Tragedy in the Pines: The Mysterious Death of Arthur McFalls, 1912

 

Tragedy in the Pines: The Mysterious Death of Arthur McFalls, 1912

On a quiet November morning in 1912, the peaceful woods near Brookhaven, Long Island, became the scene of a tragic and haunting discovery.

Arthur McFalls, a 38-year-old hunter and Adirondack guide, was found dead along the Yaphank Road, his head destroyed by a shotgun blast. The weapon lay beside him, and in his hand was a forked stick, apparently used to trigger the gun—a clear sign of a premeditated act. The man who found him was Lorenzo Jones, a local resident of Brookhaven.

A satchel beside McFalls held the key to his identity. Inside were letters, a comb and brush, a drinking glass, and a New York State hunter’s license for 1912 issued in Rondout, NY. Through these belongings, authorities traced McFalls back to his family—most notably a sister, Mrs. William Hart of Tarrytown, New York, and another, Mrs. W. D. Davis of 105 West 45th Street in Manhattan.

McFalls had recently been visiting his half-brother, Charles Maltman, in Yaphank. He left his brother’s home at 8 a.m. on November 6, telling him he was heading to Brookhaven to catch a train back home. He never made it to the station.

A letter found in his satchel confirmed suspicions of suicide. Addressed to his sister in Tarrytown, the note revealed McFalls’s intention to return to “the woods with a light heart.” He bequeathed to her property he owned in Rondout, giving a final, sorrowful glimpse into a man burdened by unknown troubles.

While the details of what led McFalls to take his own life remain a mystery, his story echoes through the pine barrens of Long Island more than a century later—a somber reminder of the personal struggles hidden behind even the most rugged and self-reliant of men.