On April 19, 1909, an organized mob hanged four men, among whom was American outlaw Deacon Jim Miller, who was set to be tried for the murder of a former U.S. marshal and member of the local freemason lodge."Ada, Oklahoma Lynching, 1909" at Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon (accessed April 1, 2010) The town had a population of about 5,000 at the time, and 38 murders a year at the time of the lynching. The Daily Ardmoreite reported that the four lynched men were "one of the bloodiest band of murderers in the state of Oklahoma and an organization of professional assassins, that for a record of blood crimes, probably has no equal in the annals of criminal history in the entire southwest".The Daily Ardmoreite. Ardmore, Oklahoma. Monday, 19 April 1909 www.oklahomahistory.net (accessed January 1, 2008).
