July 4th marked the 56th anniversary of one of the most famous events on Gorham Island.
Around 2 a.m. that morning in 1961 Brendan McLaughlin — a former Marine working as a New York advertising executive — shot and killed his father during a family argument.
The murder took place in the McLaughlins’ old Victorian house on Gorham Island. The house was originally built on Main Street, then moved to the island.
The Victorian house on Gorham Island in 1971. (Photo/Peter Barlow)
McLaughlin fled. An hour before dawn he burst into the police station on Jesup Road. He pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and fired at 2 policemen behind the front desk, wounding Donald Bennette.
Officers chased him into the parking lot, where he shot officer Andrew Chapo. A shootout ensued; McLaughlin was wounded.
Chapo and Bennette recovered. McLaughlin died several weeks later.
The other famous Gorham Island event was when that handsome — if haunted — home was demolished, over a decade later. Another structure nearby was also razed.
Today a 40,000-square foot green-and-gold-glass office building fills Gorham Island.
Which no one except those who remember the old house calls it anymore.
Close-up of the Gorham Island house, 1973. (Photo/Peter Barlow)