Who Killed Mary Phagan?

By Madison Black, Jennifer Squires, Colton Major, Samantha Gentry, and Josh Cook

Materials Needed: Three boxes that can be locked, three numerical locks, all primary sources and ciphers printed (one will need to be made by cutting holes in a paper to reveal coded letters)

Atlanta is in a frenzy over the murder of Mary Phagan, can you help solve the case? The goal of this escape room is for students to gather primary documents from the Leo Frank Case and to come to a conclusion of who they believe committed the crime. When students walk into the room, their group will receive a case file with note taking documents and the first clue.

PLEASE NOTE:

This escape room deals with not only the murder of a young girl, but with primary sources involving involving racial discrimination. It is a landmark case in the state of Georgia, and did much to reignite the KKK. Before you embark on this escape room, be sure to discuss these racial issues before, during, and after with your social studies students.

SS8H7 part D that refers to antisemitism and the resistance to racial equality exemplified in the Leo Frank case.

As student travels around the escape room, they will analyze suspects involved in the murder of Mary Phagan and determine what evidence supports their involvement in the crime.

Task One: The first task will be an excerpt from the Atlanta Publishing Company. This excerpt will introduce the topic of the Leo Frank Case in narrative form. Alongside this clue, students will receive a cut out that lines up with different letters in the passage. These letters will line up with another document students get that will have a list of letters that have an according number. These numbers will then create a four number code that students will use to open the first box.

Contents of Box 1

Task Two: The 0825 code will lead students to opening the first box. In this first box will be different primary sources about Leo Frank from the Mary Phagan investigation. These primary sources will lead students to the next code to get into the next box, as well as give them evidence as they try to decide who they think truly committed the murder of Mary Phagan.

Testimony of Leo Frank

Editor's Note: Some students may not have seen the term "Negro" in print before, it will show up in several primary resources involving this case. Be sure to explain that while this term is prevalent in primary resources of the time, but it is not appropriate to use.

Photograph of Leo Frank

Testimony of Jim Conley

The 1913 code will lead students to opening the second box. In this second box will be different primary sources about both Newt Lee and Jim Conley from the Mary Phagan investigation. Also in this box will be a poem that will guide students to the correct order of the numbers on the back of the primary sources that are written with a blacklight pen. These primary sources will lead students to the next code to get into the next box as they use the poem and the blacklight to decide the correct code, as well as give them evidence as they try to decide who they think truly committed the murder of Mary Phagan.

Contents of Box 2

The code of 2742 will get students into the third and final box which is where they will find a police report. On this police report, students will have to collaborate and decide who they believe murder Mary Phagan based on the evidence found throughout the escape room.

Contents of Box 3

How to Escape

Students will complete an arrest warrant in order to escape the room with the suspect that they believe to be guilty of the crime based on the testimonies and evidence given during the escape room.

Editor's Note: It is essential to reflect on the racial prejudices and stereotypes involved in the this case in order to adequately complete the Escape Room, DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!

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