Historic Washington State
Park offers two trial reenactments at various times throughout the year. One
concerns the 1844 trial of Henry Skaggs for the murder of William Oaks and the
other depicts the 1880 trial of Sidney McFadden for poisoning his wife. On the
dates of the events, registrants start their evening at Williams Tavern Restaurant
at the park for a historic “country cooking” dinner, after which they go to the
courthouse for the show. In the case of the 1844 trial, they go to the 1836
courthouse and for the 1880 trial they walk over to the 1874 courthouse. Both
buildings have been authentically restored. A calendar of events is posted on
the park’s web site, along with instructions for getting registered.
The Skaggs trial reveals
that Henry, apparently in his cups, showed up uninvited to a dinner at his “friend”
William Oaks’ house. He, a married man himself, apparently had a crush on Oaks’
wife Elizabeth and Oaks knew it and yelled for Skaggs to go away as he neared
the house. He did not go away and William Oaks ended up with a bullet through
his chest. Skaggs claimed Oaks drew on him but credible testimony at the trial asserted
that Oaks never carried a gun on his person. The historic verdict was guilty but
many modern juries find him innocent.
The McFadden trial is a
bit more complex with a larger bevy of witnesses. The historic truth was that
Sidney wanted to get rid of his wife, Easter, so he could take up with one
Martha Smith, known as a strumpet. But, during the trial, doubt is cast upon
that motivation. Even the owner of the plantation where he worked testified
that Sidney’s greatest fault was going on to new tasks too quickly. He thought
he was hardly capable of murder—unless drunk.
Members of the audience
are selected for jury duty in both reenactments and the actors who play the
prosecutors find it difficult to get a verdict of guilty. So, after thanking
the participants for their service as jurors, the judge has the historical verdict
read and sentences the guilty man to death by hanging. The last words from the
judge in both reenactments are, “May God have mercy on your soul.”
I have been type-cast as the judge in both
trials and have a lot of fun pontificating. The park’s chief interpreter plays
the defense attorney in both trials and one of his staff members plays the prosecutor
in both. We have better court records for the McFadden trial. We know, for
example, that Col. Dan Jones was the defense attorney and our interpreter goes
to the trouble of arranging his hair and whiskers to resemble the Col. (Dan
Jones was a very influential citizen during his time and was also a strong
benefactor for James Black, inventor of the Bowie knife.)
The best parts in both
dramas are those of the accused. The park employee who plays Henry Skaggs is my
favorite, the way he becomes almost simultaneously belligerent and deeply
afraid. The sheriff in the Skaggs trial is an audience favorite as the judge
browbeats him and keeps him moving to multiple tasks.
As a local citizen, it is
a joy for me to volunteer at such events and to see the audience enjoy a slice
of history.
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