Bill Sketoe's Hole - Newton AL Real Haunts

The legend of Bill Sketoe's hole dates back to December 3, 1864 when a Methodist minister by the name of William Sketoe, Sr. was lynched by locals angry over his position during the Civil War. Accounts conflict, with some saying that Sketoe and deserted the Confederate Army and others that he aided pro-Union men in the area. Whatever the case, the minister was waylaid after crossing the Choctawhatchee River one day, and hanged from a Post Oak tree in the nearby woods. The lynching party initially failed to account for Bill's large frame, which bent the branch from which his noose was hung to the point that his feet could touch the ground. In order to finish the deed, one of the men dog a hole roughly 30 inches wide and 8 inches deep, giving enough room for the execution to proceed.

No concrete evidence was ever produced to implicate Sketoe, and in the years following his execution the entire lynching party died of unnatural causes, including one member who was killed after being struck by the limb of a Post Oak tree. Even more curious, the hole dug beneath Sketoe's feet remained unfilled for roughly 125 years! Despite attempts to fill it with dirt, rocks, and debris, the hole always mysteriously reverted back to its original dimensions. It was not until 1990, when a great deal of rock was deposited to strengthen the river bank after a flood, that the hole finally stayed filled. In 2006 a statue was raised near the execution site, telling Sketoe's tale.

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