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On April 1, 2018, Blairsville Mayor Chester C Davis was summoned to quell a mob of angry Blairsville citizens.  The mob, a mixture of black and white men,  had surrounded three slave catchers who were attempting to kidnap a former slave named Richard Newman.  Davis intervened on behalf of the slave catchers and stopped a probable lynching.

     Chester Davis was born in Indiana County in 1817 and had resided here with his wife and seven children. Davis was an undertaker, cabinetmaker, and auctioneer and a colorful character! 

    In 1861, Davis gained notoriety in Uniontown when he defended the Union to a “burley mountain man” who claimed he could “lick anyone from Indiana County who supports Lincoln and his unholy war.” Chester Davis reportedly leveled a crushing blow to the man’s neck, bringing him to his knees.  At home, though, the mayor came under attack when he refused to burn his funeral wagon after transporting a victim of small pox.