A Strange Occurance At...Red Alley Railroad Crossing?!

In the early 1920's, the old west end of Danville was just beginning to come into it's own. By old west end, I'm not referring to the Old West End Historic District, but rather to the area around Averett. Forest Hills was just beginning to come into being, and Virginia, Carolina, College Avenue area was experiencing a housing boom. Howeland Circle was just being created, and Ballou Park Shopping Center was still nearly half a century away. Many of the streets we know now didn't exist as they do today, and others had completely different names.

In 1925, the area opposite Ballou Park on West Main Street was nothing like it is today. While we all know the half-empty shopping center, what my generation doesn't realize is that that land was once a baseball park. Indeed, Ballou Park Shopping Center rests atop what was once known as Schoolfield Baseball Park, and before it was even a baseball park, it was the city fairgrounds. Actually, it wasn't until the 1960's or 1970's that Ballou Park Shopping Center came to be.

What did exist, in a way, is the road known today as Wooding Avenue. Obviously (for Danville natives), Wooding Avenue is named after former mayor, Harry Wooding. But that was not always so. I've yet to pinpoint the exact time of the name change, but it was once known as Red Alley. One of the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company Maps lists it as Ferguson's Alley, but the newspaper archives do not support that fact. This street, and the train crossing it includes, were the center of attention in January of 1925. For it was at this railway crossing that three people meet their fate within two weeks.

Wooding Avenue as it is today.

Red Alley was a narrow street that ran beside the fairgrounds to the train tracks where, as it is today, the road is angled to where you begin to cross. If you've ever driven across these train tracks, you probably know what I mean. You basically turn slightly as you cross the tracks. Once across the trains into what was then Almagro Village, the road was wider and known as Sixth Avenue.

Curve at the crossing.

It all started on Sunday, January 18, 1925. Around 7:00 pm, a man by the name of C. P. Warf was struck and killed by a southbound train about 100 yards from where Red Alley met the train tracks. His body was discovered by the conductor of a passing freight train and authorities were notified once it reached Stokelands. The man worked in a cloth room at Dan River Mills. It was pretty much an open and shut case. The man was either crossing the tracks or walking along side of them, got hit by a train, and died. Life, in Danville, did not stop for it.

The very next night, another man died roughly 100 yards from where the body of C. P. Warf was discovered. It was not, however, until Tuesday morning when an African-American named John Anderson was riding a horse on Red Alley and discovered the body. Authorities were notified and rushed to the scene from both Danville and Schoolfield. Schoolfield authorities ascertained that that man, completely covered in mud, had tried to drag himself out of the mud puddle. No identification was found on the man, but a pint of whiskey was. Foul play was not suspected because he had money in his pockets. The belief was that, due to the depth of the mud puddle, the man had either drowned in it or succumbed to the cold. It was later discovered that he had indeed drowned, and that the liquor was not involved as the whiskey flask was filled to the stopper.

The body was removed from the scene to F. W. Townes and Son to be prepared for burial where a note, postmarked in Danville and signed by a Mrs. Betty Jones and family was found. The body remained at F. W. Townes and Son Funeral Parlor for nearly 12 hours before the body was identified. Hundreds of people visited the funeral parlor. Many people thought they recognized the man, including a hotel manager who believed the man had inquired about the price of a room. Two people were so convinced of the identity of the man that they had to contact relatives to make sure their kin was still alive.

Finally, Tuesday afternoon, a man named R. C. Davis was able to positively identify the man as his brother, Thomas Davis who was delivering a load of tobacco to Danville. R. C. Davis trekked to Danville to inquire about his brother after having not heard from him in a day.

Two days after Thomas Davis' body was found, a horse dropped dead in its tracks at that very spot.

Then, once again, on Thursday night another man was killed at the Red Alley crossing. Lee A. Ligon, a local merchant, was struck by a train. His body was not discovered for some time later, when two African-American men were turning their car around in the alley and discovered the body as their headlights swept past. Authorities arrived on the scene in short order. Schoolfield, being closer to scene arrived first, followed by Danville. After questioning and releasing the men who discovered the body, authorities quickly deemed the man had been struck by a train, presumably the Piedmont Limited or possibly train number 46. His body was thrown clear of the tracks, his skull knocked in, and his wrist and leg broken by the impact.

The next morning, it was learned that Mr. Ligon had travelled to Red Alley alone that night. His son explained that he had gone to meet with William Cobb about "the endorsement of a note and other business matters." His son also disclosed that his father had been "unduly nervous about himself and about business matters." It seems that Mr. Ligon's health had been in a decline in the weeks and months prior to the incident. Just a few days before his death, Mr. Ligon confided to a friend that he was suffering from a bout of insomnia and he heard a roaring in his head "like a train," and again to another that he thought he was "going crazy." Mr. Ligon had also been trying to straighten out his business affairs; settling debts from a previous business endeavor.

It was this incident that led Schoolfield and Danville police officers to begin as thorough an investigation as possible.

The last story intrigues the Psychology major in me. It is evident that Lee Ligon was suffering from a deep depression. The roaring in his head, the insomnia, and straightening out his affairs clearly indicate that he's in a deep depression and was possibly considering killing himself. I'm not saying that he intentionally walked in front of a train, but we'll never know what thoughts crossed his mind as he traveled from his home on Grove Street to Red Alley that evening. It's never mentioned how he arrived there that evening, so there's no telling if he took a cab, or a street car (which I believe Danville had at the time, will check later and edit this as necessary), or if he walked. If he walked, it's possible he walked along the train tracks that evening. Mr. Ligon never arrived at his meeting with Mr. Cobb that night. It's likely he never heard the roar of the train through the roaring in his head, but how he didn't see the headlight of the train remains a mystery.

What we do know, however, is that  during the final weeks of January, 1925 Danville was plagued with mysterious deaths that all centered around one location: Red Alley railroad crossing.