The ghosts of Lucas County's Death Valley, Part 1

As Halloween neared this year, I thought for a time of starting a new Lucas County ghost story: The ghastly apparition of old Joe Buchanan roaming that holler known by some as Death Valley --- just south of my Grandpa Clair's lone grave on a lonely hilltop out in far northeast Pleasant Township.

In one version, Joe would be carrying his head --- sawn from the rest of his carcass by Doc Whitlatch after his remains had been exhumed from their resting place in the Columbia Cemetery during November of 1901.

In another version, the unfortunate Mr. Buchanan would be searching frantically for that head, last spotted in public at the Lucas County Courthouse in Chariton during October of 1902 when used in evidence against the young man accused of bashing it in with an axe on or about Oct. 4-5, 1901.

We just don't know what became of the head after that.

But then I gave the ghost story idea up. It seemed disrespectful to Mr. Buchanan. Some danged fools would likely believe the story and start haunting that little valley themselves. And I didn't want to disturb my great-great-great-grandpa, William Clair, buried on that hilltop during January of 1853 and accustomed to having the place to himself.

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That's the cabin (top) in the holler where Joseph H. Buchanan was murdered --- many thanks to Dennis Stotts for allowing me to use his original image. But we know very little about Mr. Buchanan himself. By all accounts he kept himself to himself, as they say.

There was general agreement after his death, however, that he was a reticent but very respectable man who had arrived in the Pleasant Township neighborhood south and east of Columbia about 25 years earlier to farm and mine coal, close to the surface here in cuts and along embankments. He had no notable vices and was by no means a hermit as some have suggested --- merely inclined to solitude.

He first appears in the 1880 census of Pleasant Township at age 30 as a boarder in the home of Melvin and Hannah Kennedy. His occupation was given as miner, his marital status as "single" and his birthplace, as Pennsylvania. 

We know that he owned 40 acres of land in Section 1 of Pleasant Township, sold to Chariton's J.J. Smythe during 1899; and an additional 15 acres of land containing a coal bank, sold to Lee and Owen Whitlatch during 1901. According to stories that circulated after his death, Joe rarely left the Columbia neighborhood --- other than twice a year when he rode into Chariton to pay his taxes.

Some said Mr. Buchanan had moved to Lucas County from Streator, Illinois, but I've found no indication of that. Some said he'd always been single; others said he had been married and had a daughter, now married herself, somewhere in Illinois. All we do know for sure is that he had a brother, John Buchanan, who arrived in Chariton not long after Joseph's death and hired an attorney, James A. Penick, to assist state prosecutors in the case against the murder suspect. Some said the brother was from Illinois; others, from Texas.

By 1900, Joe had given up farming and mining and opened a grocery store in Columbia, where he was living by himself in a rented dwelling (perhaps his store), age given as 50, birthplace given as Illinois, occupation given as "grocery man."

That enterprise didn't work out, however, and by 1901 Joseph had leased his coal bank back from the Whitlatch boys, returned to his earlier profession and moved into that small cabin in "Death Valley." We don't know exactly where in the holler the cabin was located.

It was here that Owen Whitlatch discovered Mr. Buchanan's decomposing remains on Saturday, Oct. 12, 1901, a discovery that resulted in lengthy reports in all three of Chariton's weekly newspapers as well as all the other newspapers in the region. Here's the report from Sam Greene's Chariton Herald, published on Thursday, Oct. 17, under the headline "Cold Blooded Murder: Joseph H. Buchanan, of Pleasant Twp., Butchered With an Axe, for his Money."

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Some time during the week preceding last Friday, October 11, Joseph H. Buchanan, a respected citizen of northeast Pleasant township, near Columbia, was killed in his cabin by parties at this time unknown, presumably for the purposes of robbery. The dead man's body was found on Saturday morning by some men of his neighborhood, the head crushed with an axe, and the state of decomposition of the body indicating that he had been dead several days, perhaps a week. When found, the body was lying on the floor beside his bed, and was partially wrapped in a quilt, with the face covered by a piece of carpet. The clothes were on the body, indicating that the man had either not gone to bed, or else had risen and dressed, when his murderer came.

It was generally known that he had some money, perhaps two or three hundred dollars, and as his pockets showed signs of ransacking, and the bed was tumbled about as if search had been made there, there is little doubt that robbery was the purpose of the murderer or murderers. Only four cents and an empty pocketbook were found with him.

After the discovery of the body, Sheriff (Eli) Manning and Coroner (Theodore P.) Stanton were sent for, and they impaneled a jury consisting of C.K. Demerica (Charles K. Demercia), P. Pettyjohn and J.F. Wilson, who after due investigation rendered a verdict to the effect that the deceased had come to his death "as a result of being struck on the head with an axe by some unknown person or persons, shattering his skull horribly, producing death instantly." After the inquest the body of Mr. Buchanan was decently buried, and the first incident of one of Lucas county's most horrible tragedies was closed.

The deceased man was living alone, and had lived in that part of the county about twenty-five years. He was aged about fifty-five years, and was a quiet, industrious man, always attending to his own business and striving to make a decent living. He came here from Streator, Illinois, and it is said by some that he has a daughter living at Galva, Illinois, and a brother in Texas. Others say that he was never married, and that in Illinois he lived as quietly and unknown as here. He had owned land in Pleasant township at different times, and not long ago sold his last fifteen acres to Owen and Lee Whitlatch, two brothers who had considerable to do with his affairs. He sold the coal rights on it some time before.

A year or so ago he conducted a store in Columbia, a little town in Marion county, near his home, but failed in that undertaking, and retired again to his quiet cabin life. It was his weekly custom, from which he rarely altered, to go to Columbia every Saturday night to get shaved. He was not at the barber shop on the Saturday night preceding the finding of his body, which is one indication that he was murdered on Friday night, October 4, as he was last seen on that day. He had no relatives in this part of the country.

Suspicion in the neighborhood of the murder strongly attaches to some young men there, but nothing has developed yet sufficient to warrant their arrest. A reward is being offered for the apprehension of the murderers, and it is hoped by all good people that they will be caught and hung.

In the coroner's inquest the following testimonies were received:

Lee Whitlatch stated that he had worked for Mr. Buchanan while he was running a store in Columbia, but had never had any trouble with him. He last saw him October 1, at the coal bank near there. He thinks Mr. Buchanan had money at that time. He also saw his body on the Saturday morning it was found. Never heard of the deceased having trouble with anyone. He said he did not know of any idlers who rarely had money, who now had plenty of money.

William Osborn testified that he knew Buchanan, knew him to be a law-abiding citizen, with no enemies. he said he also know of a man in that locality (not naming him) with no visible means of support, who within a week told him he had won $50 within a short time, but had lost it just as soon. That man has lived in that part of the country for five years or more and had the reputation of being truthful.

Owen Whitlatch, one of the owners of the coal land which Buchanan formerly owned, said he had leased the coal lands to Buchanan at the time of his death. He said he last saw him Sept. 28. He knew him to be a steady, hard working sober man. Two or three months ago, Buchanan gave Whitlatch change for a $100 bill, and the old man seemed to have as much more. He knew Buchanan to be a man who did not gamble or spend his money recklessly. He saw him on the morning of October, 12, when he went to his cabin, dead on the floor. He did not examine the body, but called his brother, Lee Whitlatch, and also S.B. Wolf, Albert Askren, Jacob Long, Alf Maddy, and John Bonley, and sent for the coroner. He did not know of anyone visiting Buchanan from the time he last saw him, on Sept. 28. He said that Wm. Wagner told him to tell Buchanan that he (Wagner) wold go into partnership with him in the coal business, and that if he did not see him, he (Wagner) would see him on Sunday himself. He does not know whether Wagner went on that Sunday or not.

A.D. Phelps testified to the good character of Mr. Buchanan, and said he had paid deceased $60 for a horse the last week in June. He thought he had quite a sum of money. He saw a light moving about Buchanan's house a few nights before the body was found, about nine o'clock p.m.

R. L. Wright also testified to seeing the light moving about Buchanan's house at that time, in the timber pasture perhaps 300 yards away from the cabin. His family also saw it. He told also of the deceased's character and habits, and said  he last saw him over a week before, when he had considerable money, he thought.

J.L. Long testified that he saw a light moving toward Buchanan's house on the Tuesday evening before, and in about ten minutes saw it return. He first learned of the death through Owen Whitlatch that morning.

The citizens of Pleasant township and the vicinity of Columbia, after learning through H.M. Finch, a former member of the board of supervisors, that the board could not appropriate any of the county's money as a reward for the apprehension of the murderer signed a petition of agreement to offer a purse of $600 themselves for the apprehension of the murderer or murderers. The petition contains over 125 names of citizens living in the vicinity of the murder. There is little doubt that the reward will bring developments that will lead to the right capture.

--- To be continued