Camp Thompson

Full Name

Camp Thompson

Name Variations

Camp Reese, Reese Thompson, Champ Reese

Biography

On June 17th, 1898, a black man by the name of Camp Reese was lynched in Wetumpka Alabama by a mob of whites in the area after being accused, along with three other black people, of murdering a old white family named the Carden’s as well as an older white male by the name of Curlee. White Newspapers promoted the killing of the family to be a heist in which the Carden’s were ultimately the ones who paid the price. Camp Reese had so many name variations in many different news articles such as Reese Thompson, Camp Reese, and even Champ Reese. Unfortunately, it is very common for there to be a lack of information about victims of lynching and other acts of racial violence from the past. Many records from that time were not properly kept or have been lost over the years, making it difficult to piece together the full stories of these individuals. Camp Reese is now recognized at the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery Alabama as his name is included on a marker at the memorial, which serves as a somber reminder of the history of racial violence and lynching in the United States.

Documented or Attempted

Documented

Birth Date

N/A

County of Birth; County of Death

N/A; Elmore County

Death Date

June 17th, 1898

Race

Black

Sex

Male

Researchers

Zackary Sheats

Case Number

AMP051-18980617-000

Identified by:

Alabama Memory Project

Spouse or Partner

Anna Shears