Death of a Stage Man
The Tragic Tale of Franklin Sargent and his Deep-Woods Amphitheater
Snow-covered ruins stand empty among the deserted hillside in an opening of thick forest. Surrounded by stone tiers – the remains of an altar – coins scatter across its frozen surface. A single, moss-covered bench overlooks the former performance space from above. Two geocache containers reside next to a fallen log.
This amphitheater, west of Dannemora, New York, was once the base of private performances by students of Franklin Haven Sargent. A native to Boston, Sargent graduated from Harvard University to pursue public speaking and theatrical production. He worked as a theater director at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, before founding the Lyceum School of Acting in 1884. The academy was the first English-speaking institute to offer an education in theatrical arts.
During summer Sargent would often visit Merrill and Upper Chateaugay Lake with his mother and stay with friends. At the time, this part of the North Country had a thriving art scene with writers and performers residing in cottages surrounding Upper Chateaugay. Sargent had a fondness for nature. He fell in love with the beauty of the area and would continue his visits following his mother’s death in 1904. He purchased land on a knoll overlooking the lake in 1910 and had a two-story cottage constructed on the property. A stonemason was hired by Sargent to build the amphitheater near the cottage in 1916.
Modeled after ancient Greek architecture, the theater featured an ornamental stage in the style of a columned temple. A concrete plaque was embedded into the ground near the columns with Greek letters translating to “Theater Dionysus,” a nod to the Greek god of wine-making. Over the next seven years, shows, songs and dance routines would be performed at Sargent’s amphitheater.
Mary Humiston, founder and president of the Chateaugay Historical Society, has long been interested in Sargent’s presence in the North Country. She has written articles regarding the amphitheater’s history, including a recent one for the Chateaugay Historical Society Newsletter. Humiston’s husband, who once lived near Merrill, helped spark her interest in the theater.
“As a young boy, he used to hang out up at the amphitheater all the time,” Humiston said. “Everybody went up to the amphitheater because it was scary and had a big story.”
Back in Sargent’s Time; however, tragedy struck. Like the life of a performance, all good things must end. As reported by the Plattsburgh Daily Republican, Sargent had told friends he was going to New York City, but instead returned to Merrill within a few weeks. Upon arriving in Plattsburgh on August 28, 1923, he went to the Clinton County Surrogate’s Office and filed a codicil to his will, granting both his property and several AT&T stock shares to his housekeeper, Sadie Walker. After checking into the Witherill Hotel, Sargent purchased an oil cloth from a nearby store before returning to his room.
Swathing his head in bandages, Sargent laid the oil cloth on the floor and removed the telephone receiver that connected his room to the main office. The New York Times reported that he grabbed a pillow from the bed and placed it atop the oil cloth before lying down and shooting himself with a .32 caliber revolver. Hotel staff found Sargent and he was rushed to Champlain Valley Hospital, dying within a few minutes of admission.
“There were all kinds of rumors of why,” Humiston said. “It’s still very debatable. One was because of his love life.”
According to the book “Chateaugay Lake: The Adirondack Resort Era 1830-1917” by Henry Cassell Ruschmeyer, Sargent’s friend, David Belasco, believed his death was the result of an unrequited love for performer Mary Anderson, who is said to have ended their long-standing relationship. Others believe it could have been due to grief from the loss of several friends and family members over the years. Sargent had attempted suicide in three other instances before succeeding.
The incident became the origin of an urban legend, depicting Sargent as a madman who beheaded his lover and hid her head under the amphitheater altar before killing himself out of grief.
In the years following his death, Sargent’s cottage, once referred by locals as the “haunted house,” was demolished.
“I think whoever was in charge at the time felt it had become a hazard,” Humiston said.
The remains of the theater can be found just north of Merrill, New York on a short trail across Route 374 from Holtzman Way.
As mentioned in the book “Chateaugay Lakes” by Herman and Ruth Whalen, the altar once bore the inscription:
“If this rest-place pleases,
sometime bring an offering
Grasses leaves or flowers
And lay them on this altar
In praise of the beauty
about us,
In praise of the peace that
falls on us,
In remembrance and praise
Of a soul that has left us,”
—Sadie H. Barnwell, 1911
