Thomas Jefferson “Red” Golemon
Four thousand people crowded the little Hardin cemetery in 1940 when Red Goleman was buried after a career of robbery and murder. The old Hull State Bank had its share of excitement one July day in 1939 when Texas public enemy number one, Thomas Jefferson “Red” Golemon, Big Thicket native and ex-moonshiner turned bandit, who called himself the Fox, visited. He and partner Francis Elva Smith, both masked, strolled into the bank at noon with pistols drawn and ordered two terrified clerks into the vault. They sacked some $12,000.00 in cache and locked the ladies in the vault. Police were alerted, roadblocks set up but they weren't caught. Several days later relatives turned Golemon in. He confessed, agreed to turn over his share but refused to name his partner. He tried to slash his wrist with a tobacco tin then led police to the Thicket and unearthed a fruit jar with $645. A smaller amount was found in Houston. His partner was later apprehended and hired Houston's topnotch lawyer but Goleman decided to “face the music like a man” and the court appointed his counsel. Both men jumped bond. Golemon spent the winter in the thicket playing fox and hounds with the law. From the Big Thicket Guide book.