Bondurant Brothers:
When looking into the prohibition and bootlegging as a whole the
Bondurant brothers are usually a name that comes up. These brothers were known
for their ruthlessness and passion for moonshining in Franklin County Virginia.
Virginia at the time of these brothers would come to be known as the wettest
county in the world. These 3 men bootlegged gallons and gallons of moonshine all
over the state of Virginia and were some of the best at it. They are best known
for the [i]Great
Franklin County Moonshine Conspiracy. This
was a conspiracy many events were talked about it regards to the Bondurant
brothers. The overall story was through many events and even an actual trial
the Bondurant brothers were found at the center of Franklin county moonshine. A
man by the name of Sherwood Anderson began to research about the men who had
such a reputation and found records of all kinds. The conspiracy eventually led
to the finding that the Bondurant brothers were indestructible and untouchable.
These brothers tore through the state with reckless abandonment and refused to
give up. These brothers were almost caught many times such as this time as
mention in the book The Wettest County
in the World when it says [ii]“Rakes
wiped his face and regripped his pistol, bringing his arm up so it pointed as
Granville’s throat” These men even scared the deputies of Franklin due to their
lethal nature. Out of the 3 “bothers” Jack seemed the most out of place. He was
the misfit and was viewed as the weak link in the beginning of their time but
as time when on he proved himself over and over. These men amongst others in
Franklin count were some of the biggest influence to the repeal of the
18thamendment. Forrest, Howard and Jack were the men that ran
Franklin not the [iii]deputies
some even bribed the brothers for survival. It was said one time that [iv]“During the conspiracy trial, the government produced 176
witnesses "who told the jury of the huge extent of of the liquor operations in
the county." Some of those witnesses, called rumrunners, said they had moved
more than a million gallons of whiskey out of the county during the period
covered in the indictment, traveling in caravans at high speed with "pilot" cars
running interference to "ward off any officers that tried to stop them." (One
of those rumrunners was a woman, Mrs. Willie Carter Sharpe, who said she moved
more than 220,000 gallons between 1926 and 1931.)” The men mostly accountable
for this were in fact the Bondurant brothers. [v][vi]Many
men were accountable for the boom in moonshining but the [vii]Bondurant
brothers were some of the biggest.
[i] Bondurant, Matt. The wettest county in the world:
a novel based on a true story. New York: Scribner,
2008. Accessed April 19th
2014
[ii] Bondurant, Matt. The wettest county in the world: a novel
based on a true story. New York: Scribner, 2008. Accessed April 19th
2014
[iii] Folk, Adam. "Richmond County deputy sought
bribe, sheriff says .." Augusta Chronicle, October 2,
1917.
[iv] "Moonshining reputation built on long history - The
Franklin News Post." Moonshining reputation built on long history - The Franklin
News Post. http://www.thefranklinnewspost.com/article.cfm?ID=9297 (accessed
February 17, 2014).
[v] "1917." Academic Search Complete 43 (1992):
29.
[vi] Murphy, C.S.. "MOONSHINE RAIDS RAKE IN CACHE OPERATION
LIGHTNING STRIKE HITS FRANKLIN, PITTSYLVANIA, CRAIG COUNTIES." The Roanoke
Times, May 8, 1999.
[vii] Jackson, Todd. "FRANKLIN STILL SITES FOUND; 4 ARRESTED
AGENTS SEIZE 108 GALLONS OF MOONSHINE." The Roanoke Times, July 3,
1996.
When looking into the prohibition and bootlegging as a whole the
Bondurant brothers are usually a name that comes up. These brothers were known
for their ruthlessness and passion for moonshining in Franklin County Virginia.
Virginia at the time of these brothers would come to be known as the wettest
county in the world. These 3 men bootlegged gallons and gallons of moonshine all
over the state of Virginia and were some of the best at it. They are best known
for the [i]Great
Franklin County Moonshine Conspiracy. This
was a conspiracy many events were talked about it regards to the Bondurant
brothers. The overall story was through many events and even an actual trial
the Bondurant brothers were found at the center of Franklin county moonshine. A
man by the name of Sherwood Anderson began to research about the men who had
such a reputation and found records of all kinds. The conspiracy eventually led
to the finding that the Bondurant brothers were indestructible and untouchable.
These brothers tore through the state with reckless abandonment and refused to
give up. These brothers were almost caught many times such as this time as
mention in the book The Wettest County
in the World when it says [ii]“Rakes
wiped his face and regripped his pistol, bringing his arm up so it pointed as
Granville’s throat” These men even scared the deputies of Franklin due to their
lethal nature. Out of the 3 “bothers” Jack seemed the most out of place. He was
the misfit and was viewed as the weak link in the beginning of their time but
as time when on he proved himself over and over. These men amongst others in
Franklin count were some of the biggest influence to the repeal of the
18thamendment. Forrest, Howard and Jack were the men that ran
Franklin not the [iii]deputies
some even bribed the brothers for survival. It was said one time that [iv]“During the conspiracy trial, the government produced 176
witnesses "who told the jury of the huge extent of of the liquor operations in
the county." Some of those witnesses, called rumrunners, said they had moved
more than a million gallons of whiskey out of the county during the period
covered in the indictment, traveling in caravans at high speed with "pilot" cars
running interference to "ward off any officers that tried to stop them." (One
of those rumrunners was a woman, Mrs. Willie Carter Sharpe, who said she moved
more than 220,000 gallons between 1926 and 1931.)” The men mostly accountable
for this were in fact the Bondurant brothers. [v][vi]Many
men were accountable for the boom in moonshining but the [vii]Bondurant
brothers were some of the biggest.
[i] Bondurant, Matt. The wettest county in the world:
a novel based on a true story. New York: Scribner,
2008. Accessed April 19th
2014
[ii] Bondurant, Matt. The wettest county in the world: a novel
based on a true story. New York: Scribner, 2008. Accessed April 19th
2014
[iii] Folk, Adam. "Richmond County deputy sought
bribe, sheriff says .." Augusta Chronicle, October 2,
1917.
[iv] "Moonshining reputation built on long history - The
Franklin News Post." Moonshining reputation built on long history - The Franklin
News Post. http://www.thefranklinnewspost.com/article.cfm?ID=9297 (accessed
February 17, 2014).
[v] "1917." Academic Search Complete 43 (1992):
29.
[vi] Murphy, C.S.. "MOONSHINE RAIDS RAKE IN CACHE OPERATION
LIGHTNING STRIKE HITS FRANKLIN, PITTSYLVANIA, CRAIG COUNTIES." The Roanoke
Times, May 8, 1999.
[vii] Jackson, Todd. "FRANKLIN STILL SITES FOUND; 4 ARRESTED
AGENTS SEIZE 108 GALLONS OF MOONSHINE." The Roanoke Times, July 3,
1996.
