Late former governor Dan Moody’s Taylor residence will play host to the author of his first biography.
Ken Anderson, writer of “Dan Moody, Crusader for Justice” and “You Can’t Do That Dan Moody!,” will speak Thursday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. at the Moody Museum.
Anderson, a former Williamson County district attorney, will share his thoughts on the former governor and his noteworthy prosecution of Ku Klux Klan members.
“We’re going to have Ken (Anderson) come talk about Dan Moody, the whole Klan situation back then and what led to his rise to fame,” said Susan Komandosky, chair of the Moody Museum’s Advisory Board.
Before ultimately becoming the youngest governor in Texas’ history, Moody was Williamson County’s district attorney. In this role, he led the country’s first successful prosecution of Ku Klux Klan members in 1923.
Klansmen were found guilty of assault of a white traveling salesman. Komandosky said the assault event happened in what is now Heritage Square, meaning the significant trial is extremely Taylor-
Photo by Hunter Dworaczyk “It’s an incredible achievement for someone from Taylor to have accomplished what Moody did,” Komandosky said. “Other prosecutors in the country had tried but at that point in the 1920s the Klan was particularly strong. A great number of prominent people, including judges, lawmakers and legislators, were members of the Klan.”
With this year marking the 100-year anniversary of the trial, there are plans to put on a number of different Moody-related events in Williamson County. The museum is organizing a viewing of the “Klan on Trial” documentary that will be played in the historic Williamson County Courtroom Sept. 6.
Additionally, the Georgetown Palace Theatre will put on performances of “You Can’t Do That, Dan Moody!” in the same courthouse. The play was written after Anderson’s novel of the same name.
The Palace will begin performing shows at the courtroom Sept. 29, and will close Oct. 15. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., unless ticket demands add extra performances.
“This is an important part of Taylor’s history, and it’s one that all too few people know very much about,” Komandosky said. “That’s one of the reasons we do what we do.”
The museum is only open for tours from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays except by appointment.
The event is free and open to the public.
