How big was business at the Gold Coast? Big. Big enough to make The Dock at its busiest look literally like a Sunday School picnic. Big enough that the Jackson Chamber of Commerce pulled every string it could with the Governor to shut them down. The 1938 newspapers show raids, arson, shootings, and just plain raucousness as the Gold Coast became the whiskey-fueled hydra of Rankin County. It seemed no matter how many axes and padlocks were used to shut down the clubs of the Gold Coast, the Gold Coast would regroup and become even bigger. The first article is about a traffic jam at the Woodrow Wilson bridge. (Click on images to enlarge.).
It was Saturday night on November 13, 1938. Business was booming on the Gold Coast as the Jackson Daily News reported there were more than 2,000 cars crossing the bridge that night. It took over twenty minutes to cross the bridge.
Police began another crackdown as Jackson police busted a truck full of whiskey meant for the Gold Coast on November 30, 1938. The truck contained over $4,000 in liquor (Over $65,000 in today's dollars.).
However, that bust was small potatoes compared to what Governor White did after the infamous traffic jams of November. The Jackson Chamber of Commerce was mad as hell about the mere existence of the Gold Coast as it estimated over $50,000 ($815,319 in today's dollars) was spent on the Gold Coast every week- Money that it thought should have been spent in Jackson. The Chamber presented petitions containing many signatures to Governor White and demanded action. The December 18, 1938 headline below was the result of the Chamber's strong-arming of the Governor.
The Chamber also called upon employers to tell their employees not to visit the Gold Coast. The Chamber provided forms for employees to sign that stated they would not visit the GOld Coast. It encouraged churches to get their congregations to sign petitions.
The Jackson Daily News reported two days later that the Adjutant General and his National Guard troops toured the Gold Coast to ensure it was there were no dens of sin operating in violation of the Governor's order. The Guardsmen found only "gloomy lightless buildings, bars half torn down, bottles of "chasers" scattered and broken across smooth dance floors" as the previous raid scared away all operators and patrons. Governor White promised to keep raiding the Gold Coast after the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld validity of his earlier raids.
Last but certainly not least was this September 11, 1938 story in the Jackson Daily News about the Godfather of the Bootleggers, Red Hydrick (No relation to Reinhardt). Big Red apparently aspired to be a true Sicilian and allegedly participated in a robbery of the manager of the Peacock, one of his competitors. Another club operated by the owners of the Peackock, the Maple Grove Inn, was also burned to the ground under mysterious circumstances.
Earlier posts about the Gold Coast
Rankin grand jury moves to shut down the Gold Coast
Rankin Sheriff beaten on Gold Coast
Rankin Constable killed in Gold Coast shootout (1946)
Governor sends troops into Rankin County (1939)
13 comments:
I am quite CERTAIN NONE of the crowds on the Gold Coast were Baptists, Methodists, or Presbyterians, all staying home as instructed by their preachers.
Kingfish, we still have bootleggers holding elected positions today. I remember making many trips from Jackson to the Gold Coast circle drives. It was like a busy bank on friday afternoon.
Prohibition works!
RMN
As soon as the Gold Coast was shut down church attendance probably increased dramatically!
The Dock would still be rockin if that Burwell crook hadn't screwed it up
I remember hearing that the descendants/family of "Big Red" owned most of the property in Fondren on the West side of North State Street between Mitchell and Hartfield streets.
You are referring to the Downings. Oddly enough, Vann Leonard went to jail over his embezzlement in that estate.
Vann Leonard jailed over Downing estate embezzlement
Vann Leonard indicted over Downing Estate embezzlement
Read the story in the first link.
So, the drug money needed to be spent in licensed businesses and not on the black market. Wow, I hope the descendants of the people who complained about the Gold Coast see it is no different today, only the chemicals change. Unfortunately, odds are the complainers, patrons and vendors on the gold coast went on to be supportive drug warriors (non-drinkable drugs anyway).
Thanks Kingfish! I was around in the 50s and still yearn for the days when your could call your bootlegger (mine was on Beasley Road) and have it delivered. There was also a sports writer at the Clarion-Ledger who picked it up in Rankin County and sold it from the trunk of his car.
The Napa valley's main purpose during prohibition was to provide communion wine to the Catholic Churches across the nation. Look at it now.
Addendum:
It has come to my attention that not enough people have been saved and that we must SPREAD the symbolic blood of Christ around so that many lost souls may be saved by seeing the light of a hangover. Therefor, I propose that those of us in Stankin Rankin that are tired of the bs and having to drive to Jacktown to get a bottle of holiness start a little church called the likker store within the county. We can call it 'The Temple of The Last Supper' and test the bounds of the new religious freedom law.
Who's with me? Religion is BIG business 'round these parts and apparently tax exempt. Let's start up a likker store in Rankin County that's tax exempt and when they come a knockin we can scream, " Persecution!!! Persecution!!!!! Persecution dang it!!!!! They don't want people to FEEL the symbolic blood of Christ and therefor must BE the Anti-Christ!. They are agents of Satan!!! We do not bow down to thee oh one with the A.B.C. badge!"
If they shoot us, the liberal media will be all over it.
I'd like for the temple to have one major location in Pearl and two other campuses of equal or lesser size in Brandon and Flowood with tax exempt status. All are welcome, for the gospel must be spread.
Thank ya very much.
Kingfish, I am sure you are getting some of our elderly politicians nervous with this "FLASHBACK"
One of our elected bootlegger officials did very well as a bootlegger.
Please keep up the good work!
Who?
I doubt they really care at this point.
RR Kingfish. You are correct. It really does not matter anymore.
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