When History Comes Alive.

[Allen]

History is one of my favorite subjects, just about anything to do with history totally fascinates me. I like to try and stir the interest of others in it as well. I'd like to share with you all some my favorite historical places in my area, and maybe in turn you all could share some of the sights in your area. After all, you can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been.

There is a museum not to far from me that I simply call Meadowcroft Village. I've been there several times, but I never get tired of going. The village/museum has many old buildings that have been moved from their original location and restored to look as they did when they were first built. They have recreated a nineteenth century village. Among the exhibits is a general store that is filled with the original types of antiques you would expect to find in the shop during that time, right down to the Sears and Roebuck catalogues used to order new merchandise. They also have a museum of antique carriages.

On the tour you will be given a demonstration of how a split rail fence was made using period implements, how to make lye soap, how to use a loom, and a few things that are not listed on the sites. It's very interesting stuff. It's like stepping back in time. It's a very popular field trip destination for the schools in the area. I'm planning to back when I get the chance. Maybe I'll take some pictures and share them with you all.



Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life is a museum of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, located on 275-acres is rural Washington County just outside of Avella, less than an hour from Pittsburgh, Wheeling WV, and Steubenville, OH. The museum contains a recreated 19th century village complete with a covered bridge, blacksmith shop, one-room school, and several log buildings. Also located at the museum is the Meadowcroft Rockshelter, a prehistoric campsite used by Native Americans for 16,000 years!

http://www.meadowcroftmuseum.org/index.htm
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The curator of The Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life near Avella and a University of Rochester professor traveled to England last month to present information about the museum's collection of 19 th- and early 20 th-century medications.

In 1970, Meadowcroft founder Albert Miller, who died in 1999, bought the contents of an apothecary and general store in Wellsburg, W.Va. that John Fowler ran from 1856 to 1900, and whose family continued operating it until about 1940. The store and post office were situated inside the historic log building now housing Drover's Inn.


http://www.post-gazette.com/neigh_washi ... 1012p3.asp

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For the kids:

Village Life
This program explores rural life in the 19th century with a visit to the museum’s recreated village. Children will spin wool and learn about our region’s thriving 19th century sheep and wool industry. In addition to a simulated lesson in the one-room school, visit a working blacksmith shop, play old-fashioned games, and dip a wax candle to take home. PA Standards 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, OH Standards for History, People in Societies, WV Standards SS.S.5

http://meadowcroft.pghhistory.org/Meado ... illage.asp

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Another historical place that is close to me is the Alexander Campbell Mansion.

http://www.polsci.wvu.edu/wv/Brooke/broctour8.htm

http://historic.bethanywv.edu/historicb ... storic.htm

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Wheeling is also the home of the oldest operating suspension bridge in the world.

http://www.gribblenation.com/swparoads/ ... eling.html

http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?Re ... =Structure

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Below is a listing of some of the other historical sites available to tour in my area. I have been to most of them, and enjoyed them a great deal. My husband actually worked at the Brooke Crescent Glass Company for about three years, before it went out of glassware producing business. Now that building is used as an auction house. It was one of the oldest operating Glass Factories at the time it closed. Now the company no longer makes their own glassware, but still decorates glassware.

My grandfather worked at the glass house for over 40 years. I have many items that were made at the Brooke Crescent Glass Company, including a personalized wedding plate, a cobalt blue lamp, and a personalized bell given to me by my grandmother as a Christmas present. Each of us received a bell decorated with the color that corresponds with our birthsign. She wanted to be sure we would all own a piece of the glass my grandfather had made. I am normally sort of cautious about my personal information, but this is a pretty big area. I don't think I'm really giving more information than I'd like.


http://www.westvirginia.com/northern/history.cfm

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The pictures make the colors of the bell look orange, but it is actually a dark yellow.

[Kat]

Wow the bells are beautiful!!
That is so special to have your name on one.

Thanks for all the links.

I first thought you might be sharing special local crime scenes!
Stef and I keep track of those in Central Florida.
For instance, very near where our parent's home is, there is an apartment complex where a rape and murder took place of an elderly woman and it was the first case in the U.S. courts which allowed DNA evidence...just behind the first British case.

St. Augustine is our oldest place and I think it beats Plymouth Rock?

[Allen]

I'd be interested in sharing the local crime scenes as well. I am just as interested in things of that nature as I am in history.

That's really interesting that you keep track of them like that. I'm not sure if we've had many crimes that were especially famous or ground breaking around here. I might have to give that one a little thought and research, but you've got me thinking.

You're also right about St. Augustine Kat. It's the oldest settlement on the North American continent.

[Allen]

The only thing I can think of right off hand is that Charles Manson spent most of his childhood in McMechan, West Virginia. Which is about a half an hour from me. He married a woman from either Wheeling or McMechan I'm not sure, but her name was Rosalie. They had a son, Charles Manson Jr. He also spent some time in the West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville. I think his mother also served time there when he was a child. He eventually stole a car and fled to California in it. So what I've wondered all these years is...could I somehow know Charlie Manson's son or grandchildren and not know it?

[Harry]

The bell is quite beautiful. You are lucky Melissa to have something like that, made by your grandfather. I have seen TV shows of glass workers creating different objects and it took a real talent. These were single individuals using heat and a long pipe. They would heat the glass attached to the end of the pipe and then by blowing into the pipe and spinning and turning it create all kinds of different shapes. It was fascinating to watch. Probably today, they, like everything else, have been overtaken by mass-production.

There are several historical sites in the upstate of South Carolina. Within easy driving distance of my house are two American Revolutionary war battle fields, Cowpens and King's Mountain. In addition to the battlefields both have exhibits of how people lived at the time. Cowpens has an actual log cabin built at the time. Each year Cowpens stages a re-enactment of the battle. The defeat of the British and Tories at both of these battles eventually forced their retreat to Yorktown where they ultimately surrendered. Of course the state itself has an extensive Civil War history being the birthplace of the old Confederacy.

The only crime scene of any note is the lake where Susan Smith drowned her two sons. That was in Union, SC which is a short drive away. That would be too sad to visit. I did meet her husband though. He was a Winn-Dixie store employee and after the tragedy worked briefly in the Spartanburg store. He seemed like a nice guy, very helpful in the store. He left there and I think eventually moved to Florida.

[Angel]

I live in the mountains just above Harpers Ferry, WV. The town is absolutely beautiful. It is situated right where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet, tucked in between cliffs and mountains. The town itself is gorgeous with pre-Civil war buildings. John Brown and his men were captured there in 1859 so there is an abundance of history everywhere. They have a walking ghost tour at night which is great. I live close to major Civil War battlefields too, such as Antietem, Monocacy, Gettysburg, so the area is just wonderful for history buffs. When my boys were younger we used to all dress up in the clothes of that time and attend the reenactments. (Try driving a car with a hoop skirt. And getting into a porta-potty is a Houdini inspired feat.)

[Allen]

I live in the mountains just above Harpers Ferry, WV. The town is absolutely beautiful. It is situated right where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet, tucked in between cliffs and mountains. The town itself is gorgeous with pre-Civil war buildings. John Brown and his men were captured there in 1859 so there is an abundance of history everywhere. They have a walking ghost tour at night which is great. I live close to major Civil War battlefields too, such as Antietem, Monocacy, Gettysburg, so the area is just wonderful for history buffs. When my boys were younger we used to all dress up in the clothes of that time and attend the reenactments. (Try driving a car with a hoop skirt. And getting into a porta-potty is a Houdini inspired feat.)

for the Porta potty in a hoop skirt. I don't even think I can imagine how that would work.

You've actually taken the walking ghost tour? What are some of the attractions on the tour? Harpers Ferry is supposed to be one of the most haunted cities in America. Have you ever had any ghostly experiences?

I would LOVE to visit Gettysburg and Antietam and be able to see the reenactments for myself. My husband has been to Gettysburg but I've never been there, although I've wanted to go for a long time now. My kids are not that interested history, despite my best efforts, and aren't all that interested in visiting any battlefields. I think it's really cool that you dressed up in the period clothing to attend the reenactments. Is Gettysburg the place that is supposed to have the ghostly soldiers who march across the field? I remember seeing that on a television program, but I don't remember if it was Gettysburg or Antietam.

[Allen]

There are several historical sites in the upstate of South Carolina. Within easy driving distance of my house are two American Revolutionary war battle fields, Cowpens and King's Mountain. In addition to the battlefields both have exhibits of how people lived at the time. Cowpens has an actual log cabin built at the time. Each year Cowpens stages a re-enactment of the battle. The defeat of the British and Tories at both of these battles eventually forced their retreat to Yorktown where they ultimately surrendered. Of course the state itself has an extensive Civil War history being the birthplace of the old Confederacy.

Have you attended the reenactments Harry? I've been to South Carolina twice in my life. The first time I stayed with some family in Charleston, and the second time I stayed with a friend in South Myrtle Beach. It's a really beautiful state. It is also very rich in historical structures from all that I saw, which is something I found quite wonderful. Everyone I met was so pleasant and polite, which is a far cry from what you find around here. My aunt was called Miss Dorothy by everyone. On my first visit I toured Fort Sumter and what my aunt called the slave market. I was very nervous on the boat ride over to Fort Sumter. I am not very fond of boats. Other than that all I saw was the beach. On my second visit I was taken to most of the tourist attractions on the beach, which aren't very historical, and I saw the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. All in all I think South Carolina is a wonderfully beautful state. You're lucky to live there Harry.

[Harry]

No Melissa, I haven't been to a re-enactment yet. It's one of those things I want to see but just haven't got around to it.

I've been to Charleston once. It is truly a beautiful city, especially along the waterfront. Charleston also had quite a history in the Revolution, trading hands several times.

When I got out of the army I was processed out in Ft. Jackson which is just outside the capitol of SC, Columbia. Never did I even think I eventually would live here. I remember catching the Orange Blossom Special train to New York and home.

[Kat]

This is a really neat topic!
Anyone else live nearby and checked out their local history?

I think, to get kids interested in history- you could base it on ghosts.
There's bound to be historical ghost stories and you can study those as you plan a trip with kids.
Hans Holtzer has some.
One is:
"Great American Ghost Stories."

There's one called:
"Prominent American Ghosts" by Susy Smith
and
"The Spirits of America" by Jeff Rovin.

I fell asleep in History class but if they had told history thru ghosts, I would be a Paranormal Investigator by now!

[theebmonique]

We have a local restaurant...up a canyon...that has a resident ghost. Spargo. I have stayed late at the restaurant...hoping to see, hear, or whatever something. My brother worked there and had many experiences with the ghost of the former owner. He would get glasses out of the dishwasher...set them out...walk into another room for something...come back and the glasses would all be turned over, and my brother was the only one there.


Tracy...

[Angel]

Melissa-
We had a weird thing happen in Gettysburg last fall. My grown son and I met with a young woman and her husband who held small group ghost walks occasionally. (They were really into it- even had their wedding at night in Gettysburg with a ghost walk afterward.) We were going across a small field on the battlefield bordering a wooded area. She and my son went ahead and stopped at the edge of the woods, and she started a tape recorder and began asking questions out loud. My son said when she was taping he had not heard anything at all. But then I caught up to them and she started playing back the tape. After one of her questions there was a low very grizzly kind of voice on the tape who seemed to be responding to the question. My son said it made his blood run cold because he had been right there when she had been taping. I must say, it really startled me too.

[Allen]

That would've freaked me out So would the story that Tracy told about her brother. I would say there is not other explanation for either of those occurances than it was truly something ghostly. I would really like to have heard that voice recording! I do hope to see or hear something ghostly in my life time no matter how much it might freak me out.

I've gone on a couple of so called 'ghost hunts' to Gretchen's Lock and to an old Mill in Beaver Creek State Park that is supposed to be haunted. I've also been to the site where Pretty Boy Floyd was gunned down by law enforcement. All of these sites are located within a short distance of each other in East Liverpool, Ohio. We went armed with digital voice recorders and cameras. The only things is, nothing happened. I'm sort of a skeptic when it comes to things supernatural, it's not that I don't believe things like this exist, it's just that I've seen too many people who are so determined to see or hear something that it's almost a self fulfilling prophecy when they do. So I try not to rush in and jump at every little bump and thump. Maybe this is why I've never really seen or heard anything. But I sure hope to some day! One thing though, when I finally do, everyone might want to clear the way for me in a hurry

[Allen]

I found this bit online last night. This was the first time I had ever heard of this story.

A lonely-hearts killer operating in Nelson's time was a man named Herman Drenth, who was known chiefly by his last alias, Harry F. Powers. A traveling salesman based in West Virginia, Powers used matrimonial correspondence agencies to ensnare lonely women, whom he robbed then murdered. Police estimated that before his arrest in 1931 he had killed fifty victims, although that number seems highly doubtful. He confessed to killing only those five whose bodies were found buried next to his "murder garage," wherein he bound and gassed his victims and watched in delight as they died. The pleasure of the sight, said Powers, "beat any cat house I was ever in."

I have a form letter in Powers' hand which he used to inveigle female correspondents. In it he announces himself "longing for someone to take [my former wife's] place in my heart," and promises that his new wife "can have anything, within reason, that money can buy." The letter begins, "My age is [blank], height 67 inches, have clear blue eyes, medium dark hair." Powers evidently had used the letter as a model for writing to various women, no doubt adjusting his age to fit the year of writing or the age of his correspondent.

The printed legacy of Powers consists of a scarce book by Evan Allen Bartlett, Love Murders of Harry F. Powers: Beware Such Bluebeards (1931) and a scarcer undated contemporary pamphlet of 14 pages, "Love Secrets of Bluebeard. The use of the term "Bluebeard" in the title to denote a murderer of women, the prevalent usage for the last two hundred years, is somewhat interesting, since the original Bluebeard was a fifteenth-century French nobleman named Gilles de Rais who was a homosexual killer of boys. We shall meet his modern counterpart in Houston later in this article.

http://www.patterson-smith.com/SerialArt.htm




http://www.crimezzz.net/serialkillers/D ... herman.htm


http://www.wvculture.org/history/crime/powers03.html

[Allen]

Recently, I made a trip back to Meadowcroft with my daughter. I love going there! I love the history. There is nothing like the feeling I'm stepping back into the past to get a glimpse of what life was like. Unfortunately I forgot the digital camera on the dining room table and didn't realize it until we were almost there. I decided to buy one of those disposable camera's. Bad idea. Once the pictures were sent to be developed it became apparent that it had been a waste of time and money. The first pictures on the roll came out ok. But the closer it got towards the end the worse the picture quality was. It also had no flash so many of the ones taken inside were dark. The shots that did turn out were nothing really all that impressive in my opinion. I have such bad luck taking pictures! Here are some of the ones that did turn out. I plan to make at least one more trip before they close down for the season, so hopefully I can add more pictures later with my DIGITAL camera.

[Kat]

Those outdoor pictures are wonderful!

The interiors are very sparse aren't they?
Did they make their own things?
Where is this place exactly?
Thanks!

[Allen]

Those outdoor pictures are wonderful!

The interiors are very sparse aren't they?
Did they make their own things?
Where is this place exactly?
Thanks!

Most everything at the museum is authentic and antique. The buildings in the village were all moved from their original locations. The schoolhouse for instance was moved from the original site, with everything in it, and rebuilt at the museum/village. There are even carefully preserved signatures of former students on the blackboard from the very last class reunion held there. There is a general store that is just really detailed and full of old antiques, tonics, elixirs, catalogs, etc. During the tour we were shown how to make soap, candles, and how to play a few of the games often played by the school children. Hopefully the next time I go I'll be able to take better pictures. It's a pretty neat little place.

http://meadowcroft.pghhistory.org/

[Elizabeth Ann]

The pictures and links are wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing!

I love living near Gettysburg and we enjoy wandering the battlefield in the evenings. ANGEL - we have had a few interesting encounters up there! We have found many cold spots on the field and audible encounters as well.

A favorite spot to visit is Sachs Bridge. A few years back when we were still actively reenacting, my husband and some of his fellow soldiers took our van out there. When they were ready to leave the van would not start. He and a few of the guys had cell phones, none of them worked around the bridge. They had to walk up to the main road to use them. He called me to find a garage to come tow them (at 10:00pm at night!). Van was towed, mechanic apparently used to this occurence. NOTHING was wrong with the van, when they tried at the garage it started right up.
The most fun of that night for me was calling the other wives and telling them our little boys got stuck while out playing!

Lots of history in Frederick MD too where I work. Sharpsburg Battlefield close by as well as Harpers Ferrry. I escape to the past whenever we get the chance!

[Angel]

I went with some friends on a ghost hunting expedition Saturday night in Harpers Ferry. It was a lot of fun- met some others up there who had written a couple of books on the subject. The head of our group shot some pictures and one came up with a supposed ectoplasm across the front of it which was startling because I was right there when she took it and there was nothing there. If I get a copy I will post it. I don't really believe in the stuff, but the adventure was a hoot. It was pretty eerie walking through the cemetery at the top of the mountain above Harpers Ferry.

[Angel]

Here are some of the pics. One has "orbs"--I don't put much stock in them. Another has the ctoplasm and another was taken right afterwards and there is nothing there. The one pic I think is just a really cool pic of the church.

[Angel]

Here are two more I overlooked.

[Elizabeth Ann]

Great pics Angel, thanks for sharing!

[Angel]

Our ghost hunting group went out again to Harpers Ferry this weekend and got this shot. This appeared on a wall next to a door of an old building.

[Allen]

Thanks for the pictures Angel. Is there anyway to make that last one a little bigger? I'd like to see it a bit enlarged so I can make out the figure in it better. I can see something, but can't really make out what it might be.

[Angel]

I tried, but I don't know if that's much better. I do see, though, that part of the figure that goes over the seam in the bricks stands away from it, so it doesn't look like it is part of the bricks. What do you think?

[Harry]

I passed the copy of the photo through a filter to see if any details could be enhanced. Here is one of the results:

[Angel]

Harry, thanks so much for doing that. I will pass the photo on to the head of the group who is really into this kind of thing. It will be interesting to see what she says. She also had her recorder along and said she got some EVP's. I haven't heard them yet.

[Allen]

Thanks Angel and Harry. After looking at it more closely I can definitely make out a face. To me it's easy to make out the figure from about the neck up. Is this what you see? It looks like it might be a woman?

[Angel]

The ghost hunters went back again last Friday night to Harpers Ferry, but I couldn't go with them. My son had emergency surgery so I was taking care of the grandchildren. But I thought these pics were interesting.
http://www.str1ker.com/GHOST/82506hfgh/82506hfgh.html

They did EVP recordings too. There are faint voices in the background but I can't make them out.
http://www.str1ker.com/GHOST/82506hfghEVP.mp3

[Elizabeth Ann]

Thanks for sharing Angel. I am not sold on orbs as flashes and reflections of lights can very easily be mistaken for them. But these pics are very good. The ecto and outline of the soldier are impressive! Planning to visit here in October when some of our friends are here from the UK. Will see if we meet any of these visitors!

[Angel]

I know--I don't have much interest in orbs either. Would rather see the other stuff. We're going to Gettysburg soon. I am looking forward to that one.