The Night Riders

On September 24, 1904, the tobacco planters of western Kentucky and the neighboring counties of West Tennessee formed the Dark Fired Tobacco District, or Black Patch District Planters' Protective Association of Kentucky and Tennessee (called "the Association" or PPA).

It urged farmers to boycott the ATC and refuse to sell at the ruinously low prices being offered in a quasi-monopoly market.

[3] At the beginning of their work, between 70% and 95% of farmers in the county were signing contracts to deliver their crop only to the association (percentages varied in some regions).

They chose to seek personal profit, as the Trust then paid ten to twelve cents per pound in an attempt to destroy the Association.

[6] In order to solve this problem, farmers in the association met at Stainback School House; where they decided that some of the members should become "Possum Hunters".

[9] The Night Riders began to attack and terrorize individual farms and crops if the farmers did not support the Association.

[6] Large groups of armed Night Riders even took over some towns in actions in which they destroyed tobacco crops stored in Trust warehouses, as well as the buildings and machinery.

[10] In order to protect themselves from the government, some Night Riders gained election into office in affected Dark Patch regions.

Attorneys for some victims began to move plaintiffs out of Kentucky to establish residency elsewhere and qualify for a lawsuit in the federal courts.

They had a large number of voluntary members who pledged to sell only to the Burley Association, in order to consolidate the season's harvest for price negotiation with the monopoly.