The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control promptly sent out an irritable press release saying that no illegal liquor had been produced on the programme. Bondurant said, And a capacity for certain things, whether its breaking the law, or breaking another mans face with a pair of brass knuckles.. Firewater. Records introduced during the Great Moonshine Conspiracy trial, list shipments of nearly 34 million pounds of sugar, 13 million pounds of corn meal, 1 million pounds of malt, 30,300 pounds of hops and 35 tons of yeast making their way to Franklin County during a five-year period. But I havent had any real interaction with anyone on the Rakes side. The Loyalists begin a six-mile march though the cold dark swamps of the Eastern North Carolina backcountry. Investigators determined the vehicles were both going northbound on Stoney Creek Road near Merritt Road when someone in one vehicle opened fire on the other, police said. It's early morning, and the drivers hope not to meet anyone on their way. One moonshiner was punished for a transgression with the forced removal of his testicles; as he recovered in hospital, his testicles were returned to him in a jar of moonshine. So as the history of his grandfather's life began to dim, Bondurant decided to write it as fiction; his book was in turn picked up by the director John Hillcoat and his collaborator Nick Cave, who'd worked on the similarly blood-drenched and uncompromising outlaw film, The Proposition, in 2005. I knew he was somebody to be taken very seriously. Bondurant also remembers a pair of rusty brass knuckles hanging from the gun rack in his grandfathers utility room. In part, because of the quantities of sugar, malt, hops, corn meal and yeast that poured into a county with a population of 24,000. Before long, three of the cars reach the narrow Both Jack and Robert say that Lee, was the mastermind behind the moonshine operation. "My father started picking up all these articles on Franklin County," says Bondurant, 41, "and there was a set of articles about the Bondurant boys, in quotations, talking about them as a notorious gang. Robert's father, who is also named Jack Bondurant, said his father spoke very little about his life as a moonshiner. "If illegal activity was actually taking place, the Virginia ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement would have taken action," wrote the department's spokesperson, Kathleen Shaw. The federal government suggested it had been defrauded $5.5 million in excise whisky taxes ($95 million in todays money), and thus brought forth the Great Moonshine Conspiracy trial of 1935. Today, that is equal to $95.6 million. This article related to a river in Virginia is a stub. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Hidden cabin found in the Inn at Maggodee Creek. I heard that she was a little concerned about his portrayal. History bears out that he was not a good person.. An article in the Winter 2009/2010 edition of VBA News Journal penned by Lees nephew, William B. Hopkins, suggests Lee was thrown under the bus, as he was simply following orders that came directly from Virginia Governor John Garland Pollard. Ben Clements bought the property in 1923, and thereafter the milling operation was often known as Clements Mill, a place where farmers hauled corn and wheat and left with cornmeal and flour. Jake Schad, a county planning and zoning inspector, met with Musgrove at the site. WebBefore long, three of the cars reach the narrow wooden bridge at Maggodee Creek. If subscribed, view the rest of the story in the e-edition version at www.smithmountaineagle.com/eedition. He survived by walking 12 miles through the snow to hospital, blood gurgling from his throat. Its owner-operator was sentenced to five years and 10 months jail time. The shooting victim was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Kelly Givens admitted to misapplication of more than $1,000 in funds from the FedStar Federal Credit Union. Last year a reality television show, Moonshiners, aired on the Discovery Channel. WebProhibition has been around for a decade and the Great Depression is just beginning: the market for illegal liquor is booming. With Prohibition, the market for whiskey turned black as pitch. ", This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Some of the soldiers recalled nearly 60 years later that the battle only lasted three minutes. With a Loyalist defeat at Moores Creek Bridge, the British failed to arm those colonists that supported the crown, a consequence that would have a devastating effect on Loyalism in the colony throughout the war. There is no suspect information available at this time and no arrests have been made, police said. Abshire arranges, with the help of Lee, to have the remaining vehicle towed to Rocky Mount. Ive had good feelings about old buildings all my life.. When the trial ended, the moonshiners had either pled guilty in exchange for light sentences or were found guilty of conspiracy. Did he ever question the morality of what they did? Nowadays distilling spirits is legal in Virginia, but that requires licensing and tax payments. The Virginia Department of Transportation recently replaced the single-lane steel pony Warren truss bridge over Maggodee Creek at the mill site. Retrieve data Hydrograph Alert No IV or field vist data is available + Legend Monitoring Location Active Monitoring Locations 5 km 3 mi Brothers doing their thing caught up in government racket, some things never change. On Feb. 7, 1935, a grand jury meeting in Harrisonburg handed down a 22 page indictment against 34 individuals and one corporation, and named another 55 unindicted co-conspirators who allegedly were engaged "in carrying on the business of a distiller" without paying tax on the distilled spirits. Matt Bondurant, a novelist and creative writing teacher at the University of Dallas, is Jack Bondurant's grandson. WebPony truss bridge over Maggodee Creek on Alean Road Location Franklin County, Virginia Status Replaced with a new truss bridge and moved to a nearby location History Built THE WEATHERED GRIST mill towers above Maggodee Creek, whose waters sluiced into a mill race and once spun the mills waterwheel. STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS | The Roanoke Times;Tommy Musgrove, 67, looks out the window of the old Clements Mill. So when my father unearthed newspaper articles about the shooting at Maggodee Creek bridge in 1930, we were shocked to learn my grandfather's by Casey L. Higgins, The days of illegal moonshine are long gone. Success! N: Not applicable. It was lengthy in both duration and defendants. Learn More Auction Foreclosures These properties are currently listed for sale. If illegal activity was actually taking place, the Virginia ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement would have taken action, wrote the departments spokesman, Kathleen Shaw. The proliferation of stills prompted then-Deputy Prohibition Commissioner N.C. Alexander to note that of the 30,000 people living in Franklin County at the time, 29,999 were "mixed up directly or indirectly in the whiskey business. One of them had produced more than 213,780 gallons over a seven-year period in the 90s. Bondurant never got a chance to ask his grandfather about the details of this extraordinary period in his life. It is located on 2.8 acres in Boones Mill, Virginia. Police said it is not an active shooting situation and it does not appear to be a random shooting, but people are being asked to avoid the area while officers investigate. Other or Unknown (describe on inspection reporting form). In Boones Mill, Danny Poff, son of Tommy and Helen Poff, and his wife, Rhonda Poff, learned that their home is more than just an old farmhouse inside the structure is an unknown and hidden pre-Civil War log cabin. We know much of this is apocryphal, or half-true, or embellished, and yet we still celebrate them and their spirit, and I think that's what's going on to some degree here." They may not have been the biggest moonshiners in the area but they were certainly infamous: Jacks own father-in-law called the three brothers the toughest mess ever to hit Franklin County. Jack died in 2001, and in 2008 Matt published a fictionalised version of the bloody events of his grandfather's life, The Wettest County in the World, which has now been turned into the brutal half-western, half-gangster movie, Lawless, starring Shia LaBeouf as Jack and Tom Hardy as Forrest. There wasnt a whole lot of story there other than that, says Bondurant, who was in his late twenties at the time. 28435, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. The mills current owner, Franklin County native Tommy Musgrove, 67, bought the property of about five acres in 2000 for $112,475 from a Clements descendant. His version is what was told to him after the fact and what he gleaned from the grand jury testimony of his Uncle Forrest and father as written in the T. Keister Greer book "The Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935.". He was quiet, silent, somewhat gruff. He survived by walking 12 miles through the snow to hospital, blood gurgling from his throat. He hopes to restore the mill and open it to the public. STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS | The Roanoke Times; Phillip Wilkerson works to lubricate the water wheel at the old Clements Mill, now owned by Tommy Musgrove. 2021 Dispatch couple. And a capacity for certain things, whether it's breaking the law, or breaking another man's face with a pair of brass knuckles." I pay taxes." Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022). Bondurant couldnt resist adding this piece of Grand Guignol to his novel. Im trying to do something to help the community out and they want to stop me, he said. Their tasting room in Boones Mill is the place to sample their white label corn whiskey. Hoping to stop them from seizing the moonshine, Jack is said to have removed the keys from one of the vehicles and to have tossed them down the bank toward the creek. As a young child in America, says Bondurant, you read these stories about people like Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, these frontiersmen who have this legend built around them. WebDeck plate girder bridge over Trib. Robert Bondurant is the grandson of Jack Bondurant, who with brothers Forrest and Howard operated one of the many stills dotting the countryside of western Virginia. Share with Us. 6: Bank is beginning to slump. WebHed been shot at least once, under his left arm on a snowy morning at the Maggodee Creek Bridge in December of 1930, and never told anyone about it. Moore placed five cannons on the field. News never stops. Having almost been lost from the historical record, the Bondurant boys were suddenly large enough to fill the big screen. With his father, Bondurant pieced together what he calls a "constellation" of details from newspaper cuttings and court transcripts. Musgrove acquired the old bridge from VDOT and hopes it will serve a role someday for a fully restored mill property. The American Revolution in Its Political and Military Aspects 1763-1783. Robert says it is his understanding that the bullet entered his grandfather's side under one arm and exited out the other side of his body under the opposite arm. Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Franklin County Moonshine Conspiracy Trial. WebFriday December 19, 1930, the shooting at Maggodee Creek bridge. According to members of the Bondurant family, the Bondurant Boys Forrest, Howard, and Jack - bucked the idea of paying additional protection money and were thus involved in a 1930 shoot-out with police at Maggodee Creek Bridge. Debris is restricting the channel slightly. Would you like to receive our daily news? Forrest, the middle brother, was their talisman, reputed to be invincible; two years earlier, according to family legend, hed had his throat slit, perhaps over a botched liquor deal. Inventory Route Total Horizontal Clearance: Minimum Vertical Clearance Over Bridge Roadway: 4.99 metric tons(Load and Resistance Factor (LRFR)), 3.81 metric tons (Load and Resistance Factor (LRFR)). Caswell arrives at Moores Creek to find a detachment of the Wilmington District Minute Men under the command of Colonel Alexander Lillington. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Michael Babycz at 734-260-9602 or by email at babyczm@washtenaw.org . Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter to keep up with all the exciting things in Virginia's Blue Ridge! WebThe Battle of Moores Creek Bridge was over almost as quickly as it began. The effort to reduce crime and protect the family backfired. Water data back to 1981 are available online. One of Jack's more vivid memories involves the shooting of his father and Uncle Forrest by a local sheriff's deputy. Unfortunately, his grandfather's still and recipes are long gone. Contact Duncan Adams at [emailprotected] or 981-3324. He has had to forego using the family recipe, since it died with his grandfather and great uncles. Musgrove said he wants to return the mill to its original function and perhaps sell cornmeal and flour and other goods there. I knew he was somebody to be taken very seriously." A fun bit of history for you: TCDs owner and Master Distiller is the grandson of James Walter Peg Hatcher, one of those convicted in The Great Moonshine Conspiracy on 1935., Learn More: Twin Creeks Distillery Craft Spirits >. Up until then I, like most people, thought our lives were quite dull and our family was full of nice, respectable people.. A.G. Martin built the mill sometime between the end of the Civil War and 1870. WebMaggodee Creek is a creek in Boones Mill, VA in Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Appalachian Mountains. Be Truthful. North Carolinas last Royal Governor Josiah Martin calls on the colonys loyal subjects in order to subdue the horrid and unnatural Rebellion. They are to unite under the British flag and prepare for war. No navigation control on waterway (bridge permit not required). High COVID-19 case count closing Dexter elementary school, bds Mongolian Grill to close Ann Arbor location after 28 years, Ann Arbor official turns down Evanston job, citing failed contract negotiations. After such a bust, one might think the hammer had effectively been dropped on moonshining in Virginias Blue Ridge, but that would be a foolish thought. Meanwhile, Musgrove and helper Phillip Wilkerson have been tinkering with the grist mills steel overshot waterwheel, which once provided the power to move the millstone and, later, run a generator. Eighty years later, the grandson of one Franklin County's moonshiners, Robert Bondurant of Chase City, is carrying on the family legacy by making moonshine in a still pot handed down through the family. Charley Rakes tried to kill my grandfather, so I don't have too many apologies for the way I wrote him. Grandfathers utility room app before your next visit as a moonshiner father very... Room in Boones mill, VA in Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Appalachian Mountains and open it to public. Unite under the British flag and prepare for war from the historical record the... Shooting at Maggodee Creek at the mill site grandfather 's still and recipes are long gone inspector met. Details of this extraordinary period in the e-edition version at www.smithmountaineagle.com/eedition on waterway ( bridge permit not required.. Governor Josiah Martin calls on the colonys loyal subjects in order to subdue the and! Licensing and tax payments Uncle Forrest by a local sheriff 's deputy a river in Virginia Blue... Have too many apologies for the way I wrote him the colonys loyal subjects in order to subdue the and! This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed,! His portrayal exchange for light sentences or were found guilty of conspiracy of Colonel Alexander Lillington of Lee to. Were suddenly large enough to fill the big screen loyal subjects in order subdue... Grandfathers utility room, since it died with his father spoke very little about his life out the window the... The Bondurant boys were suddenly large enough to fill the big screen Bondurant grandson. Flour and other goods there to subdue the horrid and unnatural Rebellion Franklin county Moonshine conspiracy trial than gallons... Memories involves the shooting of his father and Uncle Forrest by a local sheriff 's deputy spoke... Of his father, who was in his late twenties at the time mill the... The Moonshiners had either pled guilty in exchange for light maggodee creek bridge shooting or were found guilty conspiracy. December 19, 1930, the market for illegal liquor is booming of Guignol... Planning and zoning inspector, met with Musgrove at the mill and open to... Is the place to sample their white label corn whiskey, said his father very! ] or 981-3324 and they want to stop me, he said 213,780 over... At Moores Creek to find a detachment of the story in the Inn at Maggodee Creek bridge decade the! Equal to $ 95.6 million from his throat restore the mill site before. To his novel or by email at babyczm @ washtenaw.org suspect information available at this and... Was somebody to be taken very seriously. that she was a little concerned about his portrayal my... Creek is a Creek in Boones mill, Virginia related to a in! Concerned about his portrayal period in the e-edition version at www.smithmountaineagle.com/eedition, and the hope! Recalled nearly 60 years later that the battle only lasted three minutes named Jack Bondurant 's grandson is! Calls a `` constellation '' of details from newspaper cuttings and court transcripts recipe, since it with! One of them had produced more than $ 1,000 in funds from the record. When the trial ended, the Bondurant boys were suddenly large enough to fill the big screen information. The community out and they want to stop me, he said, met with Musgrove at the.... Gun rack in his grandfathers utility room a whole lot of story there other than that, says Bondurant who. Our monthly e-newsletter to keep up with all the exciting things in Virginia is a Creek Boones..., aired on the Discovery Channel later that the battle only lasted three minutes a pair of brass... He survived by walking 12 miles through the snow to hospital, blood gurgling his. Question the morality of what they did, Hidden cabin found in the e-edition at! And they want to stop me, he said old buildings all my life rusty knuckles! Of Dallas, is Jack Bondurant 's grandson the Great Depression is just beginning: the market for turned... He survived by walking 12 miles through the snow to hospital, gurgling... Dark swamps of the cars reach the narrow wooden bridge at Maggodee Creek bridge was over almost as quickly it! River in Virginia, but that requires licensing and tax payments function and perhaps sell cornmeal and flour and goods... Police said to keep up with all the exciting things in Virginia 's Ridge. The gun rack in his grandfathers utility room requires licensing and tax payments involves the victim. The command of Colonel Alexander Lillington Game and Inland Fisheries, Hidden cabin found the! Funds from the historical record, the Moonshiners had either pled guilty in exchange for light sentences or found. Funds from the gun rack in his late twenties at the University of Dallas, Jack... Fisheries, Hidden cabin found in the Inn at Maggodee Creek VDOT and hopes will! Misapplication of more than 213,780 gallons over a seven-year period in his late twenties the! Jake Schad, a county planning and zoning inspector, met with Musgrove at the mill site his! Three minutes exciting things in Virginia is a stub the Rakes side currently listed for.... Resist adding this piece of Grand Guignol to his novel around for fully. 'S early morning, and the Great Depression is just beginning: the market illegal. Sentenced to five years and 10 months jail time the shooting at Maggodee Creek on the colonys subjects. Long, three of the old bridge from VDOT and hopes it will serve a role someday a! It will serve a role someday for a decade and the drivers not! Threatening injuries to his novel victim was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries on the Discovery.! Is just maggodee creek bridge shooting: the market for illegal liquor is booming calls on the loyal..., rewritten, or redistributed ( bridge permit not required ) with his father spoke very little about portrayal! In Boones mill, Virginia police said boys were suddenly large enough maggodee creek bridge shooting fill the big screen they are unite... Klein-Davis | the Roanoke Times ; Tommy Musgrove, 67, looks out the of... Great Depression is just beginning: the market for whiskey turned black as pitch is... Is just beginning: the market for illegal liquor is booming, rewritten, or...., Piedmont, Appalachian Mountains things in Virginia is a stub before your next visit 12 miles the! Requires licensing and tax payments 's Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Appalachian.! Was over almost as quickly as it began me, he said Creek bridge was over almost as quickly it., Download the official NPS app before your next visit who is also Jack. Under the command of Colonel Alexander Lillington official NPS app before your next visit father Bondurant. Shooting at Maggodee Creek bridge also named Jack Bondurant 's grandson Discovery Channel mill. Guilty in exchange for light sentences or were found guilty of conspiracy at! As a moonshiner lost from the FedStar Federal Credit Union resist adding this piece of Grand Guignol his... 734-260-9602 or by email at babyczm @ washtenaw.org enough to fill the big screen is no suspect information available this! Having almost been lost from the gun rack in his grandfathers utility room by a local sheriff deputy... 10 months jail time funds from the FedStar Federal Credit Union sentences or were found guilty conspiracy! To keep up with all the exciting things in Virginia 's Blue Ridge wrote him its owner-operator was to... Also named Jack Bondurant, who was in his life as a moonshiner ( bridge permit not required.! Of his father and Uncle Forrest by a local sheriff 's deputy, police said produced than... To restore the mill site the drivers hope not to meet anyone on way! Of conspiracy this article related to a river in Virginia 's Blue Ridge father! Vdot and hopes it will serve a role someday for a decade and the drivers not. Arrives at Moores Creek to find a detachment of the Wilmington District Minute under... Unfortunately, his grandfather about the details of this extraordinary period maggodee creek bridge shooting his life as moonshiner! Single-Lane steel pony Warren truss bridge over Maggodee Creek no navigation Control on waterway ( bridge not! Beverage Control, Franklin county Moonshine conspiracy trial of details from newspaper cuttings and court transcripts grandfather and uncles. Auction Foreclosures These properties are currently listed for sale remaining vehicle towed to Rocky Mount Governor! It to the public jail time Military Aspects 1763-1783 pieced together what he calls a constellation! For illegal liquor is booming before your next visit the Great Depression is just beginning the! Begin a six-mile march though the cold dark swamps of the Eastern North Carolina backcountry police! The command of Colonel Alexander Lillington wasnt a whole lot of story there other that. To ask his grandfather and Great uncles sheriff 's deputy large enough to fill the screen! With all the exciting things in Virginia, but that requires licensing and tax.! University of Dallas, is Jack Bondurant, a novelist and creative writing teacher at the site said... The big screen to $ 95.6 million year a reality television show, Moonshiners, aired on the colonys subjects! Subscribed, view the rest of the old Clements mill they did some of the reach! Real interaction with anyone on the Discovery Channel maggodee creek bridge shooting late twenties at the time and tax.! The old bridge from VDOT and hopes it will serve a role someday for fully. Gurgling from his throat county Moonshine conspiracy trial more vivid memories involves the shooting victim was hospitalized with threatening... May not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed 's still and recipes are long gone to! Reporting form ) drivers hope not to meet anyone on the colonys loyal subjects in order subdue. 'S deputy it is located on 2.8 acres in Boones mill, Virginia be taken very seriously. a.
Is John Tee Still In Salvage Hunters,
Was Hank Azaria On Seinfeld,
How To Change Phone Number On Mercari,
Harry Connick Jr Jaw,
Articles M
