Sheriff W. C. "Lum" McDougal

W. C. "Lum" McDougal

Sheriff W.C. "Lum" McDougal was shot and killed 8 miles west of Carrollton as he attempted to arrest a man for stealing a suit of clothes. Sheriff McDougal arrived at the suspect's house by buggy and notified the suspect that he was being placed under arrest. The suspect agreed to go with Sheriff McDougal but asked if he could retrieve his shoes from the back room of his home first. Sheriff McDougal, who was familiar with the suspect, agreed and waited outside on the porch. Instead of getting his shoes, the suspect retrieved a shotgun and fired at Sheriff McDougal, striking him in the neck and head with squirrel shot and killing him instantly.

The suspect fled the scene and managed to elude capture for almost two years by disguising himself and gaining employment on a farm owned by Sheriff McDougal's brother-in-law. He was eventually captured after a woman reported him for threatening to kill her just as he had killed the sheriff of Carroll County. The suspect was tried and convicted for the murder of Sheriff McDougal and was executed by hanging on December 11, 1914.

"Lum" McDougal had served as the sheriff of Carroll County for 4 years and was less than a month short of his 40th birthday at the time of his murder. He was survived by his wife, his children, his mother, and several brothers and sisters. He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in North Carrollton.