Murder on the Florida Frontier: The True Story Behind Sanford's Headless Miser Legend

The true story behind a sensational murder trial in 19th century Florida--and the local legend of a headless ghost.

Sanford, Florida, 1880. As the United States recovered from the horrors of the Civil War, settlers, swindlers, and former soldiers from both sides decended on Florida in droves. Among these newcomers was Archie Newton, a young Englishman seeking refuge from his past. Newton hoped to forge a new life on the Florida frontier--and he set his sights on the fertile soil of Sanford.

Samuel McMillan was a miserly Sanford bachelor who carried large sums of "greenbacks" and trusted no one. The ambitious Newton made no secret of his plan to buy McMillan's profitable orange grove. But on his way back from Newton's home one evening, McMillan disappeared without a trace. He wasn't seen again until his headless corpse was pulled from a nearby lake.

Though there was no direct evidence linking Newton to the murder, he was immediately suspected. The trial was sensational and the evidence gruesome. To this day, local legends tell of a headless ghost rising from the lake. In Murder on the Florida Frontier, Andrew Fink chronicles the twists and turns of this shocking true story

Author: Andrew Fink
Publisher: History Press
Published: 11/05/2018
Pages: 176
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9781467139397

About the Author
Andrew Fink is a lawyer by day and writer by night. He mostly is able to balance his job as executive counsel at a Fortune 100 company with time to research and sometimes even solve historical mysteries. He's always loved all things history, and much to the chagrin of those who are with him, he is that person who reads every sign, placard and historical marker in museums, parks, on buildings and at roadside stops. He's from the Midwest but now lives in Florida, where the sun is brighter but the history a little harder to uncover.