When a dispute in the courtroom between two attorneys erupted into physical blows and an all-out brawl that carried into the streets, one man was murdered and the other went on to evade prosecution for his crime.

The tale sounds like a scene out of an old western – and it kind of is, but it happened here on the streets of downtown Mexico.

In early April, the Audrain County Health Department began hosting its “History Takes a Walk” walking tours of Mexico as a community health effort.

The goal, Chris Newbrough said, is just to get people exercising in a fun and engaging way.

Newbrough is the ACHD emergency planner and public information officer who had pitched the idea after reading an article about similar walking tours in Kansas City.

He and a team of volunteer history enthusiasts and longtime residents of Mexico, have been compiling all the historical facts they can about the town since its establishment in 1837. The first tour, led by Tony Robertson, took guests through the cemeteries of Mexico.

By their second tour, the program had grown beyond Newbrough’s expectations.

“We had so many people sign up that we had to add a second tour,” said Newbrough.

The second tour, which took place May 20, led one group at 6 p.m. and another at 6:15 from Presser Hall, down Jefferson Street, around the square and back.

Jim Dye, whose family has been in Mexico for his entire life, led the evening’s first tour.

“I was born and raised here and I have an interest in history, certainly in the history of the community,” he said.

Dye’s grandparents on both sides owned farms in southern Monroe County. His parents grew up together and eventually made their way to Mexico.

“My father worked at National Refractories – it was Mexico Refractories back in the beginning – and my mother had a beauty shop,” said Dye.

A Bulldog through and through, Dye attended McMillan, Mexico Middle School and Mexico High School where he graduated before going on to study business administration at Westminster College and joining the Army.

“I came back to Mexico after college and the Army and I got into the car business,” said Dye.

He worked at Carol Motors before becoming a real estate agent in 1977. He has kept his license to this day.

“When people move here I always tell them, ‘You ought to be a part of the community and to do that, all you have to do is volunteer anywhere and there will be a place for you in this community,’” he said.

Dye, who came to the tour equipped with talking points and a booklet of historical facts, had little use for his notes. The stories he would tell on the tour came mostly from memory but he also had help from the crowd.

Joe Dubbert, a lifelong Mexico resident and self proclaimed “history buff,” has been on both tours with his wife, Jan, and plans to continue. He said the tours teach him something new and bring up memories along the way.

“When I was a kid, on Friday night, you couldn’t find parking anywhere around here because the place was packed,” Dubbert said, gesturing to the square from outside The Old Pharmacy Ceramic Shoppe.

He remembers the lively hub Mexico once was and fed Dye tidbits of information as he led the crowd through the square.

Tad Dobbins, a walking tour volunteer, was good for more than just carrying the speaker, helping to keep the crowd engaged with trivia, photos and a few fun historical facts of his own.

“The crowd was good,” said Dye. “It was really diverse and I thought it went really well.”

The next walking tour will be held June 17 and will start at the Audrain County Historical Society on Muldrow.