Relief bust of U.S. Senator Preston King (1806-1865) in Ogdensburg/Riverside Cemetery on State Route 812 in Ogdensburg, New York. Morbidly obese his whole life, Preston King began his political career as a Democrat, served in Congress for two terms as a Free Soiler, then joined the Republican Party and was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1857. He was a staunch ally of President Abraham Lincoln in the 1864 election. After Lincoln’s assassination, President Andrew Johnson appointed him Collector of the Port of New York, where he committed suicide by jumping in New York Harbor.
The former Prince George Hotel anchoring Kingston’s historic Market Square at 200 Ontario Street in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, is home to Haunted Walks Kingston, Canada’s original haunted tour. The former hotel has plenty of ghost stories of its own, but so does the Tir Nan Og Pub occupying a space on the ground floor, where furniture and doors are said to move on their own, silverware and glasses fall to the floor, and patrons are touched by unseen hands. No one seems to mind very much, as it continues to be a very popular watering hole.
Record stores are making a comeback, and I love their often eclectic, battered appearance like old comic book shops or collectable stores. This one is in Kingston, Ontario, Canada at 381 Princess Street. It’s owned by Brian Lipsin, who is interesting enough to get himself in Vice Magazine.
When it comes to urban exploration, New York has it all. The Empire State stretches across 54,555 square miles. Relics of the past can be found in every corner.
Upstate New York is filled with abandoned, out-of-the-way places. Each represents someone’s dream; a career; fond memories; a home; all quickly fading into the past. But explorers beware: while most of the following places are open to the public, some are restricted and you visit at your own risk.
Camp Beechwood
An abandoned Girl Scout camp deep in the woods is something from a horror movie, and you can experience it yourself in Upstate New York. In 1929 the Girl Scouts of America purchased 150-acres between Maxwell Bay and Sill Creek for use as a summer camp.
Unfortunately, rising tax rates, declining membership, and environmental factors led to the camp’s closure and sale in 1996. New York State bought the land but budget cuts forced it to designate the site as a preserve. The buildings were left to rot. The camp is remarkably well preserved for having been abandoned and accessible to the public for over two decades.
Built for a war with the U.S. that never came, this nineteenth century Canadian fortress held prisoners hanged for rebellion. Do their restless ghosts still walk these grounds?
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Built between 1832 and 1836, Fort Henry’s stone walls were completed just in time for the Rebellions of 1837–1838, which sought to overthrow the Canadian colonial government in favor of a republic. Nils von Schoultz, who led rebel forces at the Battle of the Windmill, was executed there. Today, his ghost is among many that visitors claim to encounter in the twilight hours. Paranormal-themed tours and an annual haunted house have capitalized on these strange tales and helped make this Canada’s most famous haunt.
The War of 1812 left relations between the United States and Great Britain at an all-time low. Raids along the Saint Lawrence River were common during the war, and Kingston, Ontario in what was then Upper Canada was seen as potentially vulnerable. The British eyed Point Henry as an ideal place for what became known as the “Citadel of Upper Canada”.
Early in the war, British Canadians erected a blockhouse and artillery battery on Point Henry to help defend Kingston and its naval dockyards. They continued fortifying it throughout the war, calling it Fort Henry after Henry Hamilton, one-time Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec and Governor of Bermuda.
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