Murder of Mason Co. Sheriff Thomas Milligan -- Mason TX - Infamous Crime Scenes on Waymarking.com

Thomas Milligan was elected sheriff of Mason County shortly after the county was organized in 1858. He died two years later in an Indian attack on what was then the lawless Texas frontier.

70 years later, his grandson Allen Murray had been elected Sheriff of Mason County. In 1929, he was also killed in the line of duty, by bootleggers, not Indians.

From the Officer Down Memorial page: (visit link)

"Sheriff
Allen Thomas Murray
Mason County Sheriff's Department, Texas

End of Watch: Thursday, February 28, 1929

Sheriff Allen Murray was shot and killed while attempting to arrest two men for possessing containers of whiskey.

The gunman was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death on May 22, 1930. He was executed in the electric chair on June 19, 1931.

Sheriff Murray was survived by his wife, son, and daughter. His wife was appointed to fulfill his unexpired term as sheriff."

This historic marker stands in a rural roadside pullout along Fort McKavett Street (US87) in Mason. The marker reads as follows:

"TWO SHERIFFS OF MASON COUNTY

A native of Kentucky, Thomas S. Milligan (1810-1860) moved to this area in 1855 and operated a change station for the stage line. He was also a rancher and supplied beef to the soldiers at Fort Mason. Shortly after Mason County was organized in 1858 he became the first elected sheriff. Two years later he was killed by hostile Indians near his home (1.6 mi. NW). His grandson Allen Thomas Murray (1880-1929) became county sheriff in 1924 and like his grandfather died in the line of duty. He was killed by a bootlegger near this site in 1929. (1980)"

For more specific details of this crime, see the e-book TEXAS LAWMEN 1900-1940: MORE OF THE GOOD AND THE BAD y Cliffiord Caldwell and Ron DeLord: (visit link)

Date of crime: 02/28/1929 Public access allowed: yes Fee required: no Web site: [Web Link]

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