Tucked high in the hills near Wayne, New York, the old Aisle of Pines estate has long carried an air of mystery around it. For generations, stories drifted through the Keuka region about the once-grand mansion — whispers of ghostly sightings, the white horse legend, fires, abandoned grandeur, and the lingering reputation of “The Haunted House on the Hill.”
But sometimes the darkest stories tied to old places are not folklore at all.
After posting the blog about Aisle of Pines, a reader reached out and shared even more of the estate’s history with me by sending newspaper articles written by her father, longtime regional reporter Dick Eisenhart.
Dick Eisenhart was the true definition of an old-school newspaperman, a legend in his own right.
Beginning in 1952, Eisenhart spent 34 years reporting and photographing stories for the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Times Union, and the Elmira Star-Gazette, covering Yates County and much of the Southern Tier. Long before home offices became commonplace, his newsroom and darkroom operated out of the family home, where stories were written, photographs developed, and deadlines met at all hours of the day and night.
He covered everything — local government meetings, fires, accidents, high school sports, human-interest stories, and occasionally events that reached national attention. Through both words and photographs, he documented generations of life across the Finger Lakes region, preserving not just headlines, but the heartbeat of small-town communities.
What unfolded within Dick Eisenhart’s articles about Aisle of Pines was not simply another ghost story tied to the old mansion on the hill.
It was the heartbreaking account of the murders of Robert and Dorothy Wills at the Gatehouse of Aisle of Pines in Wayne, New York — a tragedy that stunned this quiet rural community and sent shockwaves throughout the entire region.
The murders of Robert and Dorothy Wills remain one of the darkest chapters connected to the old Aisle of Pines estate.
In 1980, the couple lived in the Gatehouse — the smaller residence near the entrance of the historic property which was left untouched by the fire that consumed the mansion. The Gatehouse had once served as servant quarters connected to the grand mansion itself. According to historical accounts and later court records, Robert and Dorothy Wills were killed during a burglary that turned violent.
The case eventually led to the conviction of Richard Lyon on felony murder and burglary charges. Court records later confirmed the murders occurred during the commission of a burglary at the Wills residence.
For many around Wayne and the Keuka region, the tragedy only deepened the eerie reputation already surrounding Aisle of Pines. By then, the mansion itself had already fallen into decline, and only a few years earlier, in 1974, the main house had burned, leaving behind only chimneys and scattered stone remnants standing quietly against the hillside.
Today, when locals speak about Aisle of Pines, the conversation often drifts somewhere between history and folklore.
The wealthy Hallett family.
The white horse legends.
The fire.
And finally, the murders at the Gatehouse that seemed to mark the last tragic chapter of the estate’s long story.
For many locals, the story became forever woven into the haunting legacy of Aisle of Pines itself. A place once associated with wealth, elegance, and lakeside grandeur became further shadowed by sorrow, loss, and the kind of tragedy small towns never fully forget.
Around Keuka, the past does not always announce itself loudly.
Sometimes it lingers in the bend of an old road, the silence of a forgotten hillside, the hidden remains of an old estate or the stories still traded quietly across kitchen tables and front porches.
Here, history has a way of becoming part of the landscape itself — never truly gone, only waiting to be found again.
Stay Rooted. Stay Keuka.
