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Lynching of Paul Reed and Will Cato

SOLVED1904Statesboro, Georgia, United States3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

In late July 1904, the farmhouse of Henry Hodges, a white farmer near Statesboro, Georgia, burned down. The bodies of Hodges, his wife Claudia, and their three young children were found in the ashes the next day, and evidence at the scene — including shoes, a knife, and matching calico shoe-lace material — led investigators to a Black tenant farmer, Paul Reed. Reed and his wife, Harriett, were arrested. While in custody, Harriett Reed gave a statement implicating her husband and a neighbor, Will Cato, describing a botched robbery attempt that escalated into the killing of the parents and, later, the children, with the house set on fire to destroy evidence.

News of the confession spread quickly, and regional papers ran sensationalized coverage suggesting sexual assault had occurred, despite money and jewelry being found undisturbed near the victims. Reed gave multiple, shifting accounts implicating various other named individuals and an alleged secret society called the "Before Day Club," which authorities later concluded probably did not exist. A coroner's jury indicted Reed and Cato, and Superior Court Judge Alexander Daley set a trial date of August 15, 1904. Amid widespread public talk of lynching, Georgia Governor Joseph M. Terrell dispatched militia under Captain Robert M. Hitch to protect the defendants. Reed and Cato were tried separately and convicted within minutes of jury deliberation on August 15 and 16, and were sentenced to be hanged on September 9.

Before the men could be transported to Savannah for safekeeping after their trials, a crowd gathered at the Bulloch County Courthouse. Efforts by officials — including Captain Hitch, Judge Daley, Mayor George M. Johnson, the sheriff, and Reverend Harmon Hodges (brother of victim Henry Hodges) — to calm the mob failed, and telephone lines to call for help had been cut. The mob overwhelmed the militia, who had been ordered not to load their weapons, and the sheriff unlocked the room holding Reed and Cato and pointed them out. The men were dragged from the courthouse, taken about a mile outside town, chained to a pine stump, doused with kerosene, and burned to death before a crowd estimated at 100 to 2,500 people. Photographs of the burning and its aftermath were later sold.

In the days following, other acts of violence against African-Americans occurred in Bulloch County, including shootings that left three people dead and a beating of a woman who had recently given birth. National newspapers condemned the lynching. A public inquiry identified participants, including two court bailiffs, but no one was indicted for the killings of Reed and Cato. Captain Hitch and five junior officers were court-martialed for failing to prevent the lynching.

Key facts

Victims
Talmadge Hodges, Henry Hodges, Harmon Hodges (child), Claudia Hodges, Kitty Corrine Hodges
Date
1904
Location
Statesboro, Georgia, United States
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1904-07-28

    The Hodges family farmhouse near Statesboro, Georgia burns down at night.

  2. 1904-07-29

    Bodies of Henry Hodges, his wife Claudia, and their three young children are found in the burned house; evidence including shoes and a knife is found near the scene.

  3. 1904-08-01

    A coroner's jury begins hearing testimony, including from Harriett Reed and Ophelia Cato.

  4. 1904-08-02

    The coroner's jury indicts Paul Reed and Will Cato for the murders.

  5. 1904-08-15

    Militia arrives in Statesboro; Will Cato is tried and convicted in the afternoon.

  6. 1904-08-16

    Paul Reed is tried and convicted in the morning; a mob seizes Reed and Cato from the courthouse and burns them to death outside town. Judge Daley had sentenced both to hang on September 9.

  7. 1904-08-24

    The New York Times reports that four more African-Americans were shot in the aftermath, three of them fatally, and others were flogged.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Will Cato

    CONVICTED

    Convicted by a jury of murdering the Hodges family; lynched (burned to death) by a mob on August 16, 1904 before his death sentence could be carried out.

  • Talmadge Hodges

    VICTIM

    Six-month-old son of Henry and Claudia Hodges; died when the family home was burned.

  • Henry Hodges

    VICTIM

    White farmer killed along with his wife and three children in a robbery-murder and arson at his home near Statesboro, Georgia.

  • Harmon Hodges (child)

    VICTIM

    Two-year-old son of Henry and Claudia Hodges; died when the family home was burned.

  • Robert M. Hitch

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Captain of the Oglethorpe Light Infantry, commanded militia sent to protect Reed and Cato; later court-martialed for failing to prevent the lynching.

  • Paul Reed

    CONVICTED

    Convicted by a jury of murdering the Hodges family; lynched (burned to death) by a mob on August 16, 1904 before his death sentence could be carried out.

  • Claudia Hodges

    VICTIM

    Wife of Henry Hodges; killed in the same attack.

  • Kitty Corrine Hodges

    VICTIM

    Nine-year-old daughter of Henry and Claudia Hodges; killed in the same attack.

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

Places

Statesboro, Georgia, United States

32.4488, -81.7832

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On August 16, 1904, a mob in Statesboro, Georgia seized Paul Reed and Will Cato — two Black men just convicted of murdering the Hodges family — from the courthouse, chained them to a tree stump, and burned them alive despite the presence of state militia. The lynching was followed by shootings and floggings of other African-Americans in the area.
Where did the crime happen?
Statesboro, Georgia, United States.
Who was convicted?
Will Cato (Convicted by a jury of murdering the Hodges family; lynched (burned to death) by a mob on August 16, 1904 before his death sentence could be carried out.) and Paul Reed (Convicted by a jury of murdering the Hodges family; lynched (burned to death) by a mob on August 16, 1904 before his death sentence could be carried out.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Georgia

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICLynching of Paul Reed and Will CatoWikipedia · 2026-07-10
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — timesmachine.nytimes.comtimesmachine.nytimes.com · 2026-07-10
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — getd.libs.uga.edugetd.libs.uga.edu · 2026-07-10