Murder at Rocky Point Park: Tragedy in Rhode Island's Summer Paradise

by Kelly Sullivan Pezza

The true story of a heartbreaking crime at a nineteenth-century amusement park.   On a summer day in 1893, against a backdrop of laughter and barrel organ music at Rocky Point Amusement Park, little Maggie Sheffield was murdered—by her own father.   But the tragedy aroused a strange reaction from the peaceable community of Warwick, Rhode Island, as many seemed to be more concerned for the murderer, Frank Sheffield, than for his young victim. Frank was rumored to be insane or addicted to drugs, and after a trial, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.   The murder did not tarnish Rocky Point’s reputation as a premier destination, and the park operated until 1995. Now, investigating official records and newspaper archives, author Kelly Sullivan Pezza uncovers the facts and oddities behind a grim crime in Rhode Island’s summer paradise.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Crime

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 27, 2014

Reviews

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book should really be called "the history of Rocky point" with a few chapters about a horrific murder that happened there.

[Talia Venditti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought it would be better. It was more of a research paper that needed to reach a word count, with sooo much unnecessary information. I don't need to know addresses of every person involved. The first few chapters were good, but it got very hard to read towards the end. Like a textbook. Just boring and no emotions at all.

[David Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was extremely impressed by this book. The story of Maggie Sheffield's murder at Rocky Point had been long forgotten, but it is now part of the park's lore forever, even if it is one of the saddest episodes in its history. Even though there is little historical evidence remaining about the murder and trial, the book still contains an admirable amount of detail about Frank's descent into madness and the tragic voyage aboard the Bay Queen that concluded in horror behind a ledge at the amusement park. Most fascinating to me was the author's reconstruction of what the murderer ate in the days leading to the crime and what this revealed about whether he was insane or drugged when he killed his daughter. I suppose what lends Maggie's story such piquancy is that she should have been having the best day of her life at Rocky Point and that her attack came not only from a person she loved, but at a place which everyone loved.

In my own books Clamcake Summer and Chowder Summer, I have written about Rocky Point's food history. Murder at Rocky Point addresses the culinary aspects of the park's history deliciously well and with a thoroughness that earned my respect as a fellow historian who has toiled in the same archives.

There were a few places in the book where I might have appreciated more detail. For example, why was Frank jailed and tried in East Greewnich rather than Warwick? On the other hand, I didn't realize that this book would also be the ultimate compendium of information about Rocky Point from its earliest days to the present. I was enthralled by all the information the author unearthed and I recommend this as the definitive Rocky Point resource, with one exception. How curious that it doesn't include any discussion of the murder of Jason Bass by Adam Emery and the unsolved mystery of Emery's disappearance, a tragedy which, like Maggie's, began at Rocky Point.

[Callie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm...didn't think a historical postcard inspired book would resort to the newspaper tactic of *over sensationalized title*. Better title would have been "the history, genealogy, tragedy, growth, and demise of Rocky Point"...the title as it stands is misleading as it's a VERY small portion of the beginning of the book...and even then, it's still misleading because it doesn't tell the story of murder so much as it happened in two sentences, and then it's off to the genealogy of all the people involved, above and beyond the victim and the accused...and the the sons of and daughters of... The dates are all over the place, backtracking, switching times, and people, and then time periods, and then more history of the place, a couple blips of more unrelated death, and some poorly worded sentences mixed in, but murder eh, that was done and over with no real substance to it in the very beginning.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this. I was so excited about it, I moved it to the top of my reading list. It was pretty bad.

Such an interesting topic, both Rocky Point Park and the murder and yet, it was so poorly executed. This felt like I was reading a text book with the name, age, address, children, spouse, and other details of irrelevance of anyone affiliated with the park, the family, or other parks in the area…a bunch of random tidbits of information strung together haphazardly throughout.

The first couple of chapters were the best and most cohesive story telling. The rest of the book had some interesting information scattered throughout all of the monotonous information but forgot the main point of the story regarding the specific murder it started with.

If you’re into the history of Rocky Point you may be interested in this one as you can glean a few cool details of the parks history with some photos. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend.

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a disorganized mess. I was drawn to it by the cover of the ferris wheel in an old-time amusement park, but the book turned out to be poorly-written in the extreme. The story of the murder takes up only a small portion of the text at the beginning. Once the trial and aftermath have been dealt with, the author pads out the book with accounts of every newspaper story written during the past century on Rocky Point. There are no transitions between the different events, and the latter half of the book is practically unreadable, filled with random trivia.

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

An account of the 1893 murder of five-year-old Maggie Sheffield at the hands of her father, Frank. The actual account of the events leading up to and including the murder was obviously meticulously researched by the author. The final chapters dealing with the history of the park up until its final closure didn't hold the interest as well and seemed a little haphazard at times. Overall though, I thought it was an intriguing book.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and a lot of history.

[Terry Grande · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history of Rocky Point was interesting but the story could have been shorter because of all the family history.

[Krista · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was terrible for a number of reasons.

1) The description on the back of the book is literally what is revealed about the murder. The only “plot twist” is that Frank’s doctor knew he had spoken of murderous impulses but was deemed insane anyways.

2) The author dramatically writes that Maggie’s story filled her with “despair,” yet only spends one to two chapters on the murder itself. She even goes as far as to say, “Sleep peacefully, angel. Your story will be told.” She gave more detail to the “delicious clams” and Shore Dinners than she did anything of the feckin’ murder!

3) The author also delves far deeper into the history of Rocky Point itself. Again, never bothers to tie it to the murder unless it was to say “the death that happened there X years prior,” which no one seemed to speak about it again. And she prefaces that there are more deaths at the park, then takes forever to tell about them, then spends two sentences saying that Y person died in an unfortunate accident….aka not murder.

I literally got more information about the murder from reading Wikipedia than I did from this book. Worst $20 I ever spent.

[Reba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even with my nostalgia for Rocky Point, at times this was a bit of a tough read. It read more like a listing of facts, more than a true crime narrative, or even a historical account. It was probably a stretch to make this story into a whole book, but there were some interesting facts and anecdotes, and the story of Maggie is truly a tragedy, and she deserves to be remembered.

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a murder mystery, this is not the book for you. If you are interested in the history of Rocky Point park then you will enjoy.

[Hailey Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun fact. I actually received this book as a Christmas present. That's it. That's the intro.

(Join author & reporter Kelly Sullivan Pezza as she investigates and recounts the murder of 5-year old Maggie Sheffield.

On a summer day in 1893, little Maggie Sheffield was murdered. Maggie's own father did the unthinkable against a backdrop of laughter and barrel organ music at Rocky Point Amusement Park. The tragedy aroused a strange reaction from the peaceable community of Warwick, Rhode Island. Many seemed to be more concerned for the murderer, Frank Sheffield, than for his young victim. Frank was rumored to be insane or addicted to drugs, and after a trial, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. The murder did not tarnish Rocky Point's reputation as a premier destination, and the park operated until 1995. Investigating official records and newspaper archives, author Kelly Sullivan Pezza uncovers the facts and oddities behind a grim crime in Rhode Island's summer paradise.) ~ Blurb from Goodreads

I liked the pictures, documents, and illustrations. They were not only a nice surprise, but I really feel that they added to the atmosphere and provided additional insight into the setting.

So according to the introduction of this book, the author's goal was to shed light on who Maggie (the murder victim) was, as she felt it was a very overlooked element of a case that already didn't have a ton of coverage to begin with. Honestly, given the circumstances, I think she did a really great job weaving in as much detail about Maggie as possible from her personality to her dynamic with Frank to her cause of death.

What also really impressed me was how much detail was able to be packed in. Everything that the reader needs to know about this case and more is in here. What really adds to the awesomeness is that none of it feels like padding and the book's page count only clocks in at about less than one hundred and thirty pages.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style. To me, it just felt too dry. It was like I was reading a Wikipedia article about the case rather than an actual book about it. I understand that this is a work of non-fiction about a tragedy, but I still feel some flare could've been added without sensationalizing or taking away from the seriousness of the case.

Chapter eleven was just a major slog. Basically, this entire chapter is an info dump detailing the life stories of some of the people involved with the case (like Frank's physician). Honestly, this was the only chapter in the entire book that I was tempted to skim through. The dry writing style really didn't help either. I feel like if some of the information presented in this chapter were cut from it and relocated to other parts of the book, it would've made the chapter a lot easier to read through.

Overall, Murder at Rocky Point: Tragedy in Rhode Island's Summer Paradise was still a great little book despite its dry writing style.

Overall Grade: B-

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting look at the murder of Maggie Sheffield, a 5-year-old girl who was murdered by her father in 1893 at one of Rhode Island's most popular amusement parks. Rocky Point was a long-time destination for great food, interesting music, and loads of fun in the form of rides, carnival games, dancing, swimming, and baseball games for more than a century. The other takes the reader through the facts of the case, information about the background of those involved and what happened to them after, and a great history of the park itself.

I really enjoyed reading this one. I loved going to Rocky Point when I was younger. It closed when I was an undergrad. Rocky Point is still a major part of the city where I work, though it serves as a state/city park instead of an amusement park.

[Selina Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating piece of history

This book has a much wider scope than the heartbreaking sad account of the demise of one little girl, although this part was definitely interesting as well.

All in all it is a fascinating bit of Rhode Island history about the exciting and thrilling heyday of Rocky Point Park. I really enjoyed reading about it, along with all the great photographs to really give the reader a strong sense of what is was all about. What a wonderful, wonderful time that must have been! ☺️

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished reading: Murder at Rocky Point Park by Kelly Sullivan Pezza

This is a non-fiction, historic, true crime novel.

First off how many of you knew Rocky Point opened in 1847?😮. Then there was a gruesome murder? 😮. There had been many deaths (some natural, accidental ) at the Park over the years since it closed in 1995 😞

This was such an interesting read. Not only did it discuss the gruesome murder, but it went into the history of Rocky point from the time it opened until the time it closed until present time now ,the bankruptcy. A great read👍

[Becki · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half was interesting, but then the author goes into way too much about what happened to the second hand/minor people in the rest of their lives. Super boring and completely irrelevant. After a good chunk that was a struggle to stay awake through, Pezza continues with the history of the park. Nothing else about this "grisly murder" from the beginning of the book (which, btw, was not unsolved or even mysterious). Very little substance made out to be a complete book.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to give the author credit because it's very clear they put a lot of meticulous research into the book. However, the title should be called more so "A History of Rocky Point with a dash of murder" since the story was just as much about general history then it was about the murder of Maggie Sheffield. Definitely an informative read for my RI friends but not as much true crime as the title would lead you to believe.

[Elizabeth B Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder at Rocky Point Park

A very interesting story that will engross any reader who remembers visits to Rocky Point Park when it still was an amusement park. The author tells a very Rhode Island story, including the murder which inspired the book, but that is only a tiny part of it. Particularly if you lived in RI in the 2nd half of the twentieth century, this will ring some bells.

[Sjervey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this interesting because I went to school in Rhode Island, but it would not have held my interest otherwise. The book shifted focus from a recounting of the killing to a history of the amusement park. It would have worked better as a history f the park with a section on the killing. The park's place in Rhode Island history was far more important.

[Audrey Dubois · Rating 1 out of 5]

AUDREY'S ONE-SENTENCE BOOK REVIEWS

The order in which this information was relayed baffled me. And I'm not talking about "the narrative failed to build suspense effectively," I'm talking about "this person's role in the story happened in chapter 4, but their background and physical description were only brought up in chapter 10"

[Melissa at My Chaotic Ramblings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I understand that there was not much to go on with this true crime case, however, the book should not have been advertised as true crime. I learned more about the history of the theme park and the people associated with the crime than I did about the actual crime.

[Pam Koenig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much seemed to be about the crime? History buffs or Rhode Islanders would probably enjoy this more than I did. The majority of the books deals with the history of the local, the owners and descendants

[Shannon Miller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lacking in the story/details of the murder.

[Elizabeth Gay · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was so awesome

[Vicki Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great quick read. I loved Rocky Point as a kid and had never heard this story.

[Jessica Fitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt like more of a history of Rocky Point with only a few chapters related to the murder case. Not what I was expecting at all.

[Deanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very sad, but interesting crime event which I had never heard about. It was well researched and I would highly recommend it.

[Lisa Kerrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of facts about the park learned a lot about Rocky point

[Wendi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Two and a half stars for me. I thought this book was going to be better than what it was. It was mostly about the history of the park from its beginning to its end. Found it to be very disorganized and tidbits of information just thrown in randomly. The information about Frank and his daughter was interesting but I didn’t need to know the family history of everyone that was involved in his arrest.