INTERESTING, EERIE AND UNUSUAL SITES IN NW WALWORTH COUNTY GHOST HOUSE – TOWN OF RICHMOND, DELANY ROAD This lovely Italianate brick house was built by James Cameron in 1843. It had 18 rooms, 9 closets, a dumb waiter, a water system in the house and attached servant's quarters. The Camerons came to Walworth County in the early 1840s and apparently were wealthy, to be able to afford such a large, convenient house. The haunted house story began after the Civil War. James' son, Tom, was carrying on an affair with one of the maids. Various stories include illegitimate children and the death of the maid by poisoning. Other servants and members of the Cameron family reportedly saw the ghost of the maid. The current owners also have indicated that they have heard footsteps and other noises by “unknown parties.”

The Delaney family next owned the house and many of the local residents think of this as The Delaney House. They had a bell which was rung at 11:30 a.m. to alert the men in the field that it was almost dinnertime. Neighbors could "set their clocks by it", it was so dependable.

Another story about the Delaneys notes that their log cabin was the only one in the township to blow up! Delany had worked for the DuPont Co. When he left they gave him a keg of gun powder as a gift. This was stored in their log cabin. A fire broke out in the cabin, and the family fled rather than trying to put out the fire. No one got hurt but their house was destroyed.

WATER TOWER IN STARIN PARK J. Starin came to the area with his brother, Frederick J. in 1840. Frederick was an engineer and was employed by the Northwestern Railroad for 30 years. Henry was a farmer and horticulturist growing fruit and shade trees. His son Duane gave eight acres to the city for a park in 1888.

Originally it was called Prospect Park. The fence around the water tower tilts inward ... so some say ... to keep the spirits in. It is also close to "the triangle." This is a place where the witches held their rituals. Evil forces were present here.

According to stories, if you connect the location of the three city cemeteries on a map, you get an isosceles triangle. (An isosceles triangle has two sides of equal length.) This is said to have connections to witchcraft and Satanism. The houses within this triangle were said to be haunted.

Another story which I’ve heard is that a person [?ghost?] by the name of roams about each of the three city cemeteries each Halloween with an ax, ready to do in anyone who is caught there. Although the story says that Mary Worth is buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery; cemetery records do not show anyone of that name interred there. For that matter, there is no Mary Worth listed either of the other two cemeteries.

THE THREE CEMETERIES IN WHITEWATER OAK GROVE CEMETERY On the gateway west pillar (on the south side of the cemetery) is written "Erected by Geo. Esterly." On the top of the arch is the date 1884. Just inside the gate is the Esterly family lot. Dr. Trippe gave land for the cemetery; he was the second person buried here.

The cemetery was laid out in 1842; the cemetery association was formed on November 20, 1848. John Woodbury was president, Prosper Cravath, secretary, and Leander Birge was treasurer. W. M. Potts and Rev. M. P. Kinney were directors. In the spring of 1850 the association purchased two more acres and fenced in the area. Prior to this the Town Board of Supervisors controlled the land; their attitude toward fencing or other improvements was said to be that such concerns were not important.

It is believed that Lucy Ann Prince, daughter of Samuel Prince, was the first person to be buried in this cemetery. She died February 10, 1844. The verse on her grave stone has an interesting saying on it: "Peace be her silent slumber, peaceful in her grave to fair. She art now of earth no longer, She no more of earth its cares shall know."

Samuel Prince is considered the first permanent white settler in Whitewater; he died April 1867. One of Prince's wives was Amanda Perry, from 1859 to 1867. Prince was 77 at the time of this marriage. This was her second marriage; the first was to Wesley Clemens from 1849 to 1851. If you see the Prince lot, you will also note the tombstone of her third husband Lorenzo Garthwaite. Amanda married him in 1892; he died in 1907, she outlived him by seven years. Lorenzo was in Co. K 13th Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War.

There are a number of Civil War soldiers buried in this cemetery. The first man to enlist in the Civil War from Whitewater was John F. Potter. Whitewater formed a company of local volunteers led by Captain C. E. Curtice. At the first meeting $4000 was raised and within two days they had pledges of $7000. Whitewater also raised about $1000 from local property tax. Those present agreed to pay $5 each month to the wife of each volunteer and $2 for each child of a volunteer. There were 35 volunteers at the first meeting and the initial enlisting was 103 officers and men. Later that same year (1861) J. L. Pratt was commissioned to raise another company of volunteers from Whitewater. They were ordered into Janesville on October 30th; the 13th Regiment had 85 officers and men. August 1, 1862, a third company was sought. The 28th Company left for camp in Milwaukee on September 15, 1862.

This cemetery has two soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. Eli Pierce who served with George Washington in the Battle of Monmouth; he died on December 26, 1852. Israel Ferris who was in the 9th Connecticut Militia and was in Capt. Abraham Mead’s Company died on January 22, 1844. Three soldiers who fought in the War of 1812 are buried here. They are Rerben Fryer, Jarvis Pike and Isaac U. Wheeler, Sr.

This cemetery is also said to be the resting place of Mary Worth, not the one from the , but an axe toting murderess.

Some other folk stories say that the witches had an altar in this cemetery and would hold satanic rituals here. There was supposed to be a coven of witches in this area in the late 1880s.

HILLSIDE CEMETERY Land for this cemetery was purchased by the Cemetery Association and laid out in 1858. Four soldiers from the War of 1812 are buried here. They are Adam Ehle, Morris Hawes, Tilly Littlejohn, and Nathaniel Vilas. In this cemetery is the grave of John J. Downey, the "Drummer Boy of Shiloh." He was born in 1845 and died in 1932. He was the first to beat the drums to wake up the Union soldiers during the surprise attack at Shiloh on April 6, 1862. John was 14 at the time.

It was in this area that twenty early settlers put down their tents ... just to the north of this cemetery. The group had used an Indian trail to get here from Milwaukee. Joseph Nichols was the leader of this party. The trail they used was called Finch's Track for many years. It went from Whitewater to Mukwonago by way of Round Prairie. Benoni Finch and his four brothers, Calvin West, William Barron, Joseph Nichols and his family, Mr. Kelly and family and Mr. Brown and his family were in this group. They continued on west of this area, using the army trail of General Atkinson (for whom Fort Atkinson was named).

William Barron probably was the first white man to fell a tree in the area. He did this in section 4 of the township and made his claim. Alvah Foster, another early settler, gave up his claim because he said the area was too swampy and no one would live here for some time. He thought the area at Fort Atkinson was much more desirable. The next person to venture in the area was Samuel Prince. Because he made his claim and stayed in the area, he is designated at the first permanent resident. Calvin West probably did the first plowing of land in the Town of Whitewater.

CALVARY CATHOLIC CEMETERY Records for this burial ground began around 1900 although burials occurred in the mid 1800's. If you want to visit this cemetery the entrance can be found at the west end of W. Lauderdale Drive. It is surrounded by the UW-Whitewater campus. One of the earliest tombstones is for Elizabeth Conlin Lee who died July 12, 1854.

A newspaper article written in 2009 about a paranormal investigation of this cemetery… A father and daughter and their dog set out to investigate this cemetery one night. Here also is where Mary Worth is supposed to be buried. According to this article if you say her name three times in front of a mirror at midnight she will kill the summoner in a very violent way. Another inhabitant is Nellie Horan, who poisoned her sister. She was acquitted in 1885. In 2008 a student at the University committed suicide in this cemetery. As the pair and their dog strolled among the tombstones the dog started barking furiously. Later they found out that the death had occurred in the area where the dog started to bark.

Witch’s Book, supposed to be written by the Whitewater witches If read, that person would have a violent death by suicide or go insane. Book supposed to be under lock and key in the basement of UW- Whitewater library. This firmly denied by the librarians.

ELECTRIC TRAIN ROAD BED - TOWN OF WHITEWATER You can see some of this road bed if you travel along County Road P, south of Whitewater. One very noticeable section can be seen just north of Esterly Road. In 1860 Whitewater had two railroads coming through their community, the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien and the Chicago & Northwestern Rail Road. There were four east bound and four west bound trains daily. In 1910 plans were underway to develop an electric rail line extending from Whitewater to Lake Geneva. The group was incorporated and charted and they planned to use the old road bed built in the 1850s.

Actual construction began in August, 1914. A 70 ton steam shovel once believed to have been used to help dig the Panama Canal was used to remove earth from the bluffs south east of the city. Work progressed rapidly at the beginning and local citizens seemed very enthusiastic about the new line. It promised a quick trip to the county seat, Elkhorn.

However, several farmers were not too happy about the line crossing their land. In a couple of cases the line was built on a Sunday when the farmer was not present and/or was unable to obtain a court injunction to stop construction. But soon the Badger Railway and Light Co. ran out of funds. A short spur which connected the Milwaukee Road in the city to a brickyard on the north side of Whitewater was the only part that was ever really operated. Six miles of line were laid south of the city but the only use they ever saw was to move railroad construction supplies and workers.

It has been suggested that this line was ten years too late in getting started. Most of the communities on the line were small and had adequate service from existing railroads. In addition, between 1910 and 1914, concern about war made some potential investors hesitant. The demise of this electric line did leave many local investors with big losses. LITTLE PRAIRIE CEMETERY Adam E. Ray gave or sold the land for the cemetery in 1850. If you have the time, stroll through and look at some of the interesting old tombstones. The oldest tombstone is for Crytun Bigar?w. who died September 11, 1846 at the age of 12 yrs., 4 mo. and 21 days.

There are two very unusual tombstones indicating a father and son. Below is the text of each:

"Duncan Cameron died March 20, 1922 Chicago, Illinois Age 24 Graduated from James Wadsworth Graded School Chicago, Ill 1911 Hyde Park High School, Chicago, Ill 1915 Michigan University, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1919 Receiving Degree of Bachelor of Arts."

Be sure to look at the back of the Duncan Cameron's stone for even more information! Old township records list John C. Cameron was a Justice of the Peace for LaGrange Township in 1897-98.

"John C. Cameron died September 21, 1946 Chicago, Illinois Age 80 International Harvester Company Pension Certificate This is to certify that John D. Cameron, upon retiring from active duty has been awarded a pension in recognition of long, faithful and efficient service covering a period of forty five years and one month. This certificate is not transferable or assignable. Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this fifteenth day of September, 1931 Alex Legge, President."

Another tombstone made the newspapers recently. Jesse O. Barber’s tombstone earlier had indicated that he fought for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He was in fact a second Lieutenant in the in the Union Army. On June 10, 2006 a new tombstone was dedicated in this cemetery.

ISLAND SCHOOL – TOWN OF RICHMOND The first school was built in 1841; it was a square room of split logs with split log benches and desks against the four walls. A huge chunk stove stood in the middle of the room. No tax was levied to build this school but logs and labor were contributed by the district residents.

During the winter months the pupils ranged in age from 7 to the early 30's. Often they had to huddle around the wood stove to keep warm on cold days. During snow storms the children might sleep over in the school and the teacher then had to stay awake to keep the fire in the wood stove going.

Before the marsh was drained each spring the frost raised the water level of the area, and the school house stood on the hill surrounded by water. Early settlers began the term "Island" and the school took its name from this - Richmond Island School - in 1841. A Court decision on June 8, 1911 allowed the drainage of Turtle Creek Marsh. That decision affected about 3500 acres in the township.

Early records for the school indicate the following information about teachers and their salaries. 1888 - A. Angle (winter term) $200.00 1889 - Miss O’Brien (winter term) 160.00 1889 - Miss Cane 30.00 1890 - Miss Cane 70.00 Miss Markey 132.00 1891 - Miss Markey 100.00 Miss Morrisey 60.00

Elaine Thomas was the teacher in 1909/10; she received $30 a month for teaching 16 students. In one of her reports she wrote "back fence torn down, stove liable to fall down, not very clean floor, desks rather poor, boys outhouse very bad, no decorations except one picture."

Over the years four different buildings housed the school. In 1888 the second school was built. It served the district until it was sold in 1912 for $15. In 1912 the third building (30'x20'x13 1/2') was erected at a cost of $1,939.93; it burned in 1919. The fourth school was built in 1919 at a cost of $4,943.72. While it was being constructed school was held in private homes. Money for this school was raised by the district citizens and also at stands at this corner selling produce and other items. In the 1850's it became a joint school district with Sugar Creek.

During the 1959/60 school year, Harold Jung was teacher for the first semester; Janet Price taught during the second semester. She had 24 pupils.

The district was unable to find a qualified teacher for the 1960/61 year. An August 23, 1960 news article reported that Jt. District #7 dissolved. It called Richmond Island School one of the oldest districts in the area.

The district attached to Jt. #1, Delavan City Elementary School by County School Committee action, effective October, 1960.

TORNADO AT ADAMS ADAMS. Samuel Porter was one of the first settlers in this community. He was a native of Long Island, New York, and came to Section 17 of Troy Township in 1837 but did not record his claim until October 10, 1838. His brothers, Henry and Selah and their families came later that year and stayed at Samuel’s log cabin. The area became known as Porter's Settlement.

They tried to get the name Porter for the official name of the community, but found that the name was already in use. Finally they chose the name, Adams, after President, John Quincy Adams.

ADAMS SCHOOL. The dedication date on the building is 1881. The first school was a log building across the street from the Chatfield home. Built in 1840, after seven years it was evident that a new building was needed. An acrimonious controversy then arose because one group wanted the new school to be at this intersection; the others wanted the log structure torn down and the new school built there in its place. The first group, seizing the initiative, stayed behind after the meeting and tore down the log school. Before the next day dawned, a new yellow frame school house had been begun at the intersection. This school served the community until 1881 when a brick school house was built on the same site.

Later an addition was put on the south end of the building and the school was modernized. According to the 1882 History of Walworth County the school was once called "Quarter Line School." However, there is another Quarterline School, and area residents declared Butterfield inaccurate on that point.

In the school year 1909/10 Esther Goodman was the teacher. She had 22 pupils ages 5 to 15 and received a salary of $40 a month. In her report she indicated that the school grounds were high, dry and always clean. The schoolroom, windows and desks were in good condition and the blackboards were of common boards.

In April, 1995 it became a Quik-Mart convenience store. At current writing the historic building is empty.

The land to the east of this intersection was originally claimed by a circuit rider missionary named Pillsbury. He was no farmer but held the land until it was bought by Silas Chatfield in 1847.

Silas Chatfield was a native of Connecticut who moved to New York state when he was a young boy. He later lived in Ohio and arrived in Troy on November 1, 1846. On December 22, 1849 he married Mary E. Holcomb, and they moved to the farm he had bought in 1847.

His wife died on December 31, 1854 leaving two children. In 1857 he married Catherine L. B. Kling, and they had seven children.

The first post office for Adams was located on the Henry Coombe Farm, west of this intersection. Coombe's wife and sister took care of the mail. Henry's father, Thomas took the mail from Adams to Palmyra on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. On July 27, 1887 his horses were badly frightened by a hail storm and his family decided that he was too old for this task.

Thomas Coombe was a native of Cornwall, England. He came to the United States in 1849 along with his wife. He first settled in Palmyra and in June, 1870 he bought 240 acres in the Town of Troy.

In 1888 DeWitt Chatfield began carrying the mail and the post office moved to the home of the new Post Mistress, Mrs. Silas Chatsfield. The building used for the post office is still a shed on the farm.

On April 1, 1893 George Chatfield opened a blacksmith shop directly south of the school, across the road. The community needed a blacksmith and George was the strongest man in the settlement, so he was selected to learn the trade. After the shop no longer was used, it was moved to a local farm and used as a garage.

To the east of the blacksmith shop, across the road was the creamery. It was built by the area farmers in 1893 and Harvey Marr of Whitewater installed the cheese making equipment. Cheese was made here until 1896. Then both cheese and butter was made and later, only butter.

Will Lloyd was the first cheese maker. Mrs. Daniel Hooper served as Secretary of the cooperative until 1902 when Seneca Chatfield took over and served until 1917. By 1917 there was no longer need for a community creamery. The building was sold at auction in 1918 and was torn down by Andrew Schroeder of Eagle.

The 1873 Plat Book shows a sorghum mill located to the east of this intersection ... across the road from the creamery and a little to the east.

ADAMS M. E. CHURCH.

The first religious services were held about 1840 and were conducted by Rev. James Flanders and Rev. James Delany. These were held in the log school house.

After the new yellow frame school was built in 1847, church services were started by Silas Chatfield and Hirand Nourse. John Messerschmidt served as Superintendent.

In 1917 the present church was begun and was dedicated on October 21, 1919. Its pastor was Rev. F. J. Turner. The dedication program began in the afternoon and extended through supper into the evening. The former pastor, Rev. G. W. Lester was present. John Messerschmidt continued as Superintendent of the Sunday school. Area residents remember the chicken dinners which were held at the church. The building was recently purchased by a sign maker.

A tornado came through this area on April 22, 1914, taking away the farm buildings and house. Reports indicated that chickens were running around without feathers and an old well was covered by a cement platform. No human lives were lost; however, a horse was killed when a two-by-four was hurled through its neck. This same tornado destroyed the sorghum mill.

INDIAN MOUNDS PARK This area is so named because of the Indian mounds originally found in this area. Whitewater is the only city in the state (and perhaps, in the U.S.) that has a group of effigy mounds located in a city park.

In 1920 there were 12 mounds mapped. Two are panther type; the turtle one is 143 inches long. The mink mound is the largest of the group at 380 inches in length. There are two bird mounds; one measures 57 inches in length with a 69 inch wing span. There are two round burial mounds and several oval mounds. None of them are very long but several are quite high.

The mapping was done by Charles Brown, head of the State Historical Society at that time, and Robert Coe, Whitewater Register editor. At the time the area was being used as a pasture. Nothing much more was done with the site until the possibility of Hwy. 12 expansion considered this area. At that time the community organized to prevent the destruction of the mounds. The city purchased the land.

Again, not much was done with the site. It wasn’t until there was the possibility of a housing development in the area. Citizens again organized to preserve the mounds. In 1991 the area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

These mounds were built by the Winnebago Indians and are usually a sign of a village. Mounds are built by various clans within the village. One source indicated the mounds were built around 200 to 1200 A.D. and were burial sites. Another source says they were built 500 B.C. to 1500 A.D. The mounds were built by hand, using primitive tools. A UW-Whitewater professor says that the mounds are linked to the calendar. The mink mound points to the summer solstice sunrise and the winter solstice sunset.

JACOBSVILLE This was a Norwegian settlement. Their lives centered on home, church and school. They tended to cluster together because they did not speak English. The earliest Norwegians came in 1839. In the early days of the township this nationality was the most prominent among foreign born; Irish was next in predominance. However, by 1905 those of German heritage exceeded those from other countries. However, the German families did not live clustered together as did the Norwegians.

There were other Norwegian settlements in this area of the state ... Muskego, Koshkonong and in Skoponong in the northern part of the Town of LaGrange. The community got its name from the Jacobson family who lived in this area for many generations beginning in 1847. They are the family who own and operate the Premium Green Orchard and Apple Barn.

The first family to come to this community was a Mr. Olson. He came with his daughter, Andrea, from Norway in 1843. They walked from Milwaukee to this area. The next year a Mr. Kittleson came and resided at the Olson home. The following year Kettleson married Andrea Olson. It was the first marriage in this tiny rural community.

It is hard to imagine but at this crossroad was a creamery, Post Office and a small store ... in one building on the northwest corner and several houses. In the late 1800s Alfred Olson carried the mail from Elkhorn to this location. Henry Hanson was the storekeeper.

At one time about 60 farmers brought milk to this South Sugar Creek Creamery on an almost daily basis. This crossroad bustled with horse and wagon traffic. At one time Harry Hanson, a Norwegian, was a butter maker here and also worked in the store. Another news article indicated that a Norwegian named Holgerson ran the creamery at one time.

In 1910 John Harris bought the creamery. He owned the Wisconsin Butter and Cheese factory in Elkhorn. For a short time the Jacobsville factory served as a "skimming station." The cream was removed from the milk and sent to the Elkhorn factory; the remaining liquid was given back to the farmers so they could feed it to their pigs. Soon the Jacobsville creamery was torn down and the milk was taken to the Elkhorn plant. As a result the community is only a memory. To prevent this historic community from being forgotten, Ormal Nelson and his son, Paul, township residents, erected this monument.

"In the nineteenth century a building was erected on this corner for the purpose of a milk plant. It also contained a general store and living quarters on the second floor where the butter maker lived. It was called the South Sugar Creek Creamery. Local farmers brought milk to be processed - for the most part into butter.

"A post office was established in 1896 and named Jacobsville.

"In 1910 the creamery was bought by John Harris of Elkhorn who had established a similar operation. A short time later the South Sugar Creek Creamery was torn down and milk was hauled to Elkhorn.

"A two-story dwelling across the road to the south was sold and occupied by various tenants. It was destroyed by fire in the 1920s.

"There was another house east on Ridge which was moved and remodeled; it is possibly still in use."

The most famous, former resident of this old community was Knute Nelson. He became a member of Congress in 1883 and then Governor of Minnesota and then a U.S. Senator. He had come to Walworth County in 1850. He attended Albion College in Rock County and then moved to Madison. He died in Alexandria, MN in 1926.

PRATT INSTITUTE The Telephone Company building is on the site of the Pratt Institute. Morris Pratt was born in New York December 13, 1820, one of six children. He had one year of schooling. In the 1840 he came to Wisconsin as a ditch digger.

At a séance he asked for help to do better financially and promised to devote his life to the Spiritualist movement if he acquired wealth. Mrs. Mary Hayes, a German professor who led the séance, advised him to buy land in northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. He filed a claim and found a rich vein of iron ore which turned out to be part of the Gogebic iron range.

He was offered $50,000 but was advised to refuse. The second offer was for $100,000; he was told to accept it. He came back to Whitewater. He built "Pratt's Folly" in 1888 for use by the Spiritualist Society. This structure was 60 feet by 100 feet and three stories high. At the time it was considered to be one of the finest building in the community. Pratt was 69 years old at this time. The building was deeded to seven well known spiritualists as trustees to establish a school.

The Pratt Institute was founded in 1902, incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin and done in cooperation with Rev. Moses Howell, the first president. This spiritualist college was the only one in the world. Between 1910 and 1915 the student population was as high as 45. There used to be Sunday evening séances and lectures.

The large building had offices, classrooms, boarding space for fifty students and large reception areas. Rumor had it that the third floor was reserved for séances. Only full-fledged, white clad members of the Spiritualists could enter this area. According to the Wisconsin Magazine of History the curriculum at the Institute included grammar and rhetoric, English composition and history along with typically Spiritualist courses. The institute continued here until 1932 (or 1938) when it moved to Milwaukee.

The building became a rest home for aged spiritualists and later was a girl's dormitory for the Wisconsin State Teachers College. In 1961 it was bought by Wisconsin Telephone Company. They razed the building and erected the one that you see today.

Pratt died December 21, 1902 and is buried next to his wife in Hillside Cemetery. His wife, Mary Jane, had died in 1900.

HAMILTON HOUSE

You can see this current B&B in Whitewater, just east of the old library building. The site was purchased on March 25, 1841 by Dr. James Trippe who sold it to Judge Jarvis Pike on November 28, 1843 for $20. The judge built a house on what is now the old library parking lot. He served as vice president of the county temperance society in the early days of this county. He also helped in laying out the Oak Grove cemetery in 1842. He later moved to Cold Springs.

This Hamilton House lot was sold several times before Dr. H. H. Greenman, a dentist, built a house on it in the 1860s.

It was an impressive Second Empire Queen Anne mansion built of Whitewater brick. The house features a mansard roof, dormered windows, gingerbread trim, a circular porch and stained glass windows. It has two wood fireplaces and several of marble and wrought iron. Other interesting features include French doors with etched glass, crystal chandeliers and Queen Anne mirrors.

Greenman's widow sold it in 1880 to Sarah Van Giesen Posey, an artist, who added 13 hand-painted tiles to the massive oak staircase. In 1894 it was sold to Harriet McKey Smith, who sold it to her brother, Dr. Thomas F. McKey.

In 1903 he sold it to Herbert O. Hamilton and his sister, Ella. They were the first Whitewater natives to own the house. Miss Ella never married. After she graduated from the Normal School she became librarian at the Flavia White Library (the old library) next door. She served in that position for 25 years.

Herbert married. He was a lawyer, active in politics, was justice of peace, Walworth County District Attorney and a member of the Board of Regents for the Normal School.

The Hamilton family owned the house until 1950; it then went through a series of owners. Later it was the Tau Nu Tau fraternity house. In 1974 it was boarded up by the city which now owned it. They were going to raze it and make a parking lot. There was public uproar!!! The house was bought and restored in 1975 by Gaylord and Betty Barnick. They had an antique shop and doll museum in the house with the upper floor as their home. Later the Kachel family purchased the house and gave it to the city. The Alexander organization bought it and restored it. In 1992 it became the Hamilton House Wellness Center.

The house is said to have been a stop on the Underground Railway. In 2002 an article in The Week told about excavation the cellar area to discover tunnels under the house. Some parts of the tunnel are brick lined. This plus the date when the house was built (1861) lead many to believe the tunnels were planned to safe delivery of slaves on their trip to Canada.

There are three documented tunnels. One looks like a well or cistern but there would have been difficulty getting water into the house…so it can’t be a well. After spelunkers did some exploring they determined that it headed north, perhaps to Sable House. It is brick lined and with a timber ceiling. Another goes west toward Mercy Medical Center, the old Green Shutter restaurant. The National Park Service dated the brick in this tunnel. They dated back to when the house was built. According to a newspaper article in 2002 the original height was five feet but it now is about knee high so to enter requires a belly crawl. Then it opens up again. The tunnel was filled in 1977 because the owners at that time had a small child. They didn’t want him wandering down there.

The third tunnel, according to that article, is not unearthed as yet. It was supposed to be the largest one and headed south toward the depot. Later on the tunnel stories related to Prohibition.

There is also a ghost story connected with this house. A former owner was the Posey family. He was an inventor and she was an artist who painted tiles with scenes of the nearby Kettle Moraine Forest. The house had two tiles in the fireplace mantle of a woman and a young boy. This was said to be Mrs. Posey and her son who died at an early age. At one time the tile of the boy was found out in the garden. The mother’s tile stayed in the mantle. During this time people would report seeing a woman in a nightgown in the garden. The son was also raising havoc in the house. However, when the tile was put back in the mantle, the woman was no longer seen in the garden and the son no longer was playing tricks in the house.

During 1970 to 1974 the house was home to Tau Kappa Epsilon. It was known as the Animal House. This was because John Belushi was a frequent visitor here while he attended UW- Whitewater. It was the scene of many wild parties, which resulted in the fraternity losing their charter. There are marks on the staircase from when motorcycles when down the stairs.

The house is now a Bed and Breakfast establishment and is on the National Register of Historic Places.