THURMOND, WV (SWVO) – In the early years of the twentieth century, the Dun Glen Hotel at Southside — just across the New River from Thurmond — stood as one of the most notorious establishments in southern West Virginia.
Known for its fine dining, gambling rooms, and late-night revelry, the Dun Glen drew railroad men, travelers, and thrill-seekers from across the region. It was, as locals said, “a place where anything could happen,” and on one fateful evening, it did.
On a Tuesday night, two waiters employed at the hotel, William Hughes and Ollie Johnson, became embroiled in a quarrel that would end in bloodshed.
The men had reportedly been drinking and exchanged words over a trivial matter — what began as a minor disagreement quickly escalated into a deadly confrontation.
The pair removed their coats and commenced to fight with their fists on the back porch of the hotel. When the bout proved too tame for Hughes, he seized a beer bottle and struck Johnson down. Witnesses later said Hughes continued to beat his fallen coworker with the broken bottle, inflicting severe injuries.
In the chaos, Johnson managed to reach his revolver — an Iver Johnson pistol — and fired three shots at his attacker. One bullet passed through Hughes’s heart, killing him instantly.
After the shooting, Johnson stumbled into the hotel lobby and collapsed on the floor, gravely wounded and bleeding. Guests, awakened by the sound of gunfire, hurried from their rooms to discover the grim scene — Hughes dead on the porch and Johnson barely clinging to life.
Johnson’s condition was reported as critical, and it was said to be uncertain whether he would recover. For a time, he remained at the hotel under watch.
The violent episode shocked even those accustomed to the Dun Glen’s rough-and-rowdy reputation.
Though the hotel would go on to survive many more nights of vice and commotion, this particular altercation stood out as a tragic — and all too human — reminder of the volatility that simmered beneath the surface of the New River’s most infamous establishment.
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