Lawrence P. Gooley

North Country / Adirondack Author

Book Tag: Franklin County

25 Diabolical Adirondack Murders: The Twisted, Fiendish Deeds of North Country Killers

25 Diabolical Adirondack Murders-Front Cover

Within these pages are twenty-five complete stories of murder in the North Country. The perpetrators range from average citizens to some of the worst degenerates imaginable. Their methods run the gamut from poison to clubs to knives to guns to axes, while their stories contain shocking revelations and remarkable twists, far too many to count. And some are just plain unusual.

These true chronicles from long ago once held readers spellbound, and are as riveting as many of the high-profile murder cases in modern media. It’s at once fascinating and disturbing to explore the devious minds of those who walk among us. » More Details

Adirondack & North Country Gold: 50+ New & True Stories You’re Sure to Love

Adirondack & North Country Gold-Front Cover

There is no other book out there like Adirondack & North Country Gold. Within these pages are 51 original stories about remarkable people, places, and events from the Adirondacks and foothills. Included are four anchor chapters that together are large enough to fill a volume: the life stories of Garrett Cashman, Michael Donovan, Harry Elkes, and Eben Rexford.

Though they may be unfamiliar names, their accomplishments are legend. Cashman was history’s second cluster balloonist who, in the 1950s, captured the imagination of the entire nation. Donovan was a world-champion athlete whose achievements rank among the rarest in sports. Elkes was a beloved world-champion cyclist with a brilliant and tragic career. And the modest and unassuming Rexford wrote one of the most enduring songs in American history, a best-seller for more than half a century.

There’s so much more among the other 47 stories. You’ll find humor (The Great Canine Court Caper); inspiration (the Dean Van Clute story); romance (Love So Strong, It’s Criminal); mystery (New York’s Legendary Vanishing Judge); and the offbeat (Alligators in the Adirondacks, and Rock Eaters? No Way … But Anything Else Will Do!). » More Details

History of Churubusco and the Town of Clinton, Clinton County, New York

History of Churubusco and the Town of Clinton-Front Cover

Churubusco has an unusual name and an unusual range of historical connections. With one citizen for every 60 acres, the town of Clinton’s population is sparse by any measure. And yet, Clinton natives have played a leading role in the history of the county, the state, and other states as well.

Locally, we think of the humble reticent dairy farmer when we hear the name Churubusco. It’s accurate to a degree, and admirable, but perhaps most important for forming the roots of strong, pioneering individuals who have gone on to great success.

The scope of their reach is surprising: a state leader who both befriended and battled some of America’s most famous politicians; a founding father of another state and one of the country’s best-known cities; musicians who have performed across the nation and are at the top of their genre; a vital member of the US Olympic Bobsled Team; and two men who helped drive the North Country economy for half a century. » More Details

Oliver’s War: An Adirondack Rebel Battles the Rockefeller Fortune

Oliver's War: An Adirondack Rebel Battles the Rockefeller Fortune-Front Cover

*** Adirondack Center for Writing Best Book of Nonfiction (2007) ***

The true story of Oliver Lamora’s battle with William Rockefeller is told here for the first time. For a decade in the early 1900s, their saga gripped newspaper readers from coast to coast.

William Rockefeller was the brother of John D. Rockefeller. Together they built the Standard Oil Trust, the richest, most powerful corporation in American history.

The aging Lamora was a hunter, fisherman, and lumberjack all his life in the far northern Adirondack Mountains of New York State. He was surviving on a meager Civil War pension when William Rockefeller decided to build a grand mountain estate. Lamora’s home was in the dying village of Brandon, and Brandon was in Rockefeller’s way. » More Details