Companion to Our Story — the documentary record of how the August 1895 shooting at the Hotel Woodford traveled from a Main Street hallway in Versailles to newspapers across the United States. Every link below is a free, public scan at the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America archive; each opens with the search term highlighted so you can verify it in one click.
The New York Story
The morning after the shooting, the New-York Daily Tribune — one of the most influential papers in the country — carried the story on page 3, naming the hotel:
“SHOT DOWN FATHER AND SON.”
“Lexington, Ky., Aug. 5 (Special).—W. N. Lane, a young man, of this city, this afternoon shot and instantly killed James Rodenbaugh, and mortally wounded the latter’s father, H. C. Rodenbaugh, a prominent turfman and proprietor of the Woodford Hotel, at Versailles… Colonel Breckinridge, for whom Lane was a strong partisan, was telephoned to at once, and will defend him. H. C. Rodenbaugh was a Federal soldier and the senior member of the racing firm of Rodenbaugh & Rodegap.”
— New-York Daily Tribune, Tuesday, August 6, 1895, p. 3 · read the original page at the Library of Congress
The Coverage Map — Fourteen Papers, Ten States
Within ninety-six hours the wire story had run coast to coast, California to Rhode Island. Every row links to the original scan:
| Date | Newspaper | City | Archive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 1895 | New-York Tribune | New York, NY | p. 3 |
| Aug 6, 1895 | The San Francisco Call | San Francisco, CA | p. 1 |
| Aug 6, 1895 | The Record-Union | Sacramento, CA | p. 1 |
| Aug 6, 1895 | Birmingham Age-Herald | Birmingham, AL | p. 3 |
| Aug 6, 1895 | Pawtucket Tribune | Pawtucket, RI | p. 5 |
| Aug 6, 1895 | Pawtucket Evening Post | Pawtucket, RI | p. 8 |
| Aug 8, 1895 | River Falls Journal | River Falls, WI | p. 2 |
| Aug 9, 1895 | Hopkinsville Kentuckian | Hopkinsville, KY | p. 1 |
| Aug 9, 1895 | The Forrest City Times | Forrest City, AR | p. 5 |
| Aug 10, 1895 | The Frankfort Roundabout (front page, state capital) | Frankfort, KY | p. 1 |
| Aug 10, 1895 | The Osceola Times | Osceola, AR | p. 3 |
| Sep 1, 1895 | The Roanoke Times | Roanoke, VA | p. 2 |
| Sep 5, 1895 | Rocky Ford Enterprise | Rocky Ford, CO | p. 4 |
| Mar 3, 1896 | San Antonio Daily Light (first-trial coverage) | San Antonio, TX | p. 1 |
What the Record Shows
The shooting occurred at about 4:15 p.m. on Monday, August 5, 1895, in the hotel’s hallway, over a disputed board bill. James Rodenbaugh, 22, died at the scene; his father Col. H. C. Rodenbaugh — a Union veteran and senior partner in the racing firm of Rodenbaugh & Rodegap — died the following day. Col. W. C. P. Breckinridge was engaged for the defense the same afternoon. Feeling in Versailles ran high enough that the trial was moved to Louisville on a change of venue. The first trial, in February 1896, ended in a hung jury; the second, in March 1897, in acquittal on grounds of self-defense. The Woodford Sun began its coverage of “the Hotel Woodford killings” on August 9, 1895.
Research compiled from the Library of Congress Chronicling America archive and the Woodford Sun, July 2026, by Eric Carrico, proprietor. See also: Our Story · The Architect · Dr. James C. Crow · General Marquis Calmes.