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Lynching of Irving and Herman Arthur

SOLVED1920Lamar County Fairgrounds, Paris, Texas3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
File:Coverage of Lynching of Irving and Herman Arthur Paris Lamar County Texas Lynching.jpg
File:Coverage of Lynching of Irving and Herman Arthur Paris Lamar County Texas Lynching.jpg — Credit: Patrol of Armed Men In Streets Of Texas Town". The Bennington Evening Banner July 7, 1920 Mob of Texans Burns Negroes". Bisbee Daily Review. July 7, 1920 Mob Burns 2 Negroes at Stake Great Falls, Cascade, Montana: The Tribune. July 7, 1920 Texas Mob Burns Negroes At Stake". New Britain Herald. New B · Public domain

Irving "Ervie" Arthur (1903–1920) and Herman Arthur (1892–1920), Black sharecroppers and stepsons of tenant farmer Scott Arthur, were lynched—burned alive—at the Lamar County Fairgrounds in Paris, Texas, on July 6, 1920. Herman Arthur was a World War I veteran who had served in the U.S. Army's 537th Engineers Service Battalion in France.

According to accounts including a letter from an anonymous Paris resident forwarded to the NAACP's Acting Secretary James Weldon Johnson and published in newspapers such as the New York Age and Negro World, the Arthur brothers were accused of fatally shooting their landlord, John Henry Hodges (1859–1920), and his son, William M. Hodges (1886–1920), on July 2, 1920, after the Hodgeses had repeatedly confronted the family over labor demands and alleged debt, including throwing the family's belongings into the yard and threatening them at gunpoint. The letter states that when the Arthur family attempted to permanently leave the farm three days later, the Hodgeses returned and fired on them, and one of the Arthur sons retrieved a gun and returned fire, killing both men.

Herman and Ervie Arthur were arrested on the morning of July 6, 1920, in Valliant, Oklahoma, and transported to the Lamar County jail in Paris, arriving at 3 p.m. Notices reportedly advertised the impending lynching. That evening, a mob of several hundred broke into the jail; twelve men removed the brothers at 7:30 p.m. and took them to the fairgrounds, where they were burned alive at 8:00 p.m. before a crowd estimated at 3,000. Their remains were then dragged through the streets of a Black neighborhood in Paris for hours. Separately, according to the NAACP letter, the brothers' three sisters, ages 14, 17, and 20, who had been held at the jail, were beaten and reportedly raped by 20 white men before being released.

The NAACP sent a telegram of protest to Acting Governor Willard Arnold Johnson on July 8, 1920, urging action against mob members. A policeman identified as part of the mob was dismissed from the Paris Police Department. A special grand jury convened by Judge Ben H. Denton returned five indictments for first-degree murder on July 26, 1920. The cases were transferred to the Fifty-Ninth District Court in Sherman, Texas, under Judge Silas Hare, and all five defendants were acquitted; in one case a jury was instructed to acquit for lack of evidence connecting the defendant to the crime, and another case was "passed" without resolution.

The Arthur family fled Paris and settled largely in Chicago, where a widely circulated photograph of the family, arranged by the Chicago Defender, was published on September 4, 1920. In 2020, descendants of the Arthur and Hodges families held a joint remembrance ceremony in Paris on the 100th anniversary. Irving and Herman Arthur are memorialized at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

Key facts

Victims
Irving "Ervie" Arthur, Herman Arthur
Date
1920
Location
Lamar County Fairgrounds, Paris, Texas
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1892

    Herman Arthur is born.

  2. 1903

    Irving "Ervie" Arthur is born.

  3. 1918-04-29

    Herman Arthur is inducted into the U.S. Army at Mount Pleasant, Texas.

  4. 1919-07-05

    Herman Arthur returns to the United States from France, a year and one day before his lynching.

  5. 1919-07-14

    Herman Arthur is honorably discharged at Camp Mills.

  6. 1920-06-29

    John Henry Hodges and his son William M. Hodges reportedly confront the Arthur family, throwing belongings into the yard and threatening them at gunpoint over labor and debt disputes.

  7. 1920-07-02

    John Henry Hodges and William M. Hodges are fatally shot during a confrontation with the Arthur family as they attempted to leave the farm.

  8. 1920-07-06

    Herman and Ervie Arthur are arrested in Valliant, Oklahoma, transported to Paris, Texas, removed from the Lamar County jail by a mob, and burned alive at the Lamar County Fairgrounds.

  9. 1920-07-08

    The NAACP sends a telegram of protest to Acting Governor Willard Arnold Johnson.

  10. 1920-07-26

    A special grand jury returns five indictments for first-degree murder in connection with the lynching.

  11. 1920-09-04

    The Chicago Defender publishes a photograph of the Scott Arthur family after their flight from Paris.

  12. 1920-10-30

    Judge Ben H. Denton transfers the five defendants' cases to the Fifty-Ninth District Court in Sherman, Texas.

  13. 1922-01-11

    The case against Ernest Coggins is "passed" by the Fifty-Ninth District Court in Sherman.

  14. 1922-01-14

    Judge Silas Hare instructs a jury to acquit Tom Dobbs for lack of evidence connecting him to the crime.

  15. 2018

    The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which memorializes Irving and Herman Arthur among Lamar County lynching victims, opens in Montgomery, Alabama.

  16. 2020-07-07

    Descendants of the Arthur and Hodges families hold a joint remembrance ceremony in Paris, Texas, on the 100th anniversary of the lynching.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Irving "Ervie" Arthur

    VICTIM

    Burned alive by a mob at the Lamar County Fairgrounds on July 6, 1920, after being accused of killing his landlord and the landlord's son.

  • Tom Dobbs

    ACQUITTED

    Indicted for first-degree murder in connection with the lynching; a jury was instructed by Judge Silas Hare to acquit him on January 14, 1922, for lack of evidence connecting him to the crime.

  • Ernest Coggins

    CHARGED

    Indicted for first-degree murder in connection with the lynching; his case was "passed" by the court on January 11, 1922, without dismissal or resolution.

  • Herman Arthur

    VICTIM

    World War I veteran burned alive alongside his brother Irving Arthur by a mob at the Lamar County Fairgrounds on July 6, 1920.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • File:Coverage of Lynching of Irving and Herman Arthur Paris Lamar County Texas Lynching.jpg

    portrait victim

    File:Coverage of Lynching of Irving and Herman Arthur Paris Lamar County Texas Lynching.jpg

    Credit: Patrol of Armed Men In Streets Of Texas Town". The Bennington Evening Banner July 7, 1920 Mob of Texans Burns Negroes". Bisbee Daily Review. July 7, 1920 Mob Burns 2 Negroes at Stake Great Falls, Cascade, Montana: The Tribune. July 7, 1920 Texas Mob Burns Negroes At Stake". New Britain Herald. New B · Public domain · Source

  • 1920 newspaper front-page coverage of the lynching (headline text) with a Sanborn map of Paris, TX

    unclassified

    1920 newspaper front-page coverage of the lynching (headline text) with a Sanborn map of Paris, TX

    Credit: Public domain · Source

Places

Lamar County Fairgrounds, Paris, Texas

33.6609, -95.5555

View on the map

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Brothers Irving "Ervie" and Herman Arthur, African American sharecroppers and a World War I veteran, were burned alive by a mob of thousands at the Lamar County Fairgrounds in Paris, Texas, on July 6, 1920, after being accused of killing their landlord and his son during a dispute over debt and forced labor.
Where did the crime happen?
Lamar County Fairgrounds, Paris, Texas.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in Texas

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICLynching of Irving and Herman ArthurWikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous coverage — loc.govloc.gov · 2026-07-07
  3. OFFICIAL / AGENCYContemporaneous coverage — chroniclingamerica.loc.govchroniclingamerica.loc.gov · 2026-07-07

Record history

First published
JUL 07, 2026
Last verified against sources
JUL 07, 2026