Dowdy Town Raid 1928

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Dowdytown Is Raided Again: Brew Seized

Caswell Officers Have a Busy Day -- 13 Arrested in Two Raids

(Special to The Bee.)

Yanceyville, N.C. Aug 18 -- Caswell county officers became conspicuously active yesterday making two raids during the course of the day during which time they arrested thirteen men for various violations, most of whom are now in jail here.

One of the raids centered on Dowdytown -- one of several made recently by officers and it resulted in eleven men being taken into custody. Three officers made the descent, W. C. Taylor, deputy sheriff of this township, aided by Herman Smith, of Dan River, and J. Cullen Bryant, game warden and a physical giant with it. They made their way by circuitous route to a branch near Dowdytown and report surprising eight negroes who were engaged in rolling dice. None of them got away and were made secure.

From there, the officers went to John Dowdy's place of business and reported capturing nearby an automobile in the rumble seat of which they found home brew on ice and about 7 gallons of liquor in the front seat. John Dowdy was arrested as were Peyton Lunsford, another white man whose condition was such that repeated questions of him for his name, the officers reported, drew little but a blank stare. With this load the officers returned to this place where Dowdy gave $300 bond for appearance Monday. He was already under another bond at the time. The others were put in jail.

Doubling back, Taylor accompanied by Sheriff Gunn, J. C. Long and H. A. Smith, went to a point near Park Springs and there arrested Joe Fogleman, of Burlington, and W. E. Boggs, a Danville barber, who were arrested for inebriety and who gave bond for appearance.

While all this was going on a well organized manhunt was in progress in another part of the county. C. E. Diamond deputy of Stony Creek, and Stokes Butler was [sic] notified that the store of T. R. Minor had been broken into and that the storekeeper had surprised the two alleged burglars who fled, leaving their automobile and some goods taken from the store. The two men made a dash for some heavy woods and the two officers ringed the woods with a posse of forty hastily summoned men. As they closed in they flushed their alleged quarry but there was no escape. One gave the name of Attress Sutton, of Alamance and the other gave the name of Shambley of Lexington, N.C. Both are in jail.

Source: The Bee (Danville, Virginia), 18 August 1928, Saturday, Page 1.

People Mentioned: W. C. Taylor; Herman A. Smith; J. Cullen Bryant; John Dowdy; Peyton Lunsford; Sheriff Gunn; J. C. Long; Joe Fogleman; W. E. Boggs; C. E. Diamond; Stokes Butler; T. R. Minor; Attress Sutton; Unknown Shambley.