Non-Profit News

Historian Steve McMahon recently spoke at the Town of Schroeppel Historical Society in Phoenix on a disappearance at Dead Creek.

It was June 28, 1908, in the Whiskey Hollow area in the Town of VanBuren. This area had a hill called Satan’s Kingdom where tales were woven about sacrifices to the Devil, which were unfounded, but still delivered an alarming aura to the area.

Most people living in the area were simple and poor. They made shingles, harvested wild berries, and made whiskey, of course. One summer day, a well-dressed stranger appeared for the afternoon. No one caught his name, but he had a lot of money on him and seemed used to living the high life. He had dinner with the Murray family and seemed quite pleasant. Then he paid with a $2 bill-about $70 today. After that, he was never seen again.

A few months passed and then, one of the local men found a suitcase. In it there were some shaving accessories, bullets, and a letter addressed to a James Lawler stating his mother had passed. The community realized that the stranger on that summer day was James Lawler and now he was a missing man.

James Lawler was an unwed 36-year-old horse trainer from Glen Falls. He had been hired by a wealthy mine owner, George Sherman, in Moriah to train his racehorses. George Sherman inherited what would have been $63 million today. He owned the mine in Moriah, a racetrack, a store, and several houses he rented out to his workers. He owned the town. His workers did not like the wages in the mines and held a strike. In fact, one incident blew the porch off his house while he and his family slept inside. Even when they caught the men who did this, no one was ever convicted. Eventually, George Sherman sold parts of his property and moved out. In his will, he left his stock farm to the brother of one of his attackers.

Lawler trained horses for Sherman, who sent Lawler to Syracuse Fairgrounds for a race and somehow ended up in Dead Creek. According to his father, he saved money. He took most of his savings from the bank just before his disappearance, totaling about $40,000 today.  Was he robbed? Was he dead? Where was James Lawler?

Then Historian McMahon takes us to New Mexico in 1911, where a half- frozen man was found in the mountains. He was taken to a hospital where he eventually died, stating that he was not worthy to live and that is why he was there- to die. He said he was Frank Kennedy. In his belt he had $80 for his burial. He also had on his body a deed and letter belonging to James Lawler dated before the disappearance at Dead Creek. A photo sent back to the family was denied as being James Lawler. Who was Frank Kennedy and how was he involved with James Lawler? Was Kennedy really James Lawler himself? The group in the Schroeppel Historical Society was on pins and needles waiting for answers, but none were to be had.

McMahon wove a story that left us grappling with the “what could have’s” and “where is he” questions that any good mystery novel would leave. This one just happens to be true.

Steve McMahon is Town Historian for VanBuren. You can catch the full show on PAC- B TV which is available on YouTube for your convenience. This was the last in the series of Town of Schroeppel Historical Society programs for the 2024 season.

The Town of Schroeppel Historical Society will be hosting their annual fundraiser, Craft Fair and Silent Auction, on November 23 from 9-3.