In 1932, a black man was found hanging on Rattlesnake Mountain in Fauquier County. A mob set fire to his body. Officials identified the remains as Shedrick Thompson, wanted for the abduction and rape of a local white woman. Some claimed Thompson killed himself—the final act of a desperate fugitive. But residents knew better, calling the tragedy a lynching—the last one known in Virginia. Author Jim Hall takes an in-depth look at the events to expose a complex and disturbing chapter in Virginia history.
Jim Hall was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Falls Church, Virginia. He received a bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, and a master's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He now lives in Fredericksburg. His thirty-six-year newspaper career included stints as a reporter and editor, first at the Caroline Progress, a weekly in Bowling Green, Virginia, and then at the Free Lance-Star, a daily in Fredericksburg. He retired in 2013.