Thursday, October 29, 2020

Adirondack unsolved mystery: The Dexter murder

 

Murder in the Adirondack wilderness is rare; unsolved murders even more so. After more than a century, the mysterious death of Orrando P. Dexter continues to be a topic of conversation and is part of the region’s legacy that perplexes and mystifies local residents and visitors alike.

Dexter Park is a private preserve, located five miles from the northern border of the Adirondack Park, near St. Regis Falls, about 37 miles northwest of Saranac Lake. The rich history of this property began in the late nineteenth century when Dexter, a wealthy New York attorney, purchased nearly 10,000 acres surrounding the pristine, 200-acre East Branch Pond.

In the late 1800s, Dexter constructed a $50,000 Adirondack reproduction of the German artist Albrecht Dürer’s Nuremberg home and named it Sunbeam Lodge. He built a guesthouse (in which no one ever stayed,) a boathouse, barn, carriage house, and several other outbuildings, and renamed the East Branch Pond after himself. Like many other owners of exclusive Adirondack preserves, he posted and fenced in his entire property.

Within a few years he had angered and alienated all of his neighbors. Lumbermen, fishermen and hunters, who had previously used the land for their livelihood, or access to market, retaliated by cutting holes in fences, removing signs, and illegally hunted, fished, and logged on the estate. For thirteen years, Dexter battled his neighbors, often engaging in lengthy lawsuits that brought little progress for either side. 

Dexter vs. Alfred

Dexter’s main nemesis was the irascible, wealthy local lumber baron, Joe Alfred, who had the financial means to fight back by using many of the techniques that Dexter utilized. For example, in 1890, when Dexter sued Alfred for trespass, the latter was able to use his influence to change venues from New York City to the local (more friendly) court system in nearby Malone, NY.

In response, Dexter threatened to “employ a hundred shotguns,” and created a manmade “blowdown” across Alfred’s route that he used to transport lumber. Alfred went around the obstruction and legally managed to have Dexter’s road proclaimed a public highway. Dexter responded by building a house in the middle of the road and employed armed mercenaries to patrol it.

Next, Alfred dammed the outlet to Dexter Lake and flooded over one hundred acres, prompting Dexter to dynamite Alfred’s dam. This type of activity continued for over a decade and involved not only Joe Alfred, but many other members of the community, keeping the court system, newspapers, and local gossip buzzing throughout the period. 

During Dexter’s early years in the Adirondacks, his reclusive lifestyle allowed for limited outside contact. “He was not very fond of companionship.” But in the summer of 1903, as the large number of lawsuits and confrontations become increasingly bitter, his hatred for north-country natives became even more apparent. He “displayed great distaste whenever it was necessary to deal with them.” Threatening letters caused him to increase his security and whenever he left his estate, Dexter was accompanied by two armed guards.

A mysterious end

On the afternoon of September 19, Dexter began his daily ride into Santa Clara to collect his mail. Before reaching the intersection of Dexter Lake Road and Blue Mountain Road, estate overseer Azro Giles, and stableman Bert Russell rushed to his aid after hearing two gunshots from an unseen assailant. Dexter lay dead on the ground, a bullet having passed through his body, just below the left shoulder.   

Upon hearing of his son’s death, New York City newspaper magnate Henry Dexter released a statement that claimed, “he was practically certain he knew the man who murdered his son,” and placed “a large sum in the hands of his lawyer to prosecute” a search for his son’s killer. He also offered a large reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer. One local newspaper, the Malone Farmer, put up a five thousand dollar reward for information on the case.

But the extensive national media coverage seemed to embarrass North Country newspaper editors and their readers. Local coverage focused less on the murder and more on defense of the North Country residents, while the national papers “feasted on the social conflict implied in the crime…and reflected the intensity of feeling that existed between natives and outsiders.” Some local newspaper editors, concerned about the negative impact on Adirondack tourism, tried to explain away the “class hatred” by referring to a statement that Orrando Dexter himself made: “There’s no danger of violence…things like that don’t happen here.”

 Orrando’s father hired Pinkerton detectives from New York and Boston for his own private investigation, but seven years later, at the time of his death, the crime was still unsolved. A stipulation in Henry’s will provided for higher and higher rewards. Even a $50,000 reward did not break the silence surrounding the murder. Some North Country residents, according to Frank P. Stockbridge, star reporter for William Randolph Hearst’s New York American, asserted that, “We all knew who killed Dexter and why, but we never dared print it.” Indeed, Stockbridge claimed that the Franklin County district attorney informed him, “It was a popular murder, and we folks have got to live around here the rest of our lives.”

In the spring of 1940, a newspaper article claimed that an 81 year-old guide, on his deathbed in Malone, told a local woman the name of Orrando Dexter’s killer. Even though the award money was still being offered, she never came forward and the case remains unsolved to this day.

The estate changed hands several times over the next several decades and all was quiet and peaceful on Dexter Lake. Then, in 1994, country music star Shania Twain purchased the property. Twain and her husband got into trouble with the Adirondack Park Agency for filling in wetlands and not having proper building permits. They eventually moved to Switzerland… But that’s a whole other story.

Images from top: Map of the estate from the St. Lawrence County Historical Society; photo of Orrando Dexter courtesy of the New York Historical Society Museum and Library; Illustration of the shooting from the St Lawrence County Historical Society; locator map provided by Gary Peacock/Vanderwalker Collection.

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Gary Peacock grew up just north of the Blue Line in Chateaugay, NY where he became an avid camper, hiker and biker at a very young age. After he closed his Record Store in Plattsburgh, he took several long - distance bicycle trips in France and the Adirondacks before attending college at Plattsburgh, where he earned a degree in Adirondack History. This article is part of a series of papers he wrote while earning his degree.




15 Responses

  1. Phil Fitzpatrick says:

    Fabulous and entertaining post, Gary. Thank you ?

  2. Randy Putnam says:

    Good read. Thanks. That’s a great area. I have a great-great uncle, Daniel Chase Putnam, who was a blacksmith in Santa Clara. He and his wife, Harriet, are both buried in the small Santa Clara cemetery. Their grave foot stones say “Father” and “Mother” but they had no children that I know of. Just another mystery from that area. Just not as gory as this one!

  3. Angie says:

    Interesting read thank you! Enjoy learning about history of this spectacular region.

  4. I rnjoyed the article. I am not surprised no one told, and I am pretty sure most of the town knew.

  5. gabe susice says:

    my land allmost runs to the dexter rd ,
    i am very familiar with dexter lake. as many of my relatives have worked there in the
    past 75 or so years as care takers. guides. cooks. my friend was head carpenter for shanias buildings, a cousin was a carpenter foreman for the present owners mansion in there.
    RANDY putnam my land is right across the road of the cementary. we occasionally
    pick up litter there. i also know exactly where your relatives graves are
    p.s. I will be buried there

  6. Randy Putnam says:

    Thanks Gabe. I try to visit their graves each time I’m in the area. Daniel was the last child of my 5x great grandfather Daniel on the family homestead in Cornish NH in 1812. He and his brothers and sisters settled in and around Potsdam at Fall Island. Still looking for their graves in Potsdam.

  7. Mark says:

    Intriguing story. I’m curious to read what Shania and Mutt did with the property.

  8. Bill Ott says:

    I went to “https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/” and got many hits on Orrando Dexter. also interesting stuff on William Rockerfeller who was in fear for his life after the Dexter murder. Much more interesting than the election.

    • Gary Peacock says:

      Bill,
      Yes that is another very exciting chapter! The Rockefeller estate was almost next door to the Dexter estate. Rockefeller had bought up all the property surrounding his estate except for one parcel owned by Oliver Lamora. He refused to sell, so a similar battle. Great book about it by Lawrence Gooley, “Oliver’s War.” So much great history here!!!

  9. gabe susice says:

    rockefeller was a bully. he thought the north country was his own kingdom.

  10. Linda Kloczkowski says:

    Gary,

    This was a very interesting article. I never heard of this murder. Is there a published book on this subject? I’m getting ready to read the next part of the story (Shania & her huband buying the property).

    Linda

  11. Donald L. Clark says:

    About the –( PROPERTY OF DEXTER LAKE ) The road to Dexter Lake it self ,was off the ( BLUE MOUNTAIN ROAD ) My grand mothers home, was on the ( Blue Mountain Road ) just off the entrance ,to Dexter Lake .My mother ,father ,my brother & my self lived with my grand parents ,back in the year of 1942 ,time frame .I have a lot of knowledge of the entire area .Especially in & around ( DEXTER LAKES HOTEL ) an the other buildings on the property .My grand mothers home ,just off the entrance way into DEXTER LAKE ) was probably one of the first houses there at the time . ( Today ,the year of —2020 ,my grand mothers home is, still there .I have four ,younger cousins,who this live in that home today .I know a 100 % of all the history ,for miles around .These towns ,that surrounded –DEXTER LAKE —Were –St. Regis fall’s N.Y ,4 miles away probably ,Santa Clara N.Y, also 4 miles away probably ,Lake Clear N.Y ,20 miles ,Paul Smith Collage 18 m. ,Grabrial’s 20 m. N.Y Dicken Center N.Y ,12 m. .I felt good when the article on ( DEXTER LAKE ) was brought to my attention .There was a large ( HOTEL ) also ,just off, of DEXTER LAKES )entrance to Dexter Lake – It was on the Blue Mountain Road .It was ( FRY’S Hotel .

    • gabe susice says:

      dexter lake is part of st.regis falls. your cousins are the hart boys, good people.
      there know is a bar-restaurant about 1 mile from your relatives place on the blue mountain rd. it is called deer valley. it is owned by the people who own dexter lake.

  12. Martha Burnup says:

    Great article. My grandparents Mr. and Mrs.Rex Thomson owned Dexter Lake for a while. Lot of great memories and good times. A truly beautiful place.

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