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Idaho State Penitentiary : Old Idaho State Penitentiary was a great place to visit. Me and my two oldest children went in August but on Friday the 13th which they had a special tour that night which told of the haunts and ghosts. the next day I took the regular tour which was fantastic as well. please see below for history courtesy of the Historical Society.

The Old Idaho Penitentiary State Historical Site was a functioning prison for 101 years. It was built in 1870 and the first prisoners were brought in 1872. The buildings on the site were built by inmate laborers. The Old Idaho Penitentiary grew from a single cell house into a complex of several buildings holding Idaho's most notorious criminals. The Old Pen received over 13,000 inmates with a maximum population of 603 inmates. There were 222 women inmates (including repeat offenders.) The Old Pen is open throughout the year and is located at 2445 Old Penitentiary Road, Boise, Idaho 83712.

Idaho State Penitentiary

Old Montana State : Old Montata State Prison is located in Deerlodge, Montana and if you drive too fast you will pass it. I have been there twice and the rich history and amazing buildings are fantastic and creepy all at the same time. If you are ever passing through stop in and see this magnificant structure as the tour cost is reasonable and they have many things to see.

Click on these links for more information

http://hauntedbighouse.com/index.htm

http://www.pcmaf.org/prison.htm

Old Montana State

Starvation Heights : This truly is a house of secrets......

Linda Hazzard, a "medical" doctor from Olalla Washington who had a "Fasting for the Cure of Disease" book consisted of a remedy that starved alot of clients out of their belongings, money and took their lives. Author Gregg Olsen has a book that he published about this doctor and it is fantastic. He is also holding a 100 year Centennial of Starvation Heights when Linda Hazzard was tried for the murder of Claire Williamson who was a patient at her home. "The Last Gasp tour" will be an event that will not be forgotten and will be an errie look back at the madness of this woman. Click here to go to Gregg's web site. http://greggolsen.com/

Starvation Heights

Manresa Castle : History of Manresa Castle courtesy of http://www.oddinns.com/index.php/pages/ManresaCastle.html
The Castle was completed in 1892 as the home of Charles and Kate Eisenbeis. Mr. Eisenbeis was a prominent member of the early Port Townsend business community. His business interests were diverse including a bakery, brick works, lumber mill, brewery, bank and a hotel. In 1878, when Port Townsend became the first incorporated city in Jefferson County, its citizens elected Eisenbeis as the first mayor.

In keeping with his status in the community, Eisenbeis built what was the largest private residence ever built in Port Townsend, consisting of 30 rooms. Locals referred to the building as the "Eisenbeis Castle;" its design was reminiscent of some of the castles in Eisenbeis' native Prussia.

The walls were 12 inches thick, made with bricks from Eisenbeis' own brick work's and the roof was slate. Tiled fireplaces and finely crafted woodwork were installed by German artisans.

Charles died in 1902 and Kate remarried a few years later. The Castle was left empty for almost 20 years except for a caretaker

In 1925, a Seattle attorney bought the Castle as a vacation place for nuns teaching in Seattle schools. This plan did not work out well and in 1927 the Jesuit priests purchased the building for use as a training college. The priests spent their sixteenth and final year of training here studying ascetic theology.

In 1928, the Jesuits added a large wing housing a chapel and sleeping rooms. They also installed the elevator (an Otis) at a cost of $3,400 -- a substantial sum in those days. When their addition was complete, the Jesuits stuccoed over the bricks of the original portion to give the building a more uniform look. They named the complex "Manresa Hall" after the town in Spain where Ignatius Loyola founded the order.

The Jesuits left in 1968 and the building was converted into a hotel. The elements "Manresa" and "Castle" were taken from the two previous owners to create the current name.

The three different owners since 1968 have all done their part to lovingly renovate the building to modern standards while maintaining its Victorian elegance. For example, there were only 3 bathrooms when the Jesuits left - today we have 43.

West Virginia State Prison : History of West Virginia State Pen courtesy of http://www.wvpentours.com/page/category.detail/nav/5285/History.html

The prison at Joliet provided the prototype for the West Virginia Penitentiary. It was an imposing stone structure fashioned in the castellated Gothic architectural style (adorned with turrets and battlements, like a castle). Only the dimensions of West Virginia's facility would differ; it would be approximately one-half the size of Joliet.

No architectural drawings of the West Virginia Penitentiary have been discovered, so an understanding of the plan developed by the Board of Directors must be obtained through their 1867 report, which details the procurement of a title for ten acres of land and a proposal to enclose about seven acres. On the north side would be a street 60 feet in width, and on the west 140 feet for street and yard to the front buildings.

The prison yard would be a parallelogram 682 1/2 feet in length, by 352 1/2 feet in width, enclosed by a stone wall 5 feet in thickness at the bottom, 2 1/2 feet at the top, with foundation 5 feet below the surface, and wall 25 inches thick. At each of the corners of this wall would be large turrets, for the use of the guards, with inside staircases. Guardrooms would be above on a level with the top of the main. The superintendent's house and cell buildings would be so placed that the rear wall of each would form part of the west wall.

West Virginia State Prison

Slide show :

Updated: May 13, 2013 2:22pm PST

Vancouver Barracks : Here are some of my photos from my trip in early February to Vancouver,Wa and Portland ,Oregon. Jeff Davis graciously gave my friend and I a historic tour of the museum and his wife Janine gave us a tour of the VA Hospital. ( outside pics only) showed us an amazing time and I got alot of the history regarding the barracks. I will be posting more info on the history soon.

Here is a link to Jeff Davis's site, he has a ton of information for history buffs and paranormal folks alike.
http://www.ghostsandcritters.com

Vancouver Barracks

VA Hospital : In Orting Washington is the the Old Soilders Home, for one day they allowed the community and photographers to come in side and walk the halls of the Garfield building before they began to renovate it. I was so excited to be tipped off on this event and it was a great history lesson for myself and brought awareness at just how much they need funding to help those who have been wounded, to get the facilities needed for those who served our country. Here are my photos from that day,

Orting 100yr Farm House : Welcome to Engfer Farms, all thats left of this is a 100yr old house that the fire department will be using for burning practice. I am still looking for some history on this location and will post it here soon.

Orting 100yr Farm House

Meeker Mansion : Meeker Mansion located in the heart of down town Puyallup Washington is a piece of history and has an amazing story. I was able to go inside and take photos, now they do not allow any photography inside at all so I consider my self lucky that I got these shots. Please enjoy the brief history courtesy of the historical society.

This is a 17-room Italianate Victorian Mansion. Ezra was 60 years lid and the house was build for he and his wife. Ezra Meeker took his wife, Eliza Jane, along on a hop selling trip to England. She was presented to Queen Victoria and became smitten with some of the finer things in life. Ezra was quite contented with his log-cabin life, but agreed that his wife colid have such a house if she wanted--and colid pay for--it. This is the house that Eliza Jane Meeker built and retained title to. The house was designed by Farrell and Darmer, Architects, of Tacoma. It took three years to build and was finished by 1890. The Meekers lived here about 20 years, until Mrs. Meeker died in 1909. After Mrs. Meeker died Mr. Meeker left the house.

The remarkable owner was a pioneer and leading citizen of Puyallup; first mayor, one-time Hop King, author...Ezra Meeker became the self-appointed champion of the Oregon Trail in 1906, when at the age of 76, accompanied by two oxen, a wagon, a driver and a dog, he made his way from his front yard to Washington D.C., by way of New York City. His purpose was to preserve and re-mark the Oregon Trail, which was being obliterated by civilization. He thought he could make his tripe once before he died, but this remarkable man lived to 98 and made this journey by ox team once more, then by automobile in 1915, and by airplane in 1924. The fact that you can see actual traces of the Oregon Trail is due almost entirely to Ezra Meeker.

The Meeker Mansion is listed as a site on the National Register of Historic Sites. The objective of the Historical Society is to return the home to the condition it was in 1891-the year after it was finished. This is complicated by the fact that there are no known records of the house aside from three letters Mr. Meeker wrote describing it.

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