White was a black farmer who was accused of the rape and murder of Helen Bishop, who was arrested and brought to the workhouse.

"[6] In 1903 specifically, there was a wave of lynchings across the midwest, including events in Evansville, Indiana; Springfield, Ohio; and Belleville and Danville, Illinois.

Scholar Michael J. Pfeifer describes this contradiction, saying "If the area's commercial interests were more aligned with...the industrial North, the state's social politics continued to reflect a Jim Crow orientation on matters of race and rights.

[9] That same afternoon, hundreds of people went to Helen Bishops's public funeral, which showcased the grief of the family, especially the mother.

[10] On June 21, 1903, a crowd of 3,000 gathered at the Olivet Presbyterian Church to hear Reverend Robert Elwood speak on the topic that he had advertised in the newspaper as "Should the Murderer of Miss Bishop Be Lynched?"

Elwood spoke on the importance of quickly resolving the issue, and encouraged officials to take care of it before the citizens were forced to.

To further agitate the crowd, Elwood brought out a container full of leaves, supposedly stained in Helen Bishop's blood.

[10] The following evening of June 22, several hundred men and boys gathered and marched to the town's workhouse, where White was being held.

The third time he ran out, a member of the mob cut off his right foot, and another hit him in the head with a piece of a fence.

At this time, many onlookers rushed to the stake and picked through the ash to loot pieces of White's bones, cloth, or other items to bring home as souvenirs.

Many papers wrote entire editorials on the subject, including the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

[12] Other pieces published pictures from the event, gruesome details, quotes by those who had witnessed it, and the transcript of White's supposed confession.

Then I gave her a hack in the throat with my knife...Then I went back to the house and put on a light hat instead of the cap I wore.

[12] Cardinal James Gibbons mentioned the case in an article for the North American Review where he condemned lynching.

This is, and always has been, a law abiding community, and there never has been any question in the minds of those who chose to stop and think that exact justice would be meted out to all lawbreakers no matter how heinous the crime.

Elwood was a Protestant reverend who argued that the lynching was justified due to the inadequate reactions of the town's courts and police.

Crowds began to gather and quickly turned violent when the mayor didn't respond to their demands to let Cornell go.

He was eventually let out on bail, but the crowd did not disappear, and a number of men began attacking black people around the town.

[24] On June 23, 2019, the George White Commemorative Historic Marker was unveiled in Greenbank Park by the Delaware Social Justice Remembrance Coalition.