Spartanburg author and Hub City Writers Project co‑founder Betsy Wakefield Teter announced the release of her latest book, A Carnival of Crime: Murder, Mischief, and Malice in 1890s Spartanburg. The work chronicles ten interconnected true‑crime cases that illustrate what many consider South Carolina’s most violent decade.
Research rooted in local archives
While researching a separate project on Spartanburg’s historic Black neighborhoods, Teter discovered that the city’s newspaper archives were largely missing after a 1918 fire at the Spartanburg Herald. Undeterred, she turned to surviving newspaper collections, coroner’s reports, and documents from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History to reconstruct the era’s events.
Stories of murder, mayors and moonshine
The book follows a range of figures, from a mayor and a police chief to a bookseller, all of whom met violent ends. It also profiles a crooked attorney who later became a notorious con man, the controversial hanging of a teenage girl, and the chaos that erupted when a governor attempted to crush the moonshine trade.
“I began this document with keywords to find out what happened in Spartanburg in this era,” Teter explained. “By 1894, there had been enough shocking and stunning criminal murder stories that I thought, ‘you know, I need to bring these stories to light.’”
Unearthing forgotten characters
Among the highlighted cases are the accidental shooting death of Mayor Larry Henneman and the violent actions of textile mill owner George Turner, who shot two people. Teter also brings back obscure figures such as newspaper man Larry Gantt, founder of the Piedmont Headlight, whose contributions have long been overlooked.
“It is a different way of presenting a community’s history,” Teter said. “In this one, you get to see regular people coming and going, the criminal justice system in action, and obscure characters who disappeared long ago brought back to life.”
Where to find the book
A Carnival of Crime is now available for purchase through Hub City Writers Project’s website. Readers interested in Spartanburg’s past, true‑crime enthusiasts, and anyone who values local heritage are encouraged to explore the book’s vivid narratives.
For more information, visit hubcity.org.
Original reporting: Greenville Journal — read the source article.
