chair, bringing a swift and final conclusion to the tragic case that had disturbed the peace of the Vesuvius community.
