William Keemer, born circa 1852, was a Black carpenter from Carthage with ties to the nearby free Black community of Beech Settlement, begun circa 1828. In 1875, Hancock County farmer William Vaughn accused Keemer of raping his wife. Keemer was arrested and jailed at Greenfield, and he maintained his innocence, a claim supported by residents of Beech and Greenfield. A mob of 160 white men broke into the jail, beat Keemer, and lynched him at the Hancock County fairgrounds. Although many spectators witnessed the murder, no perpetrators were identified or prosecuted. This lynching and denial of due process, along with others in Indiana from the mid-1800s to 1930, intentionally terrorized Black communities and enforced white supremacy.