89 years ago today, on October 3, 1929, my great-great-grandmother's second husband, Ray Brown, was shot and killed in the 1929 Prison Riot at the Colorado State Penitentiary where he was a prison guard.
Margaret Johnson Frankenbery married Ray Brown on November 24, 1925. She was 64 and he was 55. It was also his second marriage after being widowed. Ray Brown had lived in Cripple Creek for 15 years before moving to Canon City and being employed as a guard at the prison in 1922.
Jimmie Pardue and Danny Daniels put their plan to escape prison into motion at around noon on October 3, 1929. Pardue shot and killed the first guard, Elmer Erwin, who was in the Crow's Nest. After taking Erwin's rifle, Pardue shot and killed Walter Rinker, who was on top of the administration building, and then shot and killed Ray Brown, who was in Tower 8. Guard Myron Goodwin was also shot, but didn't die until a week later on October 10.
Pardue and Daniels held 11 guards hostage in Cell Block 3 for twelve hours. During this time, another group of 100 or so prisoners set a fire which destroyed Cell House 1 & 2, including the dining room, library and chapel.
Daniels gave his demands to Warden Crawford for their release; Crawford, however, called in the National Guard. When Daniel's demands weren't met, he began killing his hostages execution style. He first shot guard Jack Eeles in the head and dropped his body from a window. Guards Walter Rinker and R.A. Wiggins were also killed.
The Warden and National Guard tried several plans throughout the night to end the riot. 2,000 rounds of ammunition were shot into Cell Block 3. A charge of 150 pounds of dynamite was set off outside the wall of cell block 3, but the charge failed to bring down the wall. Finally, tear gas was dropped into the building and Daniels, seeing no way out of the situation, shot Pardue and two other prisoners who helped with the escape plan before turning the gun on himself at about 4:00 a.m. on the 4th of October.
Reading through the newspaper reports of the riot, I can't imagine the fear and anxiety of having a loved one working in the prison. Margaret Brown's home was across the Arkansas River from the prison, within a mile of it. Surely, she heard the gunshots. Did friends gather with her at her home or did she go to a location where other family members of those who worked at the prison waited? One report highlights the plumes of smoke from the prison, the percussion of the dynamite blast broke windows in houses within ten miles of the prison, airplanes flew overhead day and night, and the constant gunfire throughout the night.
One article in the Canon City Record shares the story of E.J. Hollister's family, "All through the terror-filled hours of the afternoon and night, they waited for word from their loved one - their husband and father... Each shot that rang out during that horror-filled night brought new terror, more heavy anxiety to Miss Grace Hollister, oldest of the three daughter, who waited in heart-breaking fear for news of her father."
My grandfather, Ken Christison, Sr., was about 12 years old at the time and lived with his family in Rosita, a small town southwest of Canon City. He recalled in an interview with my dad in the 1970's that there were rumors that 40-50 inmates had run for the mountains, but it proved to be untrue. None of the inmates escaped during the riot.
To view photos of the prison riot and more of the story, visit this article on the Denver Post blog
Pardue and Daniels held 11 guards hostage in Cell Block 3 for twelve hours. During this time, another group of 100 or so prisoners set a fire which destroyed Cell House 1 & 2, including the dining room, library and chapel.
Daniels gave his demands to Warden Crawford for their release; Crawford, however, called in the National Guard. When Daniel's demands weren't met, he began killing his hostages execution style. He first shot guard Jack Eeles in the head and dropped his body from a window. Guards Walter Rinker and R.A. Wiggins were also killed.
The Warden and National Guard tried several plans throughout the night to end the riot. 2,000 rounds of ammunition were shot into Cell Block 3. A charge of 150 pounds of dynamite was set off outside the wall of cell block 3, but the charge failed to bring down the wall. Finally, tear gas was dropped into the building and Daniels, seeing no way out of the situation, shot Pardue and two other prisoners who helped with the escape plan before turning the gun on himself at about 4:00 a.m. on the 4th of October.
Reading through the newspaper reports of the riot, I can't imagine the fear and anxiety of having a loved one working in the prison. Margaret Brown's home was across the Arkansas River from the prison, within a mile of it. Surely, she heard the gunshots. Did friends gather with her at her home or did she go to a location where other family members of those who worked at the prison waited? One report highlights the plumes of smoke from the prison, the percussion of the dynamite blast broke windows in houses within ten miles of the prison, airplanes flew overhead day and night, and the constant gunfire throughout the night.
One article in the Canon City Record shares the story of E.J. Hollister's family, "All through the terror-filled hours of the afternoon and night, they waited for word from their loved one - their husband and father... Each shot that rang out during that horror-filled night brought new terror, more heavy anxiety to Miss Grace Hollister, oldest of the three daughter, who waited in heart-breaking fear for news of her father."
My grandfather, Ken Christison, Sr., was about 12 years old at the time and lived with his family in Rosita, a small town southwest of Canon City. He recalled in an interview with my dad in the 1970's that there were rumors that 40-50 inmates had run for the mountains, but it proved to be untrue. None of the inmates escaped during the riot.
To view photos of the prison riot and more of the story, visit this article on the Denver Post blog
3 comments:
Good sleuthing darlin.
The continuum of violence we live with is staggering … you would think we would learn from the inflicted misery, but sadly we just seem to repeat it .
My Great-grandfather Dock Osborn was shot through the mouth and survived this day ! Incredible!
My Great, Great Grandfather, Thomas Wesley Raish was an inmate there at the time, but I literally just learned of his crime and imprisonment recently. He was there from June 16, 1922 to April 2, 1951.
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