The Monroe County Church Riot of 1920
On a warm Sunday evening in June, 1920, at an otherwise quiet little church in southern Monroe County, a tempest was brewing. A self-proclaimed evangelist was pitting Protestant and Catholic neighbors against one another. Before the night was over, a volley of gunfire erupted and two men died from the battle, which was to be forever known to locals as the “Church Riot.” The resulting investigation is a who’s who listing of prominent community members who were there that night and those who were later called upon to serve justice through the local court system. Monroe County resident Bonnie Berry will present her research findings that began with a simple story told by her grandmother, over 50 years ago.