Johann Albert Lotz was born in 1820 in Germany where he worked as a master craftsman woodworker. In 1848 Johann moved to the United States, first stopping in New Orleans where he met his wife Margaretha. Shortly after that they moved to Franklin TN and bought a small plat of land from Fountain Branch Carter. There Johann built his showcase home. The house is two stories and features four large columns in the front reflecting the Greek revival style. Inside he built three fireplaces of varying degrees of woodworking to show his skill. He also built a magnificent walnut railing on the staircase with the first post being a piano leg. On the top he carved his name and the year. Everything from the cabinetry and furniture in the home could be used to show potential clients his range of skill.
Johann and Margaretha had five children of their own Paul, Augustus, Matilda, Julius, and Julian. Also living in the home were Margaretha's two children from a previous marriage, Joseph and Amelia. It's a beautiful home and location sadly the family would not be able to enjoy it properly. Years later on April 12th, 1861 the American Civil War began and the Lotz house would be at the center of one of the bloodiest battles.
Before the battle Julius and Julian passed away from either sickness, drowning, or possibly poison by playing in a creek that had been contaminated. Sources are unsure but I believe they were 3 or 4 years old.
The Union army under the command of Major General John Schofield arrived in Franklin around 4:30am on November 30th. They began setting up their position with their backs to the Harpeth River while repairs were done to the bridges that would allow them to cross and continue north to Nashville. They had been moving all night as they tried to reach Nashville before Confederate General John Bell Hood could cut them off from the 30,000 reinforcements that Major General George Thomas had waiting in Nashville. Due to over confidence and a failure of command or orders being followed (it is unclear) the Union army was able to pass by Confederate troops at Columbia and Spring Hill. This set up the two sides for a meeting 12 miles further at Franklin.
On the morning of the battle the family woke to discover thousands of Union troops. The river however was impassible at the time because of recent rain fall and they could not cross until repairs were done to bridges. With no choice the soldiers began fortifying their position and preparing for battle with over 20,000 Confederate troops. The Carter family, hurriedly sent a message for the Lotz family to come to their home and shelter in the cellar.
Almost 12 hours after the Union troops had arrived in Franklin Hood and his army also arrived in Franklin. Some say Hood was angry at his commanders and troops for allowing the Union to pass in the night and so ordered his men to battle immediately. Others say it was not anger but determination to prevent the joining of two large union forces from meeting in Nashville. Either way this would start one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War sometimes referred to as the Gettysburg of the West.
At some point the Confederates broke through the Union line and brutal hand to hand combat began around the Lotz and Carter Houses and gardens. The Union troops were able to hold their defenses and by 11pm both sides were exhausted. Hood and his men pulled back to regroup and rest. Schofield and the Union took this chance to continue their march to Nashville. Technically that left Franklin in Confederate control but it was not a victory. The Confederate side had 6,252 casualties with 1,750 killed. Among them were six of Hood's Generals one of which was Patrick Cleburne who was arguably one of the best division commander's on either side and today has a small park just a block from the Lotz House named for him.
This was the most exciting investigation we have had so far. We left knowing we had good communication and probably one of the best S-Box interactions we will ever have. But beyond the evidence we collected one thing that stands out in our mind is how much the staff and especially Thomas Cartwright love and care for the spirits. It was evident in every interaction Thomas had whether it was the others using dowsing rods trying to communicate with Eula Lee Carothers or with Mark using his GeoPort.
While we waited for the whole group to arrive Meg and I split up and began taking photos inside the home. Meg went upstairs and was taking a series of photos in the "red room". In her fourth photo a figure can be seen in the back of the mirror. In the following video I go through the photos and then attach the real time audio recording.
Later in the night one of the Lotz House employees told us that there are numerous reports of seeing soldiers in that mirror.
After Thomas gave a history and tour of the home we began investigating. I left stationary cameras in the downstairs gift shop, the stairwell, and the upstairs "red room." With those areas covered we went upstairs to the "children's bedroom." There we used our EMF detector to try and communicate with any spirits present.
Every investigation before this we would leave and be like "nothing much happened but we will listen to the recorders and see what we got." Not this one! We had three of the best S-Box interactions we have ever seen! Really I can't see how they can get much better. To explain what we were doing our S-Box or Spirit Box sweeps very quickly through radio stations so that words of sentences heard are across multiple stations. Meg was listening to the S-Box with noise cancelling headphones so that she could not hear my questions. At one point in this first session I thought we were communicating with several Civil War soldiers. I asked what other battles they had been in and after a few moments Meg listed three cities that also had battles. I asked what state they were from and a few moments later she said a state. She couldn't hear me and I was floored by how accurate the responses were. It took every bit of constraint to not stop and tell her how awesome this was going. I uploaded the whole S-Box session on youtube as well as a short version where I took out the long pauses between questions because I realize some people don't have 20+ minutes.
Full version:
Short version:
After investigating in a few other rooms we returned to the bedroom where we had such a great S-Box session and tried again. This also did not disappoint. This session was again quite long so I have condensed it in this video. One of the high points of this one was when I asked the soldier if they were here as a hospital. They responded with the word "ether" and then when I asked about their injury they answered "foot" and "they took it". Meg also had the word "sick." Also she heard the phrase "General Hood Killed us." Now before the battle the Union troops moved through the night past where the Confederate army was and were spotted by scouts. According to some accounts Hood says he gave a command to attack but others said no command was given. As I said above overall the battle was a loss and the army of the TN never fully recovered. We also got responses asking for a priest which may have been from a soldier named Willard Tolliver who the staff has identified even researching to find what unit he may have served in.
S-Box Session 2:
Speaking of Hood we also heard a response on the GeoPort that a different group had brought that was possibly about General Hood:
We had a third S-Box session but this time it was at the end of the night and most everyone else had stopped investigating so we played the S-Box out loud since it would not interfere with other investigations and we had several other people in the room with us investigating.
We also made contact with past residents of the house. We were upstairs trying to reach out to Johann Lotz and we received an answer from the Geoport:
And finally in this compilation we possibly made contact with Thomas Carothers.
Since we were making contact with soldiers Meghan decided to read an A.E. Housman poem about soldiers.
Overall this was an amazing experience that has us excited to return. When talking about the paranormal I often say I know I will never have any evidence that will convince a skeptic but this maybe the closest I can possibly come with the photo and S-Box sessions.
Another reason we love the home though was, again, the staff. Everyone we met not only loved the location but they respect and care so much for the spirits that still reside there. I think that helps foster communication.
Growing up Meg and I had a lot of strange unexplained experiences and stories. As a result when we moved to TN we decided to try our hand at Paranormal Investigations. So first we went to the Crescent Hotel in Arkansas and Waverly Hills in Louisville.
Both were fantastic experiences so we added some equipment and went out to Shiloh and Vicksburg.
Having had success and really enjoying the investigations we decided that we were going to continue and take a step up by going to a location that we could really deep dive in. So we booked a night at a house in Hartford City, Indiana which had been featured in the tv show Paranormal Lockdown. The episode had really stuck in our minds and the location was very intriguing. So we began researching the home and taking the stories we had heard and evidence we had seen from other investigators and matching them with newspapers and public/historic records.
Afterwards we looked for local groups that might be willing to take new members but didn't have much luck.
Then we booked two tickets to a public investigation at Historic and Haunted Octagon Hall in Franklin Kentucky. There we were talking with a couple who had shirts for Paducah Paranormal. We asked about how they found and joined a group and they said they didn't they just made their own. So we took their advice and decided to make our own group.
The name Travelers made perfect sense. We love road trips and exploring different locations. Not only that but with a Paranormal Investigation we are talking about interacting with the spirits who lived in the past. Travelers are looking for connections and experiences with the world around them with an openness and curiosity for the world. And that is what we hope to do as we figuratively travel through place and time.
We know that we will never have a video, picture, or recording that will convince a skeptic but that isn't our goal. Our goal is to learn about the people who lived before us and the locations they visited. I want to understand how or why we are able to communicate with them and what was life like for them.
Now that we had a name and a goal next we needed a symbol. Meg took care of that combining our Irish and Italian heritage and her love of folklore. She started with the Ash Tree, the tree of Life in Norse Mythology. Under the Ash Tree is Pulcinella a figure of duality in Italian folklore. He is holding a red pepper to ward off the evil eye in one hand and a lucky four leaf clover in the other. At his feet is a hedgehog which symbolizes good luck and a guide. Finally in the bark of the tree are a series of numbers. The numbers are from smorfia the use of number analysis in dreams to tell the future and, very commonly in Naples, play the lotto. The first number is 85 which stands for the souls in purgatory, next 48 is the dead man who speaks, and finally we wanted to put 42 as a nod to Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy but it also means coffee which really is perfect because after an all night investigation coffee is the first thing I want.
With our name and symbol ready we started the year off by going to a Haunted Playground and Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama.
One day we didn't have plans so we went to Historic Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Nashville to walk around and carry recorders and take some photos of the old cemetery.
Our first big investigation this year was in Independence, Missouri when we traveled to the Vaile Mansion. Which was the first time I filled out paperwork under the group name Travelers.
We also stopped at a small cemetery in Hopkinsville to visit the grave of Edgar Cayce.
While talking to a friend who has a podcast called Ed DIE Horror and Paranormal Podcast he pointed out that starting up social media would be easier now rather than later. So that felt like the next logical step and we did just that.
In October 0f 2024 we put out our top 31 pieces of paranormal evidence so if you want to see the best we have collected and what we are all about here is a link to that video.
So if you are interested in the paranormal and the links to my past blog posts provided you some entertainment please like, follow, and subscribe. My goal right now is to get 100 youtube subscribers so that I will be able to change the URL to something easier to remember and closer to our group name.
Currently we are doing evidence review for our return visit to Wavery Hills. We also have recordings and video from the Historic Lotz House in Franklin, TN, a return to the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and the Thomas House in Red Boiling Springs, TN. So stay tuned for more.
Our goal this year for paranormal investigations is to stay local, with a few exceptions, and focus on getting to know our area. By local I mean a 2-3 hour window; some place that we can drive to, spend a few hours, and return in around 10-12 hours. We started with Maple Hill Cemetery and the Haunted Children's Playground in Huntsville, Alabama.
Maple Hill started as a two acre cemetery in 1822 when LeRoy Pope sold the property to the city on September 14. Over the next 100 years as Huntsville grew so did the cemetery. Today it is over 100 acres and the burial site of many notable Alabama politicians.
Adjacent to it is a small playground surrounded by limestone cliffs. The playground has been called one of the most haunted places in Alabama. The ghosts of children have been seen and heard here, swings are said to move by themselves, and glowing lights have also been seen. Some theories say the children are the young victims from the 1918 Spanish Flu, which hit Huntsville particularly hard. I have also seen references to kidnapped children in the 60s or 70s but have been unable to verify that.
We wanted to visit the cemetery during the day so we knew that our night investigation would not go very late but at only a two hour drive we will easily return for more night investigating later, probably during warmer months. Even in Alabama January is cold.
We arrived in Huntsville around 3pm and drove to the cemetery. I had a list of notable graves which included a baseball player and several rocket scientists. However when we arrived there were two funerals taking place so we didn't look too hard for the graves and we decided to just drive around and see what we found.
Our main investigative tools were one voice recorder (normally we would each have one but the battery didn't hold its charge on one), one night vision trap camera, and our S-Box. During daylight hours we drove around the large cemetery with the S-Box and also at times getting out and walking around with just the recorder.
We then went to our true destination, the adjoining playground, to look around, read a story, and get some photos.
We left to warm up and grab dinner at Below the Radar Brewpub, before returning a bit after sunset which is a time known as "the gloaming" which is an awesome word and I have asked Meg if we can write a horror script titled The Gloaming.
This video starts with a very clear EVP, I think one of our best. I actually pulled it out to make it its own video. I'm trying to figure out how to drive more people to my youtube videos and while I like keeping the compilation videos I feel a series of short videos will help get more views as people will see it as less of a commitment.
I also have some of our best interactions with the S-Box as we used the Estes Method. The Method gets its name from Estes Colorado, specifically the Stanley Hotel when Karl Pfeiffer, Michelle Tate, and Connor Randall performed the experiment in several sessions in 2016 and since then it has been used by many groups including some on tv. The idea of using the blind experiment was made popular by them but they were not the first. In 2013 Daniel Morgan and Shawn Taylor published The Double-Blind Ghost Box: Scientific Methods, Examples and Transcripts. The way it works is one person listens to the Spirit Box on head phones so that they are unaware of what questions are being asked. They then say what words they hear. Since they can't hear the questions they won't be biased to trying to make sense of the words in a way that will give answers to the questions. Basically it removes any bias, towards making sense of the sounds, that the investigator may have.
The following video will repeat the EVP and then continue into the SBox session. At the end is video from our trap camera that for some reason continued to upload with no sound. I finally got it to work and will post that in a separate video.
Now our video from the Trap Camera with sound. I set it up looking at the swings because it is reported that they move on their own. While I did not record the swings moving we did get a strange moment where after recording for over 5 minutes my camera moves. Then we had a strange sound that we heard but could not identify.
My final video is just a little fun. We had left the car during the day and I forgot my recorder in the car. At some point we hear the door open like some one is getting in but then silence. A few moments later you hear the two of us return and both car doors open and close.
If you enjoy this and want to see more I will post our past investigations down below. Please consider following my youtube and this blog page. It won't always be paranormal stuff but I promise I try and keep it interesting :-)
While on a road trip through parts of Kentucky we had detoured because of a sign about a 'Devious Well.' Then that detour led us to see signs for 'Historic and Haunted Octagon Hall.' We tried to stop by the hall but it was closed and so we decided to try again another time. Then the Tennessee Wraith Chasers did a live special from Octagon Hall and we knew we had to get out there. We signed up for a novice paranormal investigation and began researching the home to give ourselves a game plan for the night. We also saw on their website that a reputable paranormal investigation group can rent the Hall with a minimum of six people. So hopefully with a few investigations under our belt as a resume we can do that in the near future.
The hall is located in Simpson county Kentucky along 31W which, back in stage coach days, was the Nashville Road. The home was built by Andrew Jackson Caldwell in a style that was rising in popularity. A book published in 1848 by Orson Squire Fowler "The Octagon House" explaining the benefits in terms of space, lighting, and air flow may have been inspiration for Caldwell and others. All the bricks used in the home were made on the property. Caldwell finished his home shortly before the start of the Civil War and it played a large part in Kentucky's history. After a defeat at Bowling Green the Confederate army retreated back down the Nashville road toward TN. They found a friend in Caldwell and a resting place on his property during the retreat. The Orphan Brigade, as they were called, retreated and rested at his home in February. Shortly after they left the Union Army came and occupied the area and, knowing Caldwell was loyal to the Confederacy, would regularly search his home for soldiers who may have been hiding. The family did hide soldiers in the home sometimes in a hidden crawlspace under the front stairs and other times in the cupola/attic.
The Caldwell family also suffered personal loss in the home. Mary Elizabeth Caldwell, Andrew's young daughter, was killed in 1854 in the downstairs winter kitchen when her dress caught fire. And Andrew Jackson passed away in 1866. His wife Harriet continued in the home until 1918 when she sold it to a Doctor from Nashville, Miles Williams, who passed away there and left it to heirs who used it as a rental property until Billy Byrd and the Octagon Hall Foundation purchased it in 2001 in order to preserve it and its place in Kentucky's history.
We arrived early and each gave a $5 donation to walk around the museum. This way we could build up some pictures of the place and get a feel for the location and layout. It worked out well because the hall is truly a museum filled with information and artifacts from the Civil War. The paranormal and haunted aspect is cool but there is a lot to see for history buffs as well.
During our visit before the investigation we spokewith some of the caretakers and members of the paranormal investigation group called the Nightstalkers. They warned us that the spirits of Octagon Hall are very used to being investigated and will play with you. We experienced that by having cameras and batteries malfunction and one funny interaction where Meghan denied knowing what a piece of equipment did and we got a response of " I doubt that." By the way, Meghan truly did not know what that piece of equipment was.
Since we plan on returning I will focus on the history at that time. Today's post will be just a short one about the results from our evidence review.
Our main tools for investigating were the voice recorders that we carried on our arms and our S-Box. I had set up trap cameras in several rooms but did not capture much with them. I created three videos that will have all the interactions we had but I pulled out several clips specifically to show the two types of hauntings we believe we encountered.
Intelligent Haunting: An intelligent haunting is going to mean that the spirits in the location can and will respond and interact with you. This is really the type of haunting we are looking for when asking questions such as "how many are in the room," as can be seen in this clip:
The next clip is also another example of an intelligent haunting. Since our aim is to learn about who is there and why we often ask questions looking for information about whom we may be contacting:
Residual Haunting: A residual haunting is the repetition of sounds and actions that happened in the past. I think of it a lot as 'place memories.' In this video we are about to head outside during our visit before the investigation:
And now the next clip is from the upstairs bedroom of Mary Elizabeth. Meg sat down and began reading stories out of a children's book. We had first done this in Waverly on the fourth floor where the children's play area was located. Our hope is to provide spirits with some entertainment instead of just asking them questions. We had success in Waverly and we had success here. It is certainly something we will continue in future investigations.
Next is a video I have from down in the winter kitchen. My video camera battery kept draining despite being fully charged so I used a portable backup to keep it charged. There are a few reasons why I decided to upload this clip. First at 1:04 and again at 3:47 I think I see an orb/light anomaly which could be a bug or dust but because I had been filming and not seen a lot of dust or bugs and the way it moved slowly made me think it was not dust. Also I like some things that we did as a good example of what a paranormal investigation is like. At one point I introduce myself and the others in the room do the same. This helps me have examples of everyone's voices on the recorder so that if I did have an EVP I could compare it and make sure it wasn't someone whispering. Also it gives me a good count as to how many people are there. Finally it is a solid example that this requires patience because so much of what we are doing is hoping for something in evidence review. I ask at one point if Mary Elizabeth, if she is there, could move the pot. There are stories of it moving on its own. However actually getting that on film would be mind blowing and very rare:
The next three videos are compilations of all the recordings whether EVP or S-Box that we had through out the night. Because it was a public investigation and there were so many people many of our recordings were unusable however what we did get makes me certain we want to return on a night when there are less people to set us up for clearer results.
Part 1
This is all from our visit before the investigation.
Part 2:
In this clip we have several examples of what I believe are residual EVPs. Also at the 4 minute mark I start a clip from the barn when we were using one of the other investigator's spirit box. Instead of searching radio stations it can be manipulated by spirits to speak words. In this clip the investigator asks if the spirits want someone to leave. While I want to be respectful of spirits I must admit this is a question I try very hard not to ask for this very amusing reason.
Part 3:
My final video is mostly from the upstairs of the Caldwell home in Mary Elizabeth's room and a room that was used as a hospital. We have several S-Box interactions including one clip at 6:30 when Meg is saying she doesn't know what the device in front of us does (again she didn't lie it wasn't ours) and a spirit answers, "I don't believe that." Remember we had already been told that they are very aware of being investigated and questioned.
Another good thing to come from this investigation was that it was after this that Meg and I really decided we like this and want to continue. We had been speaking to a couple there who formed their own group and they inspired us to do the same. So we are making our own group which is really just us but will have a name and a symbol. I am going to continue using this blog and my youtube account to upload and share evidence. I don't know if we will get to the point where it is worth creating social media for just paranormal investigations. But we can cross that bridge if we come to it. The group name is Travelers and we are working on getting an official design though we do have a drawing Meg created as a start.
We used symbolism and signs of luck from both our Italian and Irish sides. The round drawing features an Ash tree at the center, Yggdrasil the tree of life, with Pulcinella, an Italian trickster figure. He carries a red pepper in one hand, to ward off the evil eye, and a four leaf clover, faith, hope, love, and luck, in his other. At his feet is a hedgehog, Irish symbol of good luck. In the bark of the tree are three numbers 42, 48, and 85. In La Smorfia Napoletena 48 stands for the dead who speak, 85 stands for the souls of purgatory, and 42 means coffee... ok we chose 42 because of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy but coffee works well too.
So far this year we have visited a cemetery/haunted playground in Alabama. We also have booked an investigation at the Vaile Mansion in February and will be returning to the Crescent Hotel in March. Other than those two we are hoping to keep things local this year with a return to Waverly and new locations like the Thomas House and South Pittsburg Hospital. I also want to go to local cemeteries and learn about the areas local legend: the Bell Witch.
Here are links to my other blogs about paranormal investigations:
As the end of January approached so did my realization that I had better use my vacation time or else it will be gone! Originally Meg and I planned on returning to Cape Canaveral for a rocket launch and then having time off to drive to clear skies for the lunar eclipse if Nashville looked like it would be cloudy. Well those plans got crushed when SpaceX moved the launch of the unmanned dragon capsule back to February 23 and I volunteered to bring my binoculars to a local park for lunar viewing during the eclipse.
Instead I made a new road trip that would take us to two Civil War Battlefields and a number of small stops in between them.
Initially I joked we would go while the government was shut down to avoid entrance fees at the National Parks. However I then picked one National Park that has no entrance fee sooooooo...
Shiloh is just three hours away from my house so we left early (4am) to be there very early. My thought was we could spend around two hours there and that left a lot of driving still to do through out the day. The weather was not very good as it had been pouring rain all night and was still on and off again raining when we arrived. As a result the fields were mud and we stayed mostly in the car driving the park loop. There were two reasons that I decided to look at National Parks that were Civil War battlefields. The first was just a general interest in history and the second was an interest in places being haunted. I know I am going to have to go back because the muddy fields and woods prevented me from walking around to many of the informational plaques that marked out battle lines, camps, and troop movements during the course of the battle. As we drove the loop we did read what we could about the battle and took several photos.
The two day battle was one of the bloodiest of the Civil War. Day one saw a Confederate attack on Union troops meant to push them west away from the Tennessee River and into swamp land. Having the element of surprise in their favor Confederate troops took thousands of prisoners and by the end of the first day had pushed the Union troops back and taken over their camps and supplies. General P.G.T. Beauregard even sent a message to Jefferson Davis declaring victory. However despite being pushed back General Grant was also optimistic for the next day as he commented to General Sherman they would "lick'em" tomorrow.
I saw this sign for the Hornet's Nest which immediately got my attention. From the name I could guess it was some kind of fortified position that Union Troops used to attack from. Further research showed it was a position held by the Union which eventually fell at the end of the first day however it held up the Confederate troops withstanding somewhere between 8 and 14 separate charges before the Union soldiers were forced to surrender. Their resolve delaying the Confederacy certainly made the victory on day two possible since it allowed the time for reinforcements to arrive.
We stopped at several different points to take photos of the battlefields. As far as any haunted photos this is the closest I came to catching anything. We were at Bell's Orchard and as I looked over the photo I thought I saw two figures at the back center.
A slightly more closed in picture showing the tree and marker you will see the two shadowed figures at the center.
And this last photo is the closest shot I have of the figures. I found these figures really interesting because as we had been driving around the trees and forest area it made me think of Shakespeare's Macbeth when the prophecy is revealed that Macbeth would be defeated when Birnam Wood came to Dunsinane. With the amount of troops in these woods they must have seemed alive.
Once we finished up the loop we headed out of the park. As far as I can tell we were the only people there. No other cars ever pulled in and the visitor center was closed. Since this was during the shut down I will say there was no trash on the ground or overflowing trashcans. I don't know if staff from the park or maybe some locals have come in to maintain the park during the shut down or if maybe visitors are acting like decent human beings and taking their trash with them.
Once we left Shiloh we drove the short distance to Corinth to the National Cemetery located in that town. There we stopped at the grave site of SGT Julius E McKinney to pay our respects. Julius had enlisted in 1948 and was a member of the Heavy Mortal Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. In November of 1950 his regiment was deployed near the Chosin Reservoir. SGT McKinney was reported missing on December 2nd after several days of heavy fighting. He had last been seen on the east side of the reservoir. He was never listed on any POW lists and no one ever reported seeing him as a POW. In March of 1954 his status was changed from missing to presumed dead. Due to recovery efforts by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency collecting DNA samples taken from near the reservoir in 2004 SGT McKinney was positively identified and returned to his family for burial in 2018. For his time in battle SGT McKinney had earned several awards including the Purple Heart.
Now that we were in Corinth we decided to take a look around town and see some of the sights. We did have some specific things to see but we also walked around a little bit. First up was a wall mural for an old soda brand from Germany. It is available world wide but there are no franchises located in the US.
From that mural we quickly learned that Corinth has a new favorite Soda brand.
The offices for Coca-Cola Bottling Co. is located in Corinth and has been a big part of the town's history including an annual run around town. They also have a small Coke museum with lots of interesting Coke themed items.
From there we headed over to the Crossroads Museum which is, just as you would guess, right at the crossroads of the two train lines that meet at Corinth. Corinth was officially formed in 1854 known originally as Cross City, probably because of the rail road crossing. Traveling east and west was the Memphis and Charleston line and north-south saw trains from the Mobile and Ohio line. That position at the crossroads is what made the city so valued during the Civil War. There is a 60 minute downtown walk that we did not do because I didn't want to take the extra hour but I put that on my to-do list for later.
We did see a conductor statue as well as a refurbished train car outside the museum.
The Crossroads museum was on my list because of one particular item in it and I felt it was worth the $6 entrance fee. Bonus for us the young woman who manned the shop gave us student price which I did not argue at all.
Funny story about being mistaken for being young- when we were young (probably 16) we were at Yankee Stadium and it was bat day. Now for bat day if you were 14 and under you would get a Yankee bat and it was a full sized bat. It was awesome. So I went in and the person with the give away handed me a bat. I took it. I said, to myself, "to hell with my dignity that I am an old and mature 16 and not a foolish child of 14" and took the bat. My fatal flaw was stopping to wait for Meghan. The giveaway person went to hand her a bat and she exclaimed "I'm not 14" and then they took my bat too because they understood how twins work. :-(
The museum covered the history of Corinth and was filled with train memorabilia and facts. One interesting thing I learned about was the history of hot tamales in Corinth. The info card mentions that Ferguson's Tamales Cart selling tamales at baseball games and around town. Then in 1961 Jim (L.C.) Dillworth entered the Tamales business. He took a Schwinn bike and turned it into a tricycle and added the box on the back to sell hot tamales. For the next five years his tamales were sold in style all around town. Today the business is still run by the Dillworth family but not on a bike. We actually saw Dillworth's restaurant as we were driving into town. Had I not already had a lunch plan for Corinth we probably would have gone there.
We enjoyed learning about railroad slang, railroad jokes, and interesting facts. For example the people who hung around tracks and waved and cheered at passing trains were called Foamers, I never knew they had a name. And my favorite joke: why were the tracks mad at the trains? Because they are always crossing them. Or this super neat fact that in 1830 a train known as "The best friend of Charleston" carried barrels of ocean water from Charleston, South Carolina to the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee to celebrate the 'marriage' of the two bodies of water. Then in a moment of good timing a train actually approached the crossroad.
At the very end of the Museum we reached the display we had been coming to see:
It was carved by a father and daughter in 1904 with a tiny pocket knife that is displayed at the top left. The detail is phenomenal and it is carved with five different types of wood: Michigan pine, monzanita wood, buckeye wood, popular wood, and linwood. No paint and stain is used at all.
Then we were off to our lunch destination at Corinth: Borroum's Drug Store and the home of the 'Slugburger.' Dr. Andrew Borroum came to Corinth after the Civil War and began his practice. Recognizing that Corinth lacked a pharmacy he opened up his own and it has now been family owned and operated ever since. It was moved from its original location when the courthouse was built to a building that was built in 1843. The menu gives the history on the back of it. One neat thing about Borroum's is Dr. Borroum's books revealed that he accepted barter as payment for his merchandise some records show him accepting payment of eggs, chickens, vegetables, and other products. The only time accounts were marked closed was at the owners passing and every account was paid whether by currency or trade, so super cool. The company is over 150 years old and is being run by the seventh generation of the Borroum family.
In the 1930s the soda fountain was added as were malt milkshakes and the 'Slugburger' adding a new level of history to Borroum's. So what is a 'Slugburger?' That is a question that I did not google or anything before we went. I just knew that it was credited as being created by Borroum's and made famous in Corinth. Hugh Baby's in Nashville has a 'Slugburger' on its menu and I avoided reading the description but looked long enough to see that, sure enough, it also credits Corinth. Well the 'Slugburger' was a product of the Great Depression and is a mixture of ground pork and beef, flour, and spices molded into a patty and deep fried. It is served on a hamburger bun with mustard, onion, and pickle. It was originally sold for a nickel which was apparently called a slug and so became known as a 'Slugburger.' It allowed meat to go further when food and money were scarce. I ordered a coke, to get the great taste of a soda fountain soda, and added a side of onion rings. On our way out we each got a milkshake, strawberry for me and chocolate for Meg. Both delicious. Oh but they only take cash or check so that is a good thing for people to know before visiting.
That concluded this trip to Corinth but I know we will be back and possibly take the 60 minute walking tour and try Corinth's famous Tamales.
Next was a real quick stop to the birthplace of Tennessee Williams, which is in Mississippi for anyone who may think he was born in Tennessee for the obvious reason of his name.
Thomas Lanier Williams was born in Columbus, Mississippi on March 26th, 1911 of his works "The Glass Menagerie" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" are my favorites. "Street Car Named Desire" is also one of his most famous works and arguably the one that assured his place as one of the great American writers. He adopted the name Tennessee Williams as his professional name in his 30s but I am not sure why. It may have something to do with his close relationship with his maternal Grandfather who worked at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.
Next was another long drive for a quick stop in Meridian, Mississippi. We entered Rose Hill Cemetery and stopped to read a poem written by Mary Elizabeth Frye in 1932:
"Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there. I did not die."
Then we came to the grave's of the King and Queen of the Gypsies. Kelly Mitchell was born in 1868 and passed away January 31st, 1915 due to complications of child birth. She passed away in a Gypsy camp in Coatopa, Alabama and her husband Emil had her taken 40 miles west to Meridian for burial. The location was chosen for two reasons first Emil heard that Meridian was known as 'The Queen City' and saw it as a fitting burial location. The other reason was that Meridian had a refrigerated morgue which would give time for others to travel to the cemetery for burial. From what I found it took 12 days for guests to arrive for the funeral and her funeral was attended by over 20,000 American Gypsies. Emil passed away years later in 1942 and was buried next to Kelly. Today their graves are covered in offerings of jewelry and liquor bottles.
I don't know much about the hierarchy of American Gypsies so I wonder if King and Queen were more regional titles or covered all of the Americas since Emil was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He moved to the USA in 1862 and received US citizenship in 1884. The Romany people have always been fascinating to Meg and myself partly, I'm sure, because their culture is so secretive. Meg is a huge fan of the work of Josef Koudelka who photographed Roma Gypsies in Europe (Essay about Josef Koudelka) and she has researched their traditions and culture.
Next we left Meridian to drive west to Vicksburg on highway 20. I like highway 20. It was a nice drive with very courteous and responsible drivers. I want to say for about 60-70 miles we had smooth sailing as everyone used the right lane for slower traffic and the left lane for passing. When passing if I had a car come up behind me who was traveling faster they would hold back so as to not tail gate until I was able to get back into the right lane and then they would pass. I don't know if that is normal for 20 but it was my experience I remember saying to Meg that is probably what the Autobahn is like. It continued until everyone slammed on their breaks when a sheriff's car was at the side of the road on the left which caused more of a hazard then the speeds being driven at before.
And then we reached Vicksburg and our final destination for the day. The plan was to check into our hotel room at the Cedar Grove Mansion and Inn and then head over to the Cottonwood Public House for some dinner and to sample Vicksburg's own Key City Brewing. At the front desk I did ask if they had any stories of being haunted or rooms that they would recommend which the staff member told me there were no haunted rooms. Now though I saw people saying the place was haunted it does not appear anywhere on their website, I just thought I would try. I did ask for the Library Suite because I had seen online it was used as the morgue when Cedar Grove was used as a Union Hospital after the Siege of Vicksburg. With key in hand she showed us to our suite and I have to say it is probably the coolest hotel suite I have ever stayed in.
Before I go into the house and it's history I'm going to skip ahead to dinner since most of our looking around was after we had eaten and returned anyway. The Cottonwood Public House was a short drive away from Cedar Grove and parking was relatively easy to find in the down town area of Vicksburg. I liked Cottonwood's atmosphere from the moment I slid their giant barn door open and entered the restaurant. Seating was open allowing guests to choose their table. Once we sat we were greeted quickly and warmly.
Both Cottonwood and Key City had great looking logos. It had a good historic feel to it, obviously it is in an older building but they hadn't tried to brighten it up and make it feel modern. The brewing tanks were towards the front and visible from the street along with a list of what was currently in progress in the tanks. A quick glance of the beer list had each of us ordering a flight so as to sample as many of the large assortment as possible.
Definitely a good assortment of color and Solaire, a horchata wit, ended up being our favorite so we brought home a Crowler. We also brought a Crowler for a friend who has a podcast called "Drinking Alone, With Friends!" described by them as "three old friends, three new timezones talking about beer, life and the pursuit of happiness." It is a fun and interesting podcast that I highly recommend. Drinking Alone, With Friends!
As for food we got one of our favorite appetizers to try any place we go, fried pickles. And then the menu boasted a "Really Good Pork Sandwich." I ordered it and I can testify that it is really good. The menu doth not lie! We also finished the meal off with a dessert to split, sweet potato chess pie- that was fantastic!
Now super full and re-energized we headed back to Cedar Grove Mansion.
John Alexander Klein and his wife Elizabeth Bartley Day were the original owners of the home. They were married in 1842 and spent a year honeymooning in Europe, where they bought much of the furniture and decorations that are still in the home today. The mansion was completed in 1852. The Klein's had seven children but only three lived to adulthood: Eva Virginia Klein died around two years old and Harry Day Klein died at only three months. Two other children lived a little longer but Frank Howard Klein died at 12 due to illness and Willie Sherman Klein died at the age of 16 when he was accidentally shot by his own gun while walking up the stairs of the house.
With the house being completed in 1852 the Klein's had only a few years to enjoy its beauty before the Civil War began. John Alexander joined the Confederacy and was away fighting when Vicksburg fell under siege. The mansion survived the siege in large part because Elizabeth was related to General Sherman by marriage. As a result he kept her and the children safe and used Cedar Grove as a Union hospital.
However the house did not survive without some damage. The reason I had first heard of Cedar Grove was because it was listed on my favorite road trip website Roadside America because in the parlor a cannonball is lodged into the wall. Some say Elizabeth left the cannonball as a reminder to neighbors that held ill-will against her for being related to General Sherman that they did suffer attack during the siege as well. There is also remaining damage to the front door where a cannonball came through and a hole in the floor of the parlor.
The Klein family also survived the war with much of their fortune it turns out because of a very deceptive safe. John Alexander hid most of their money right in plain sight in the main dining room however no one knew it was a safe because of its solid wood covering.
It fit in very nicely as a serving table and covered its true purpose perfectly.
The Klein children who had passed away young were buried on the property and a small memorial garden still exists today but the bodies have been moved to the Cedar Hill Cemetery to be with the rest of their family a decision Elizabeth Klein made when the property was being sold. There are several other homes in Vicksburg that were originally the Klein's since the children who did reach adulthood were each given their own home as gifts.
There were lots of beautiful antiques through out the home including a Regina Music Box, petticoat mirror, and piano.
Now to our amazing suite! We entered the suite on the first floor which was an old comfortable looking library. Ninety percent of the books are original to the Klein family while others have been added by owners since then. A lamp sat on a glass table that housed Elizabeth Klein's old journals.
Just out of sight from the above picture is a narrow iron staircase that lead down to what was originally the home's wine cellar.
And our bedroom. Well, apparently I only have the entrance to the bedroom I failed to take a picture of the bedroom or large bathroom. Sorry.
I probably didn't take a picture because I was tired and wanted to go to sleep it had been a long day and Friday I wouldn't have thought to take any pictures because I would have assumed I did so already. We did try and ghost hunt a little bit by going up to the library and reading a children's story and then just hanging out for a bit with a recorder. I did get a strange heat signature on one of the chairs at the chess board. However while the image showed bright red it was really only a difference of two degrees so not much significance there. I also left a recorder over night while we were sleeping and picked up a couple of strange sounds but nothing really of note.
Friday we got up earlier than intended so we tried another ghost investigation technique, a Spirit Box. I had bought one on cyber Monday when it was on sale from Ghoststop.com. The thought behind this is that it sweeps radio stations and somehow ghosts are able to communicate through it. Honestly I'm not even going to pretend I know how that is possible or what would go into it. I do know that we tried it at Shiloh and with 55 minutes of driving around we did not get a single word from it. We did get a little bit of interaction in the Library Suite (well wine cellar portion of it).
With that finished we brought our stuff to the car and then returned inside for breakfast and to check out. The restaurant was closed, I'm not sure if that is due to improvements or just because it is off season, but we still had a pleasant breakfast of coffee, eggs, sausage, and a biscuit. Then we checked out and headed to the Vicksburg Battlefield.
We pulled in and were surprised to find the parking lot rather busy. The gift shop was open and staffed with Park Rangers and the bathroom was open and obviously being cared for. People were parking and going into the visitor center like a normal ordinary day when our government actually functions. We both thought for a moment that perhaps we had missed big news and that both sides had come together and in an amazing moment of compromise had managed to function. Sadly that was not the case. The Park Rangers at Vicksburg were just there on their own working to give visitors the normal experience, minus of course paying to enter the park. I grabbed the tour map from in the visitor center and got back in to the car. Like we had done at Shiloh we had a voice recorder and the S-Box rolling. We ended up with one interaction. It was quick and I didn't even realize it at the time until I listened to the recordings but we apparently had some helpful spirits at the very beginning. Meg asks if we are going to see the NY memorial, every state that had troops at Vicksburg has at least one memorial, I asked if it was on the yellow trail and before Meg can answer I hear two voice one says "it's there" and another says "yes." It was indeed on the yellow trail and we did indeed see it.
One of the first stops we came to was the Shirley House which is actually the only remaining Civil-War era structure in the park. It has been restored to look as it did in 1863. During the siege the Shirley house was the headquarters for the 45th Illinois Infantry.
As we drove around we thought it would make a very nice bike ride and we hope to return in better weather since it was still a very gray and gloomy day.
We passed all the state monuments except for TN which you can not access because the road is closed due to erosion. It has been closed for well over a year and there are sadly no plans to repair and reopen it at this time.
Now just like we had gone to Cedar Grove because of the cannon ball in the parlor wall I also had a specific monument that I wanted to see in Vicksburg. And it turn out it is a hidden gem. Unlike every other monument that you can see from the driving path for this one we had to get out of the car and walk a short distance to it but it was completely out of sight from the road. I'm glad I knew about it beforehand or else I may have just driven past. A lot of the state monuments are pillars with the state name just to give recognition to the troops but a few are different. This was one of those.
The monument was in recognition of soldiers from the state of Kentucky. Like several other states Kentucky had troops on both sides, Union and Confederate. This was truly a battle of brother versus brother. As an early sign in the park pointed out:
"officers and men arrayed in opposed lines from 1861-1865 were American citizen soldiers,
Union and Confederate alike . . ."
-Report on the National Memorial and Peace jubilee, October 1917.
And Kentucky felt that pain of separation unlike any other state because Kentucky was the birthplace of both Civil War era Presidents and it is that unique situation that makes their monument so poignant.
The monument shows Abraham Lincoln born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809 standing in front of Jefferson Davis born in Fairview, Kentucky on June 3rd, 1808. On the left side of the wall behind Lincoln is his bio, a quote, and a listing of the troops who served the Union during the battle of Vicksburg. On the right side of the wall behind Davis is his bio, a quote, and a listing of the troops who served the Confederacy during the battle of Vicksburg. The theme of the monument is very clear it is the state seal : United we stand, Divided we fall. This seal, adopted in December of 1792 six months after Kentucky joined the United States, is reflected in both Lincoln and Davis' quotes.
"With malice toward none: with charity for all: with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see to the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in: to bind up the Nation's wounds: to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all Nations."- Abraham Lincoln 1865.
"The past is dead let it bury its dead... Let me beseech you to lay aside all rancor, all bitter sectional feeling and to take your places in the ranks of those who will bring about a consummation devoutly to be wished- a reunited country." Jefferson Davis 1888.
Of course reunification is not easy. There are many wounds to be healed. And the monument also acknowledges that in a very subtle way. As you approach Lincoln and Davis appear to be looking at each other; but they are not.
View from behind Lincoln
View from behind Davis
They both stare just past the other.
Facing Lincoln
Facing Davis
A subtle message that the outward appearance of unity will not suffice. Both stand on the seal of Kentucky with the words: "United we stand" "Divided we fall." I wish this monument was not hidden back off the path and that more then just a small sign told visitors to take the walk back to it. I think of all the monuments and statues and plaques at Vicksburg this one most effectively serves as a reminder and a warning. One that, since I started this trip because of a government shut down, I would say we especially need.
As we were leaving we stopped at the Visitor Center to look around at the small displays inside. There we read stories about how the citizens of Vicksburg lived through the siege. One story told about Duff and Mary Green who had a son born in a cave as the family hid from the cannon fire. They named the baby William Siege Green. Curious I checked Findagrave.com to see if he was buried in Vicksburg. I did not find William Siege but I did find his parents. We had not been planning to stop at the cemetery in Vicksburg but decided to add it and see if maybe he was buried in a family plot and just not listed on the website.
Once we arrived at Cedar Hill Cemetery I went to the office to find the location of Duff Green's grave. The gentleman at the office, Venable, not only helped me find the plot for Duff Green but then told us about some other notable graves in the cemetery and showed us where they were. Unfortunately William S was not in the plot where Duff Green was buried nor was he in a separate plot owned by Duff Green but with other family members buried there. I only found the grave stones for Duff Green, his daughter Annie born in 1860, and Willie A. Lake who was Mary's sister.
It is of course possible that he was buried in one of the plots but did not have a head stone like his mother or that the birth of William Siege Green is just an urban legend.
However had we not taken the detour we never would have seen the grave of Estelle Brazier who died young at 21 and has a grave stone in the shape of a piano.
And we were both surprised when Venable offered to show us the grave of the Gypsy Queen.
Young Linka John died at only six so maybe more of a Gypsy Princess. Venable said that her family had been traveling east in a caravan when she passed away and was buried here. A short amount of research into her father did confirm a connection to Emil Mitchell, the King of the Gypsies whose grave we had visited the previous day. In a 1910 meeting when the previous Gypsy King, Zintchio Dimtro moved to Canada and Emil was named the new King listed at the meeting was Wasso Mitchell, John Williams-Steve Miguel, Miller George, and Eli John- Linka's father.
And finally buried in the Soldier's rest area where hundreds of Confederate soldiers from the Vicksburg siege and battle were buried is the grave of Douglas the Camel. Douglas was owned by Colonel W.H. Moore and served the 43rd MS Infantry. He was shot by a Union sharpshooter during the Siege.
Having spent way longer in Vicksburg then originally planned we left the cemetery and began the seven hour drive home. I do know there is at least one road trip that will come from this with a possibility of a second. At the battle field we read the story of young Orion P. Howe who served the Union as a musician when he was only 14. At one point during battle he ran to ask for more ammunition and was injured. Despite his injury he continued his mission and was noticed by General Sherman who wrote:
"What arrested my attention then was . . . that one so young, carrying a musket-ball wound through his leg, should have found his way to me on that fatal spot, and delivered his message. . . "
-General Sherman's letter recommending the Medal of Honor.
Orion became one of the youngest ever Medal of Honor recipients and is buried in Springfield National cemetery in Springfield, Missouri. We looked at how much time that would add and Meg proposed we detour but it would have added way to much to the drive home.
The second possible road trip will be if I can ever find a clue as to where William Siege Green may be buried.
