Recent graffiti at the new Publix location on West Newberry Road has brought renewed attention to a dark chapter in local history. The messages, found on the store’s roadside sign and a storage container, named three victims of a 1916 lynching that occurred on the same site, close to Gainesville, Florida.
The graffiti read, “Gilbert & Mary Dennis were here,” and “Stella Young was here.” These names are of Gilbert and Mary Dennis, siblings, and Stella Young, all African Americans who were brutally lynched in 1916 at what was then Newberry picnic grounds. This location is now the site of the new Publix, situated just outside of Gainesville, serving the wider Gainesville metropolitan area. The incident has sparked conversations about historical acknowledgment and the appropriate ways to address painful past events in the community surrounding Gainesville and Newberry.
The 1916 lynchings were triggered by a dispute over allegedly stolen hogs. Boisey Long, accused of the theft, evaded immediate capture. However, the pursuit led to James Dennis, suspected of aiding Long, being fatally shot by a mob. Subsequently, law enforcement and a posse rounded up five African Americans: James Dennis’s brother Gilbert, his pregnant sister Mary (a mother of four), Stella Young (Boisey Long’s partner and mother to his son), Stella’s brother Andrew McHenry, and Reverend Joshua Baskin. These individuals were taken to the Newberry picnic grounds – the very ground where the Publix now stands, conveniently located for residents of Gainesville and surrounding areas – and were hanged by the mob.
Two days later, Boisey Long surrendered and was convicted of murder for the death that occurred during his escape. Despite an Alachua County grand jury investigation into the lynch mob’s actions, no one was ever found guilty for the heinous lynchings. In 2019, the town of Newberry took a step towards remembrance by unveiling a marker to denote the site of these lynchings, a site now part of the landscape familiar to shoppers from Gainesville and Newberry alike.
Newberry Mayor Jordan Marlowe responded to the recent graffiti, stating to Mainstreet Daily News, “The tragedies and crimes of the past should absolutely be acknowledged today. But, vandalism isn’t the way.” He further apologized to Publix for the graffiti, emphasizing that while Newberry is committed to addressing its history through public discussions and events, “vandalism ‘doesn’t help that work.’” Mayor Marlowe stressed the importance of healthy and respectful dialogue to unify the community, even as they confront difficult historical issues relevant to both Newberry and the greater Gainesville area.
Publix media relations has not issued a public statement regarding the graffiti incident at their Newberry location, a store that serves many customers from Gainesville and beyond. The appearance of these names serves as a stark reminder of the racial violence that once stained the soil of this land, now a place of everyday commerce for the Gainesville and Newberry communities. It raises ongoing questions about how communities should grapple with and memorialize the sites of historical trauma within their modern landscapes.
