DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at this spot has to say — and friend, it's a story worth pullin' over for. Now, Abilene was a young town in a hurry. Incorporated in 1883, just two years after its 1881 founding, and already it had developed what the polite folks might call a lawless reputation.
The first city officials looked around at what they had and decided: no, sir. We are going to be civilized. So they got to work.
They passed strong ordinances — no firing a gun inside city limits, gambling completely outlawed, and alcohol establishments held to a higher standard of order. Fine laws. Admirable laws.
The kind of laws that look real impressive right up until the moment somebody decides to test them. That moment came on the evening of January 8, 1884. City Alderman Frank Collins and his brother Walter — Walter being a Taylor County Deputy Sheriff, which is worth noting — walked into a saloon at the northeast corner of North First and Pine Streets.
Now, the man behind that saloon was Zeno L. Hemphill. And here's where it gets interesting, because Hemphill was not exactly a pillar of the new civic order.
He'd been convicted of assault back in 1880, and at the very moment of this story, he was scheduled for an April 1884 trial for killing a man the previous year. That trial was coming. April was coming.
But January got there first. Hemphill confronted Frank Collins — the alderman, the man who'd helped pass these very anti-gambling laws — right there in the saloon. Angry words were exchanged.
Then punches were exchanged. And then Hemphill drew a gun and shot Walter Collins, who had stepped between the two men. Walter, trying to be the peacemaker, caught the bullet for it.
Then gunfire broke out between Frank Collins and Hemphill. When the dust settled on Pine Street, Walter Collins was dead. Zeno L.
Hemphill was dead. And Frank Collins — he held on for two months before dying from his injuries. Three men.
One saloon. One confrontation over the very laws meant to prevent exactly this. Abilene was paying attention.
In the aftermath, the enforcement of those new city ordinances became a top priority — not a suggestion, not an aspiration, a priority. John J. Clinton was appointed City Marshal, and he didn't just show up for a season.
He served in that position for thirty-seven years. And the story kept echoing. When the June 1887 state prohibition election came around, Abilene citizens voted dry — even as the rest of the state voted against prohibition.
A city prohibition law was defeated in 1894, the pendulum swinging back, but in 1902, citizens voted to ban alcohol sales within the city limits entirely. And those Abilene saloons? They remained shuttered for seventy-five years.
One January evening on Pine Street. Three men dead. And a town that looked at the wreckage and decided — no more.
What the marker says
WHEN THE YOUNG RAILROAD TOWN OF ABILENE INCORPORATED IN 1883, THE FIRST CITY OFFICIALS DESIRED TO PROJECT A MORE CIVILIZED IMAGE TO VISITORS AND NEW SETTLERS, AS THE NEW TOWN HAD ALREADY DEVELOPED A LAWLESS REPUTATION SINCE ITS 1881 FOUNDING. STRONG LAWS PROHIBITING SEVERAL FORMS OF DISORDERLINESS WERE ENACTED, ESPECIALLY IN PLACES WHERE ALCOHOL WAS SERVED. ORDINANCES MADE IT ILLEGAL TO FIRE A GUN WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, AND GAMBLING WAS COMPLETELY OUTLAWED. ON THE EVENING OF JANUARY 8, 1884, CITY ALDERMAN FRANK COLLINS AND HIS BROTHER, WALTER, WHO WAS A TAYLOR COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF, ENTERED A SALOON AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF NORTH FIRST AND PINE STREETS. THE SALOON PROPRIETOR, ZENO L. HEMPHILL, CONFRONTED FRANK COLLINS ABOUT THE NEWLY-PASSED ANTI-GAMBLING LAWS. (HEMPHILL HAD BEEN CONVICTED OF ASSAULT IN 1880 AND WAS SCHEDULED FOR AN APRIL 1884 TRIAL FOR KILLING A MAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.) ANGRY WORDS, AND THEN PUNCHES, WERE EXCHANGED, AND HEMPHILL DREW A GUN AND SHOT WALTER COLLINS, WHO HAD STEPPED BETWEEN THE TWO MEN. GUNFIRE THEN BROKE OUT BETWEEN FRANK COLLINS AND HEMPHILL. WHEN THE DUST SETTLED, WALTER COLLINS AND ZENO HEMPHILL WERE DEAD, AND FRANK COLLINS DIED FROM HIS INJURIES AFTER TWO MONTHS. AS A RESULT OF THE INCIDENT, THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE NEW CITY ORDINANCES BECAME A TOP PRIORITY. JOHN J. CLINTON WAS APPOINTED AS CITY MARSHAL, AND HE SERVED IN THE POSITION FOR 37 YEARS. IN ADDITION, THE EPISODE LIKELY INFLUENCED VOTING IN THE JUNE 1887 STATE PROHIBITION ELECTION, IN WHICH ABILENE CITIZENS VOTED “DRY,” ALTHOUGH THE STATE VOTED AGAINST PROHIBITION. A CITY PROHIBITION LAW WAS DEFEATED IN 1894, BUT IN 1902, CITIZENS VOTED TO BAN ALCOHOL SALES WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, AND ABILENE SALOONS REMAINED SHUTTERED FOR 75 YEARS.