Murder on the Florida Frontier

This historical true crime reveals the 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