Deadly Barbecue:
The Saga of Enos Collins
Written by Justin Lamb
Enos Collins
The hot summer temperatures were not the only thing heated at a barbecue at Ham’s Store near the Hamlet community in July 1897 as tempers flared between eighteen year old Enos Collins and twenty-two year old Will Hampton.
Collins arrived at the community barbecue around 10am and was first confronted with Will Hampton and three other men who offered to gamble with Collins and his brother, Monroe. When the Collins brothers refused to gamble, Hampton became enraged and threatened to “whip” them. “We don’t want any trouble,” Collins told Hampton as he and his brother moved on through the crowd at the social event toward the field where the bulk of the crowd was beginning to congregate.
As the morning turned into afternoon, Hampton became drunk and began “picking fights” with anyone he came into contact with. He soon crossed paths again with Monroe Collins and the two men became engaged in a physical altercation. Shortly after, Enos Collins came along to break up his brother and Hampton.
Hampton turned his rage toward Enos Collins and picked up a large stick, charging after him as he shouted, “I am going to kill you, you no good son of a gun.” Hampton struck Collins with the stick and the two men began to fight. As Hampton pulled out a knife, Enos Collins reached for his pocket where he pulled out a pistol and fired two shots. The first bullet struck Hampton’s elbow while the second hit his left shoulder. Collins ran for his horse and fled toward him home at Olive as the crowd dispersed to find help. Hampton was left lying on the ground where he died fifteen minutes later. County Judge John J. Dupriest who was also attending the barbecue, but did not see the shooting, went for the sheriff at Benton. As an investigation began, Collins was soon arrested and taken to jail in Benton to await trial.
Following a lengthy trial which spread out over a year and resulted in several witnesses for both the Commonwealth and the defense, the trial concluded in late August 1898 when the jury found Enos Collins not guilty. Things began to slowly return to normal, but there were evident hard feelings and strong grudges held between the Collins and Hampton families for years to come.
Grave of Enos Collins at Olive.
Things finally came to a head when at a church picnic at Olive on July 9, 1904, Enos Collins and Finis Jones, a friend of the deceased Will Hampton, got into a heated confrontation. Collins, who according to the Paducah Daily Sun was “noticeably drunk and in a pugnacious mood,” began waving a pistol and firing into the air. Jones warned Collins to stop, but his calls feel on deaf ears as Collins continued to defy him and soon made a threat against his life. Jones’ temper reached a boiling point with Collins as he picked up his shotgun and fired a load of buckshot at Collins, hitting him in the stomach. Dr. Elias Henson was soon summoned, but little could be done for Collins as he died the following day. He was buried in the Olive Methodist Church cemetery. Jones was soon arrested, but later acquitted.