This story was originally published in April 2020.

Harry Oakes started life as a shy, small town kid, growing up in the 1870s and 80s in the Piscataquis County towns of Sangerville and, later, Dover-Foxcroft, the third of five children.

His life ended in 1943, as one of the wealthiest men in North America, and as the victim of a mysterious, violent murder that remains unsolved.

Who was this remarkable self-made man — and how did he go from Piscataquis County to owning a gold mine, hobnobbing with royalty and living in a palatial Caribbean estate?

Humble beginnings

Harry Oakes was born in Sangerville in 1874, the son of William and Edith Oakes. According to a history of Oakes’ life published by the Sangerville Public Library, the Oakes family had lived in the town since 1808, but moved

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