 It soon played a central role in a number of conflicts which engulfed Williamson County in the 1920s, giving the county the nickname "Bloody Williamson".In 1922, the jail housed the men arrested for their role in the Herrin massacre, a deadly riot between union and non-union coal miners.Of the 125 men originally indicted after the massacre, only five were tried before their release; a pro-union jury found these five men not guilty of murder.