Samuel Claybrook Locke

On the night of March 7, 1925, at this location, Federal Revenue officer Sam Locke was murdered while opening the front gate. Three months earlier, Locke had resigned as deputy under Sheriff W.W. Crockett for lack of support in his efforts to uphold the law. His determination in destroying moonshine stills across the county had angered John Truett, Franklin's illegal liquor czar, who hired Jim Kelton and Frank Cain to eliminate him. Within two weeks after Locke's death, the Flying Squadron, a group of federal prohibition field agents, investigated the killing and made more than 30 arrests, including Kelton and Cain, who were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. John Truett and his two sons were acquitted of involvement in Locke's murder but were later arrested and fined for liquor trafficking. Sam Locke, born in 1877 and died in 1925, was the son of Berry and Sarah Harbison Locke of Hillsboro. In 1896 he married Beatrice Hendricks, and they had Elsie, Rosie, Sally, Albert, Tommy, and Samuel, Jr.

Tennessee · United States