Putnam County's Only Public Execution

Putnam County's Only Public Execution is a Tennessee historical marker in Putnam County.

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On March 27, 1878, in gallows erected near here at the foot of Billygoat Hill, Joseph and George (Teek) Brassell were hanged in Putnam County's only publicly held execution. The justice system tried, convicted, and sentenced the brothers to death for the slaying of brothers Russell and John Allison during a robbery attempt on November 29, 1875. News of the event made national headlines. Two days after the hangings, The New York Times reported that 10,000 people came to the execution.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1838 · Kentucky (T.G. Bradford, 1838) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1844 · Kentucky (H. S. Tanner, 1844) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1862 · Johnson's Kentucky & Tennessee (1862) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Kentucky And Tennessee (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1873 · Kentucky and Tennessee. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

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