20th Century Murder in the Adirondacks

Adirondack Tragedy: The Gillette Murder of 1906 transports readers back to the beginning of the century, during a time before the roaring twenties and great depression. The destination is Cortland, New York, where, “Main Street was paved and flanked by four-story business blocks of brick, many with false facades. City fathers were arguing over the paving of lesser streets. Horse cars had given way to the newest form of public transportation-the electric streetcar or trolley.”

Published in 2003 by Nicholas K. Burns Publishing.

Joseph W. Brownell and Patricia W. Enos recreate the time period using vivid descriptions as a backdrop for events leading up the murder, the trial, the execution, and other media created from this tragedy. In the first scene, a young man named Chester Gillette, who works in his uncle’s skirt factory, takes a young woman out to dinner. It initially seems pleasant, but changes abruptly at the chapter’s end, as the text foreshadows what's to come.

Chester Gillette was involved with a girl named Grace “Billy” Brown. Devoted to him and carrying his child, Billy wanted to be with Gillette. Yet, Gillette would not marry her and continued to see other girls. Frustrated and saddened, Billy corresponded with Gillette, confiding her worries about her parents finding out about the baby. They decided to go on a holiday to figure out what they were going to do. He took Billy to Tupper Lake, Eagle Bay, and finally to Big Moose Lake, where he rented a rowboat. The next day, Billy’s body was found in the water, dead from a head injury.

Found guilty, Chester Gillette was electrocuted and placed in an unmarked grave.

Gillette used different aliases at each location in which he stayed with Billy, and disappeared before the discovery of her body. However, the police were able to track him down and arrested him at the Arrowhead Hotel. He was eventually tried, found guilty, and executed. The murder stirred emotions and newspapers flocked to cover it, repeatedly printing the details. The events became inspiration to Theodore Dreiser, who wrote the novel An American Tragedy. The book was adapted to the stage in 1926 and created into a movie in 1931, produced by Paramount Publix Corporation. Remade in 1951, the plot was updated and called, A Place in the Sun, starring Elizabeth Taylor.

Billy Brown, Chester Gillette's victim.

Since the book was a reenactment of the Gillette case, both authors did a substantial amount of research. Photographs of Billy, Gillette, and important places in the story, along with Billy’s letters and his responses, were also included between the text pages. Specific information included the genealogy of Gillette and Billy’s families and how each influenced their personalities and characters. Presented in a chronological timeline, the authors provide a step-by-step account to the events leading up to the murder and the consequences from it. The book, which flowed well, tied up any loose ends or questions regarding the topic. By thoroughly retelling the story from the beginning, it moves the reader back in time to witness and read as the events unfold.

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