120-year-old mystery . . .
The County Line
The full story of the most infamous shootout in Hamilton County history, which took the lives of a policeman and a preacher, is told in a new book coming out on the 120th anniversary of the shootings.
Andrew Wright, historical researcher for the Carmel Clay Historical Society, has done months of digging into the 1900 incident and brings a conclusion to the question of “Who shot Cyclone Johnson?”
On the evening of June 8, 1900, a fiery, itinerant evangelist, Thomas J. (Cyclone) Johnson, was brought before the Carmel Justice of the Peace Court, held at the Jeffries Livery Stable, to face allegations of assault and battery against a teenage Carmel boy who heckled the preacher during one of his revival meetings.
Carmel constable Edward Carey, knowing the volatile preacher, deputized his cousin, William Frank Carey, to help escort Johnson to court. For some reason, the supposedly reformed ex-con Rev. Johnson was not adequately searched. He was carrying a hidden revolver.
Upon reaching the livery stable, where a large crowd had gathered, Johnson apparently panicked, pulled his weapon, and shot the deputy. William Carey died on the spot.
Chaos erupted, followed by gunfire from members of the crowd. Johnson was killed by multiple gunshot wounds. The county sheriff and coroner were called, but after questioning, no one in the crowd admitted to knowing who shot Cyclone. The shooter was listed as undetermined.
The killings got wide news coverage at the time. Carey left a widow and three children. Johnson also left a widow and children.
Now, more than a century later, Wright has discovered new information after combing through 78 pages of witness testimony which had not been seen since the incident. In it he finds the answers to who shot Cyclone.
Deputy Carey is honored with a statue on Main Street at the Monon Trail near the site of the shootout. The only law enforcement officer ever killed in Carmel, his photo hangs in Carmel Police headquarters.
The book, entitled The Story of Frank Carey and Cyclone Johnson, may be purchased at the Carmel Historical Society Depot Museum in June.