Robin Wood

This article is about the estate. For other uses, see Robin Wood (disambiguation).

Robin Wood was the 110-acre estate of black business tycoon A. G. Gaston and his second wife, Minnie.

The house was targeted twice by violence. Shortly after the Birmingham Truce was announced at the A. G. Gaston Motel, someone threw firebombs at the residence. The Gastons were in Washington D.C. at the time, having been invited to attend a state dinner at the White House with President Kennedy. The Gastons installed an alarm system at the house afterward.

Just after midnight on the morning of January 24, 1976 Gaston and his wife were assaulted and Gaston was abducted from the house, handcuffed and forced into the back of his own 1972 Cadillac El Dorado under a pile of blankets. Minnie, also cuffed and suffering a dislocated shoulder, regained consciousness and alerted the funeral home, which in turn contacted police. She later said that she had forgotton to turn on the alarm system that night.

The car was located soon later with Gaston still inside. The driver, Charles Lewis Clayborn Jr was taken into custody and later convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The Gastons were treated at Baptist Medical Center Montclair. Minnie, in particular, remained haunted by the brutal attack and arranged for guards to patrol the grounds for a while afterward.