True Crime Chronicles: Murder of Boone County lawman in 1886 led to lynching of man involved in alleged lover triangle
- Dennis McCaslin
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
The lynching of Andrew Jackson Mullican (also known as Andrew J. Mullican or under the alias James Page) occurred on November 11, 1886, in Harrison, the county seat of Boone County.
This extrajudicial killing stands out as a non-racial vigilantism case in an era when most lynchings targeted Black victims, and it reflects the rough frontier justice common in the post-Civil War Ozarks, including ties to vigilante groups like the Bald Knobbers.
The murder that sparked it: In June 1886, Mullican, using the alias James Page, was hired as a farm hand by James N. Hamilton, a respected former lawman, county clerk, and federal revenue agent ("revenuer") who raided illegal moonshine stills in the region-a dangerous occupation that earned him enemies. Hamilton lived with his wife, Nora Hamilton, and family in North Fork Township, Marion County (near the Boone County line). Mullican reportedly became infatuated with Nora.
James Hamilton On the evening of October 17, 1886, Hamilton and Nora visited neighbors (including Andrew Young), leaving Mullican and another hired hand, James Stewart, to watch the children. The two men left the house, fired pistols in a field, and later claimed they were sitting up with a sick person. Stewart returned to the Hamilton home before the family went to bed, while Mullican stayed elsewhere.
Around 4:00 a.m. on October 18, Mullican crept into the bedroom where Hamilton slept beside his wife and child. He took Hamilton's own pistol from the wall and shot him in the head. Hamilton's last words were reportedly "Oh, Lord!"
Mullican fled but was quickly suspected.
An inquest identified him, and he was arrested. During questioning, Mullican confessed fully to the murder, claiming it was driven by passion and love for Nora Hamilton. He briefly implicated Stewart but later retracted that. Mullican had a prior history: he had escaped jail in Clinton (Van Buren County) the previous year under his alias. For safekeeping amid growing outrage over the "atrocious" crime--Hamilton was well-regarded--the prisoner was moved to the Boone County Jail in Harrison.
Rumors of mob action from neighboring Searcy and Marion counties had circulated since the confession. On the stormy night of November 11, around 12:30 a.m., approximately 50 masked men (some identified in accounts as Bald Knobbers, a vigilante group operating in the Ozarks for extrajudicial punishment) surrounded the old, dilapidated jail (described as a "bulk" with wind and rain whipping through the bars).
They confronted the two guards, then forced Deputy Sheriff J. P. Johnson from his bed at home, using guns and threats to compel him to hand over the keys and accompany them to the jail to ensure it opened smoothly
.Inside, they unshackled Mullican from the floor, tied a rope around his neck, and led him out, crossing a creek toward the Bellefonte Road. They selected a tree with strong branches just south of Esquire Andrew's residence for hanging. Preparations began, but by then the noise--ringing bells, shouting crowds, and general commotion from aroused townspeople in central Harrison--alerted others and created panic among the mob.
Fearing interruption, several pleaded for Mullican's life, but the group abandoned the hanging. A dozen pistol shots rang out; the coroner's inquest later determined Mullican died from seven shots fired by "unknown pistol persons."
He was left struggling in his gore beneath the tree as the mob hurriedly mounted horses and fled--half via the Marshall road toward Searcy County (near Valley Springs), the rest via the Yellville road toward Marion County near Bellefonte.
Coroner J. K. Young of Valley Springs arrived around 10:00 a.m. on November 12, summoned a jury, and examined witnesses, but no perpetrators were identified. The verdict confirmed death by shooting on the night of November 11.
No arrests or prosecutions followed, typical for such acts in the region. Mullican's body was likely buried locally in Boone County (no specific grave noted). Hamilton was buried in Oakland Cemetery in northern Baxter County (formerly part of Marion County), marked by a cracked obelisk that still stands today as a reminder of the events
.This incident is documented in contemporary newspapers like the Mountain Echo (November 19, 1886, reprinting from the Harrison Times), the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, and regional histories of Ozark vigilantism. It remains the only recorded lynching of a white man in Boone County matching this description--no other similar cases appear in lynching databases or period records.
The event highlights distrust of formal justice in the rugged Ozarks, where personal vendettas and community outrage often led to mob "justice" without consequence..
