Historical analysis reveals the violent politics surrounding the courthouse murder of J. B. Marcum in Breathitt County, suggesting deep local tensions into the early 20th century.
Appalachian History Series A county at war with itself By the turn of the twentieth century, Breathitt County, Kentucky, had become a byword for political killings and courthouse cliques. The flashpoint came on May 4, 1903, when attorney and United States commissioner James Buchanan Marcum was shot at the entrance to the Jackson courthouse.
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