WDYK: The Murder of Caleb Dyer

The ill-fated drone attempting to circle the bell tower, moments before crashing.

The drone crashed with a heartbreaking crunch followed by silence …  I’m at Enfield Shaker Museum attending an aerial mapping class, and we just watched the drone attempt to circle the bell tower high atop the Great Stone Dwelling House.     

Unfortunately, the pilot accidentally flew it into the tower. Counting the windows’ tiers, I estimate this massive building has five or six stories of living space and an attic, placing the belltower 60 to 70 feet above ground. It likely has a commanding view of the village, so I volunteered to go up and retrieve the drone pieces. 

I found my way up many flights of stairs to a steep ladder that led through a trapdoor and emerged inside the bell tower. The view was worth the effort. The drone was damaged but perhaps salvageable, so I gathered up the pieces and returned them to the embarrassed pilot. While he attempted repairs, I wandered around inside the Great Stone Dwelling looking at exhibits, reading placards and learning about the Enfield Shakers.   

I learned the village was founded in 1793, the ninth of 19 Shaker communities that once existed throughout the United States. Shakers lived here practicing their religious beliefs, which included gender and racial equality, celibacy, pacifism and communal ownership of property. At its peak in the mid-19th century, this community was home to about 300 Shakers and included more than 100 buildings and 3,000 acres.

The murderer Thomas Weir after his release from prison.

The centerpiece of the village is the Great Stone Dwelling House, which I’m now wandering around in. The construction of this impressive building began in 1834 when other buildings were moved out of the way. The next three years, the Shakers prepared the site, quarried granite and sawed timbers. In 1837, the building was erected with the assistance of hired tradesmen, but the planning and construction was managed by a Shaker Brother named Caleb Dyer.  

Dyer was born in 1800 and joined the Shaker Society when he was 12. Dyer grew into one of the Enfield Shakers’ most capable trustees. As a Society leader and savvy businessman, he managed his community’s transition from farming into an industrial economy and oversaw major construction projects, including this granite dwelling house and the Shaker Bridge across Mascoma Lake. Sadly, Caleb Dyer also holds the distinction of being the only murdered Shaker.  

The story of his murder begins in June of 1861, with a temporary laborer employed by the Shakers named Thomas Weir. Weir decided he would join the Union Army and announced he was quitting his Shaker employment stating, “I am going to enlist and go South and get Jeff Davis’ head.” 

Weir had two daughters, about 8 and 10 years old, who he proposed to leave in the care of the Shakers while he was away at war. He brought the daughters to Enfield Village and executed adoption documents giving the Shakers custody and responsibility for them. These documents also stipulated that upon his return, he could not remove either child from the Society if they were happy living among the Shakers. 

Weir enlisted in the 5th N.H. Volunteers and marched south with his new infantry regiment. But he was over 50 years old and not suited to rough Army living. After a few months his health broke down; he was discharged and sent home. 

Weir visited his daughters and found them happy and content. After a few visits he inquired about removing them from the village. Dyer told him if the children wanted to go, they could, but the girls told their father they preferred to remain with the Shakers.  

Weir hired an attorney to get his daughters back, but the documents he had signed precluded legal recourse unless the girls desired to leave, which they did not. The daughters freely told the attorney they did not want to live with their father and wanted to stay with the Shakers. 

Rumors of alcoholism and an unstable, troubled home life with Weir circulated. Weir then attempted to take his daughters by force, but the girls resisted, and the attempt failed. Frustrated, Weir began to threaten violence, but it was thought to be nothing more than obnoxious bluster. 

The view from the bell tower high atop the Great Stone Dwelling House.

On July 18, 1863, Weir, “nerved up by bad whiskey,” went to the Shakers armed with a Colt revolver. Weir and Dyer met on the highway outside the Shaker business office. Weir demanded his children be returned to him, but Dyer refused and turned to leave. Weir drew his revolver and shot Dyer in the back. The bullet entered near the spine, nicked a lung and lodged beneath the skin just above Dyer’s naval. Weir attempted a second shot, but the pistol misfired.   

Dyer was brought to the Shakers’ infirmary, where a doctor removed the bullet. Dyer told his gathered friends that he would be up and about in a few days. Three days later he breathed his last breath.  

Thomas Weir surrendered to the sheriff and was charged with premeditated murder. His trial lasted four days and the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict. The presiding judge sentenced him “To be hung by the neck until dead,” with the execution to occur “one year and one day from this date.” 

The case was appealed, and a new trial was granted. At the retrial, it became obvious that the verdict would be the same, so Weir’s attorney negotiated a plea deal for second-degree murder, which was accepted by the court. The reduced sentence was 30 years in prison, which seemed likely a life sentence as Weir was 54. But after serving 17 years, he was pardoned by the governor and released.

Hearing a ruckus and a cheer outside, I looked out the window to see the resurrected drone zooming past. The pilot had repaired it, and class was reassembling in the parking lot. I trotted down the many flights of stairs to rejoin the group. 

I had come here to learn about aerial mapping, but learned an intriguing tale of murder instead … don’t tell the embarrassed pilot, but I’m a little glad his drone crashed.