In the early 1920s, Davis moved to southwest Florida, where she published The Hendry County News, and later owned and operated a chain of seven movie theaters.
Fascinated by a picture of E. E. Goodno's local ranch, she started speaking to the owner of the hotel in LaBelle, who promptly offered her a salary of $100 a month to serve as publicity agent and secretary of the Chamber of Commerce at LaBelle.
In 1926, The Tampa Tribune called Davis "the heroine of LaBelle" for her courageous reporting of the lynching of Henry Patterson, despite threats of further mob violence.
One of Davis's columns, "In the Realm of Make Believe," was written for children. Content from The Hendry County News was syndicated to other Florida newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune and The Fort Myers Press.On May 11, 1926, an African American man named Henry Patterson was murdered by a mob of between 40 and 60 men in LaBelle. The mob violence was triggered by a misunderstanding with Mrs. Bennett Crawford, who saw him approach her house and started screaming.
The mob shot Patterson several times without killing him. Patterson managed to break away and staggered to the door of the offices of The Hendry County News as he was chased.
Mary Hayes Davis, who was standing in the doorway, told him, "Man, I cannot help you. Pray to your God." As Patterson ran away and tried to climb a wire fence, he was shot again and fell.
Still alive, he was dragged down the main street in LaBelle, as he was kicked and maimed. Upon reaching the town's new courthouse, Patterson was hanged from a tree and shot yet again.
Davis was warned repeatedly not to report on the story. Her office door had circles of blood drawn on it, with a chisel thrust through. Nevertheless, she went ahead and published in-depth coverage of the incident, as well as editorials condemning mob violence.
She died at her home in Fort Myers, Florida, on May 18, 1948.
Davis was warned repeatedly not to report on the story. Her office door had circles of blood drawn on it, with a chisel thrust through. Nevertheless, she went ahead and published in-depth coverage of the incident, as well as editorials condemning mob violence.
On November 29, 1926, Mary Hayes Davis was one of 21 witnesses called to testify on the first day of the trial against the men accused of participating in the lynching. Although the lynchers ultimately went unpunished, the grand jury criticized Sheriff Dan L. McLaughlin for his failure to protect Henry Patterson and recommended his removal from office.
In 1928, The Hendry County News received the Florida Newspaper Association award for Best Community News Service at its annual convention.
In 1933, she sold the newspaper to Keathley Bowden, who ran The Clewiston News
The Dixie Chrystal Theatre
Davis commissioned a new movie theatre to be built in LaBelle. In 1928, she opened her new LaBelle Theatre, in a two-story building with a painted mural of the Florida coast surrounding the screen. There, she showed the first talking picture in Hendry County in September 1931.
In 1934, she built the original Dixie Crystal Theatre in Clewiston, a masonry vernacular building north of Sugarland Highway. Its name was a tribute to the local sugar industry. In 1940, Davis commissioned architect Chester A. Cone to design a new theater, with Earl Anderson as the contractor. The new Dixie Crystal Theatre opened in 1941 and was located at the corner of Sugarland Highway and Central Avenue, a unique one-story building in the Moderne style of architecture.
She also built a 300-seat movie theater in the Harlem district of Clewiston for African Americans. The Harlem Theater was bombed with dynamite, which delayed its opening in 1938. Davis's theaters in Clewiston did well as the local community began to thrive.
In 1998, the Dixie Crystal Theatre in Clewiston, which Davis had opened in 1941, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is now a dental office builsing.
In 1935, she took over the movie theater in Pompano Beach. In addition, she built a movie theater in Moore Haven, and operated theaters in Naples and Venice. Around 1942, she built a movie theater at Fort Myers Beach in a modern stucco building, which she ran on a seasonal basis, closing during the summer.
In 1935, she took over the movie theater in Pompano Beach. In addition, she built a movie theater in Moore Haven, and operated theaters in Naples and Venice. Around 1942, she built a movie theater at Fort Myers Beach in a modern stucco building, which she ran on a seasonal basis, closing during the summer.
Photo: Southwest Florida Historical Museum
Story Source: Wikipedia
Story Source: Wikipedia
Very interesting article.
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