On March 27, 1878, Joseph and George (Teek) Brassell were hanged in gallows erected near the foot of Billygoat Hill in Putnam County's only publicly held execution. The brothers had been tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for killing Russell and John Allison during a robbery attempt on November 29, 1875. News of the execution made national headlines, and two days later The New York Times reported that 10,000 people came to witness it.