This is the scene in 1927 after a shootout involving law enforcement officers from the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and the South Pittsburg, Tenn., police. Six officers were killed. This photo appeared in the Nashville Banner.A historical marker designating the site of a deadly 1927 Christmas night shootout between the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and South Pittsburg police will be dedicated Sunday, July 20, in South Pittsburg, Tenn. Ceremonies will start at 2 p.m. CDT at the corner of Cedar Avenue and Third Street. A reception will follow in the nearby South Pittsburg Senior Activity Center, 315 Elm Ave.
According to the South Pittsburg Historic Preservation Society, a yearlong labor dispute at a local stove plant, coupled with political rivalries, culminated in this bloody gun battle on Cedar Avenue on Dec. 25, 1927. The street corner where five men lost their lives and one man was mortally wounded retains many of the original brick buildings where stray bullets marked the walls.
In the shootout, Sheriff G. Washington Coppinger, Deputy Lorenza A. Hennessey, city marshals Benjamin Parker and Ewing Smith, and H. Wetter Manufacturing Co. guard Oran H. LaRowe lost their lives. Police Chief James Connor died of his injuries the next day.
The Wetter plant was sold in 1928 but continued operation at its Cedar Avenue site as U.S. Stove Co. until the 1990s.
Third Street will be closed from Cedar Avenue to the alley between Cedar and Elm avenues during the dedication. In the event of rain, the dedication will take place at the Senior Center.
For information, call 423-837-8417 or 423-837-8327; or visit www.historicsouthpittsburgtn.org.