Near this site on Dec. 3, 1864, Bill Sketoe, a Methodist minister, was hanged by Newton Home Guards who believed he was a traitor to the Confederacy. In fact, Sketoe had served three years in the Confederate army and had returned home on leave to see his sick wife. The home guard hanged him from an oak tree near the old bridge, and to keep his feet from touching the ground, a hole was dug beneath them. That mysterious hole remained clean for many years after that sad day.