Woodstock’s Infamous Murder Trial: Early Racial Injustice in Upstate New York

By Richard Heppner

When a white man from a prominent local family in Woodstock was murdered in 1905, authorities quickly identified a local African American man as the prime suspect. Amid racist animus in the press, he fled across two counties before being apprehended by a vigilante and charged. Local reformer and politician Augustus H. Van Buren stood up to community pressure and defended the accused pro bono. It took three years and multiple trials to overcome racial inequalities in the justice system. Local historian Richard Heppner documents the crime, arrest and trials that revealed racial tensions in upstate New York at the turn of the century.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Jan 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781439668863

Richard Heppner

Richard Heppner has served as town historian for Woodstock, New York, for the last ten years. He also serves on the board of directors for the Historical Society of Woodstock and the Woodstock Memorial Society. Over the years, he has authored and edited numerous essays and texts on Woodstock�s unique history. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany with a degree in political science and history. He also holds a master�s degree in media studies from the New School for Social Research. Since 1988, he has been employed by Orange County Community College, where he has served as a faculty member, department chair, associate vice-president for liberal arts and currently as vice-president for academic affairs. Residing in Woodstock, New York, with his wife, Deborah and two children, Eliza and Jonathan, his previous work for The History Press includes Remembering Woodstock (2007).