(clicking on the photos will enlarge them}
Anthony Ward and his wife Mary Jane purchased 240 acres of
riverside land in 1854 from an Indian named Joseph James; he was a half breed
from the Kansa tribe. The Wards were the second settlers in a town yet to be
named Topeka , Kansas
By the 1870's the family built a two-story, Victorian home; constructed of limestone and brick. Limestone is a known conductor of spirit activity. Reported ghostly activity includes a male apparition, footsteps, the sound of children giggling, mist and arm grabbing as well as EVP's (electronic voice phenomenon). Mr. Ward died in April, 1874 and his wife in March of 1897. Their daughter, Jennie, married a railroad man named John Mackey Meade and their decendents lived in the mansion until it was given to the town of Topeka as a historical site in 1961.
After the house and grounds were turned over to the historical society of Topeka other buildings of historical interest in Kansas were brought to the site and turned into what is now called, Old Prairie Town.
On our investigation we went through the mansion and the Potwin Drug Store brought in and set up on the property. The drug store was in operation in the Potwin area of Topeka for seventy-five years and when moved included everything that was in the building, even the marble counter topped soda fountain. The drug store is still opened for fountain treats and boasts the best ice cream floats in the area. On the second floor were the offices of a local dentist and all his equipment and furniture were included in the move.
The parlor or sitting room
It was a hot evening when we arrived for the investigation. We were disappointed to find out that the furnishings in the mansion were not original to the building and most were reproductions of the era. The photos and paintings on the walls were originial to the house so that gave us hope to catch something paranormal. Energy from previously owned processions can often attract the spirits that owned them.
Something over the mantle. Notice the camera fuzzed over and the rest of the photo is out of focus.
The upstairs master bedroom. That's the cradle in the photo. We expierenced a lot of cold spots upstairs, in the hallway, in the children's playroom and in the master bedroom. We also smelled perfume in that room. We left a recorder on the dresser but some time after leaving the house to investigate the drug store, the recorder mysteriously turned off.
The entrance to the Potwin Drugstore, notice the red streak at the entrance.
The entrance to the upstairs dentist office shows an orb at the bottom left by the bushes but there is also a large one at the top of the stairs.
The photo right after it shows the large orb has disappeared and a new orb is on its way up the stairs.
The investigation at the Ward Meade mansion and Old Prairie Town buildings was exciting and we were hungry for more, so on the way home we stopped at a local cemetery. This is a tree at the entrance to the cemetery. It is carved as a work of art but notice the blue mist enveloping the tree trunk.
Orbs in a cemetery? Who would have thought, right? Well, we know there are more orbs than dust and bugs in a cemetery, check these out.
What is that off to the right? Let's get a better look at that one.
A smiley face? Let's get even closer and see for ourselves what kind of bug or dust ball this might be.
Don't you love it! We do. We love capturing evidence and anomolies both. Well, all you ghost hunters out there remember to respect your surroundings, respect the dead and always carry extra batteries.
ghost written by D. Susan Rutz
Grew up by here.. had my junior photos taken at ward mead.. in one it appears a figure of a lady in a wedding dress.. lol. But it was a.mannequin..I think anyway.
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