Exploring America State by State

Monthly Archives: December 2023

The Powder Magazine in the Trees

Posted on by Posted in Buildings, Georgia Leave a comment

Southwest of downtown Savanna Georgia is a clump of trees surrounded by modern day fast food restaurants. obscured by the trees is a piece of Savannah history. The brick castle-like building with walls that are three feet thick was built in 1898 by the city of Savannah and was used as a powder magazine. It held 96,000 pounds of black powder and 8,500 pounds of dynamite.

It was built on the outskirts of town in the event of an explosion it would be far enough away to not destroy the city. Eventually it was no longer needed and abandoned. Over time trees grew around the old building as the city expanded and businesses sprang up around the area. Today, motorists drive past the clump of trees canceling the old powder magazine and I wonder how many people know this piece of Savannah history is hiding from the modern day world.

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The Silent Night Chapel

Posted on by Posted in Churches, Michigan Leave a comment

Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan is the largest Christmas store in the world.  The Silent Night Chapel stands on Bronner’s property and it is a replica of the original chapel in Oberndorf/Salzburg, Austria, which marks the site where “Silent Night” was first sung on Christmas Eve in 1818. Wally Bronner visited the original chapel in 1976 and after receiving permission he constructed this replica in 1992.

 

 

Ball Mansion

Posted on by Posted in Houses, Indiana Leave a comment

The Ball Mansion sits on a hill in the Ninth Street Hill Neighborhood Historic District in Lafayette, Indiana. The two-story brick mansion was built in 1868 by Cyrus Ball.  He was a local businessman and layer that was elected one of the three associate Judges for the district in 1840. He was also the collector of tolls for the Wabash and Erie Canal. Ball died in 1893 but this magnificent house still stands with the three story tower looking over the city where he lived and worked. The house is a private residence but it is impressive to see from the road.

If you love exploring the Hoosier State or reading about its interesting places, I hope you will take a look at my Lost In Indiana book available on Amazon HERE

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The Christmas Party that Changed America

Posted on by Posted in Memorials, Michigan Leave a comment

19

I wish this was a story about a wonderful Christmas miracle, but instead, it’s about a celebration that ended in tragedy.
The town of Calumet in the Keweenaw Peninsula was one of the wealthiest towns in the United States in the late 1800s because of its copper deposits and mining industry. On Christmas Eve in 1913, after being on strike for five months, copper miners and their families gathered for a yuletide party on the second floor of the Italian Hall in Calumet. During the party for the striking miners, someone yelled, “Fire!” Although there was no fire, seventy-three people died while attempting to escape down a stairwell.

Over half of those who died were children between the ages of six and ten.  The belief is that the door at the bottom of the stairway opened inward, and other sources say it opened outward toward the streets, but the narrow stairway became congested and after the first person fell, it became a “domino effect” with people being trampled  trying to escape what they thought was a fire. The tragic event was part of the reason building codes were enacted for building capacity and fire escapes. The perpetrator who yelled “FIRE” creating the tragedy was never identified.  Some historians believe that “fire” was called out by an anti-union ally of mine management to disrupt the party. The event was memorialized by Woody Guthrie in the song “1913 Massacre”, which claims the doors were held shut on the outside by “the copper boss’s thug men.”

The Italian Hall was built in 1908 as headquarters for Calumet’s Benevolent Society. The Society, organized along ethnic lines, encouraged and financially aided immigrants and provided relief to victims of hardship. Following the 1913 Christmas Eve tragedy, the hall continued to be used for nearly five decades. The two-story red brick building was razed in 1984, but the doorway with its stone arch was left standing as a memorial to the people who lost their lives in the 1913 disaster.

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McPike Mansion

Posted on by Posted in Haunted, Houses, Illinois Leave a comment

Alton Illinois sits on the other side of the river from St. Louis Missouri and is considered part of the metro St. Louis area. Up on a hill north of town sits an old brick mansion surrounded by large old trees. The home is said to be one of the most haunted houses in America. It was built in 1869 by Henry McPike. He was a local businessman and politician who served as Alton’s mayor for a few years.

The mansion sits on fifteen acres, and McPike grew award-winning grapes for the wine he made in the home’s cellar. The family lived in the home until their deaths when the house was sold to Paul A. Laichinger in 1925. He lived in the home while renting rooms to others until his death in 1945. The home sat neglected for decades, and vandals broke in and stole most of the architectural components of the house. It was saved from the wrecking ball when it was sold at auction in 1994 to Sharyn and George Luedke.

The Luedkes began the process of renovating the home and noticed strange occurrences—the sound of voices or whistling or cold spots as people passed through the rooms. They believe it was the spirits of Henry McPike and his family. His daughter was known to participate in whistling competitions and maybe she is still whistling from beyond the grave. The home is privately owned but is open for tours and ghost hunts. You can see more at their website www.Mcpikemansion.com

I visit a lot of privately owned houses and places and admire them from the road since most have no trespassing signs posted. I was pleasantly surprised to see a sign welcoming visitors to the McPike Mansion by the owners. I hope people that visit will be respectful and the owners will continue to make it available to the public. You can learn more about the mansion on their website HERE

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The Dairyland Gravity Hill

Posted on by Posted in Wisconsin Leave a comment

The town of Shullsburg is in the southwestern corner of Wisconsin not far from the Illinois border. A few miles south of town on County Road U is a sign for Gravity Hill. If you stop your car at the sign and put it in neutral is will feel as if it is rolling up hill.  It is an optical illusion but a fun illusion to experience.  If you don’t live near the one in Wisconsin you can find a list of gravity hills on Wikipedia HERE

P.S. I came up to the spot from Illinois and saw the welcoming me to Wisconsin when I crossed the border between the states. It was a few seconds later that I got a good whiff of the aroma coming from the dairy farm nearby. Being a city boy it is not something I smell on a daily basis. I guess there is good reason why Wisconsin is the Dairy State. I am hoping to explore more of it soon.

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Thurmond

Posted on by Posted in Ghost Towns, Railroad, West Virginia Leave a comment

The town of Thurmond, West Virginia sits along the track that travel next to the New River. I would call it a ghost town but according to the last census it still has five residents that call it home. The town was incorporated in 1900 and named after Captain W. D. Thurmond, who settled in the region after he was given the 73 acre site as payment for a surveying job.

The town of Thurmond grew rapidly as coal trains passed through the town. Many railroad workers and miners lived in the town or at least visited it and spent their hard earned money. Thurmond’s banks were the richest in the state for a short time. After the mines closed and the steam locomotives gave way to diesel the population of the town dwindled. With most of its citizens gone, the post office closed in 1995.

Most of the town is now owned by the National Park Service and is part of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The old train depot is now a visitors center.

Trains still pass through the historic town and the depot is a stop for Amtrak. It is a beautiful drive to get to Thurmond and is one of my favorite places I have visited since I started this website. If you get a chance to visit it, I highly recommend it.

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Lost In Illinois

Posted on by Posted in Illinois Leave a comment

I am happy to announce my latest book Lost In Illinois has been published on Amazon HERE. I traveled all over the “Land of Lincoln” exploring small towns, large cities, back roads and farmland.

I did about 4000 miles this summer visiting strange and historic places including cemeteries, parks and historic sites. I like to visit free locations because they fit into my budget. I know I am a little crazy for driving to all of the places I write about, but I think what separates my books from the others, is that I actually visit all of these wonderful locations. I learn way more about the states I travel through then artificial intelligence ever will, because it will not see what I have.

If you like exploring Illinois or maybe just like reading about weird and interesting locations in the United States, I hope you will take a look at Lost In Illinois HERE

P.S. Thank you to all of you that have purchased books from me over the years. Your kindness and support mean a lot to me and help me with expenses to find new places to post about.