Tag: Illinois

Categories
Historic America

Who was Isabelle Scott?

Isabelle Scott lived in Mattoon, Illinois from 1902 until her death in 1907. She died of tuberculosis at the young age of 30-32. In those short years, Isabelle was the notorious madam of a brothel on what was then called Railroad Street/Cottage Avenue. She rubbed elbows with notorious figures in Mattoon’s underworld, even a city alderman.

But who was she, really?

I came across this fascinating figure while researching Mattoon’s history for my book, Tales of Coles County, and later developed it into an essay for a nonfiction writing class at George Mason University.

Unfortunately, I don’t live in Illinois anymore and am only able to visit once a year, if that, so my time to visit Mattoon to conduct research is severely limited.

Continue reading “Who was Isabelle Scott?”
Categories
Appearances Saudade

Carman Hall: Left in the Past

Matt Williamson, a student at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, put together this short video on Carman Hall for a class project. He read my reminisces, and interviewed me. The final result was a pretty interesting short video about what happened to the building since it closed and how it may be used in the future. Seeing the inside of that old building for the first time in, oh, 22 years brought back a lot of memories. Check it out!

Categories
Announcements

10,000 Sold!

HUGE thank you to everyone who bought a copy of my book Witchcraft in Illinois: A Cultural History, which has now surpassed 10,000 sold since its release in 2017! I never thought this would be so popular, let alone my most successful book. 86% 4 or 5-star ratings on Amazon. For some reason it keeps chugging along year after year and I have you to thank!

Categories
Photography Roadside America

McDonald’s Franchise Museum (demolished)

Former McDonald’s museum on Lee Street in Des Plaines, Illinois.

I grew up in Des Plaines, Illinois, so when a movie about Ray Kroc called The Founder (2016) came out, I’ll admit I watched eagerly for any mention of my former hometown. Ray Kroc was born in Oak Park, Illinois and he opened his first McDonald’s franchise on Lee Street in Des Plaines in 1955.

I passed by the McDonald’s museum hundreds of times, but never visited (it was actually a replica built in 1985). Unfortunately, by the time the movie came out, the museum had closed and was slated for demolition. When I visited a few years ago, the old sign and part of the arches had already been removed. Demolition was completed in August 2018.

Categories
Mysterious America

Who Murdered Amy Warner?

The following is an excerpt from my book Tales of Coles County, a collection of history, folklore, and true crime from one of the most interesting counties in Illinois. Order it in paperback or Kindle today.

At approximately 10:20 a.m. on Tuesday, June 29, 1999, a friend of 23-year-old Amy Denise Warner became concerned that he hadn’t seen or heard from her since the previous day. He went to her home at 17 7th Street in Charleston, just north of Jefferson Elementary School. There he found Amy, a single mother and a manager at Elder-Beerman in the Cross County Mall in Mattoon, lying half-way on her couch in the living room, blood covering the floor.

Her two children, a 4-year-old girl and 7-month-old boy, were home but not physically harmed. Investigators said there was no sign of forced entry. Amy died from a stab-wound to her neck, and she had defensive wounds on her hands. Investigators estimated her time of death at around 12 hours before her body was discovered.

Amy, a 1993 graduate of Charleston High School, was well-liked, an avid reader, and quick to smile and laugh. She worked tirelessly to provide for her children. Who would do this to her, and why? Her friends and family, and the broader community, struggled to make sense of the senseless brutality.

Continue reading “Who Murdered Amy Warner?”
Categories
Mysterious America Photography

Azariah Sweetin Home

Ruins of the Azariah Sweetin Home in Greene County, Illinois.

Otherwise known as “the old stone house,” the remnants of this Greene County, Illinois manor were, at one time, part of a mansion built in 1848 by a stockman named Azariah Sweetin. Though nothing but a shell today, a grand ballroom once occupied the third floor, a ballroom that was the scene of murder. During a farewell gala for newly enlisted Union soldiers, two farmhands, Henson and Isham, got into an argument that ended with one thrusting a knife into the back of the other. The wounded man fell down by the fireplace and bled to death. According to legend, his blood seeped into the stone floor and formed an outline of his body. The stain could never be removed.

As the war raged, Azariah Sweetin didn’t want to take any chances, so he stuffed all his gold coins into jars and buried them around his property. Unfortunately, an equestrian accident in 1871 rendered him without any memory of where he had buried his money. After his death, his ranch was purchased by Cyrus Hartwell, who also lived there until he died. Treasure seekers soon tore the mansion apart, but no one has ever found Azariah’s gold. Storytellers say Azariah’s ghost—alongside snakes—now guards his lost loot.

Categories
Historic America

Coles County Ghost Towns: Hitesville, Farmington, and Curtisville

The following is an excerpt from my book Tales of Coles County, a collection of history, folklore, and true crime from one of the most interesting counties in Illinois. Order it in paperback or Kindle today.

Hitesville

James Hite, who immigrated from Kentucky to Coles County in 1831, created this village in Ashmore Township and named it after himself in April 1835. He was appointed postmaster on August 24, 1835. A stone marker at the location, however, says that Hitesville was founded in 1837.

Whatever the year of its establishment, at its peak it contained several shops and houses. The History of Coles County (1879) stated that the village was “swallowed up” by new villages that appeared when the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad was built. Ashmore, which was plotted in 1855, was the most likely culprit.

James Hite and some of his neighbors also built a nearby Presbyterian church. A man by the name of Reverend John Steele presided over the congregation until the building was sold when James Hite moved out of the area. The parishioners, many of whom were from the St. Omer area, then attended a different church. Hitesville lasted long enough to appear on a county map alongside St. Omer and Ashmore, but shortly after, both Hitesville and St. Omer ceased to exist.

Continue reading “Coles County Ghost Towns: Hitesville, Farmington, and Curtisville”