George F. Hampton

Jan 6th, 1810 - Oct 31st 1874

George Fredrick Hampton was born on January 6th, 1810. He was the great-great grandson of Edward C. Hampton, the man that brought slavery to Stone’s Throw.

Coming from a long line of Hamptons that ran the plantation, George was born into money. Not only did the Hamptons run one of the largest and most profitable plantations in the south, but they were also the mayors of their time.

Growing up on the plantation, George had his own ideas of how things should be ran. He figured he would much rather be feared than loved. The Hampton plantation became known as hell on earth once he took over. He would hang one slave per week just to keep the others in line. They didn’t have to break any rules or anything, George just wanted them to know he was in charge.

He would also play an evil game of escape. Once a month, he would take three African men and demand they try and escape. If they refused to participate, he would hang them or shoot them on the spot. For the ones that did participate, he always captured them, then accused them of trying to escape, and executed them.

After proving himself and running the family business for years, George set his eyes on becoming the next mayor of Stone’s Throw in 1860. Needless to say, he won.

After the Union troops won the civil war, things started to change around Stone’s Throw. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, thus ending slavery. This act would set in motion the events that would make his name live forever in infamy.

Since George refused to grant freedom to his slaves, many tried to escape. One such slave was Francine Abebe. On the night of October 31st, 1864, Francine wrapped her newborn baby in a blanket and tried to escape the plantation in the pouring rain.

She made it to the Hampton bridge but was trapped by Mr. Hampton and his slave catcher, Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson shot Francine in the leg, causing her to fall and drop her baby on the bridge. Mr. Hampton picked up the crying baby and tossed him over the bridge to his death. Bleeding profusely, Francine dragged her body to the edge of the bridge and yelled out, “Where is my baby?”, before dragging herself over the edge and joining her son in the watery grave below.

The next year, slavery was completely outlawed in the United States, and the plantation had to hire workers to stay afloat.

In 1866, George was defeated in the mayoral election and thus ushered in a new era in Stone’s Throw. Although he was no longer mayor, George was still one of the richest men in the country.

Over next few years, George became somewhat of a recluse and began to drink himself to death. On October 31st, 1874, the lifeless body of George Hampton was found. It was sitting upright in the corner of his living room staring into the sky. The expression on his face looked as if he was scared to death.

The official death certificate said Mr. Hampton died from liver failure because of his heavy usage of alcohol. However, someone working at the undertaker's place said that was not the case. He stated that George Hampton’s heart had stopped.

People around town believe that Francine Abebe paid George a visit that night. It was exactly ten years from the day he murdered her and her baby.