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Click on any of the photos on this page to view a larger version of the photo.
There were so many orbs (caused by lens refractions, dust particles, etc.) found in the photographs taken in the
jail, that we do not mention them individually in this section of the investigation report. See the Unusual Photos
section of this report for information about those photographs and any other odd photo anomalies.
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The Jail Hallway on the 1st floor is one of the two places in the home where most
of the reported paranormal activity takes place at the 1859 Jackson County Jail Museum. |
| The jail has six cells on this floor and six more upstairs. The flooring between
the 1st and 2nd floor used to be banded iron and there used to be an iron staircase to the second floor. The two-foot-thick
walls are made of limestone blocks, some of which are six feet long. Each cell has a grated iron door and a solid
iron door. There were at least six people that were hanged from the railing until they were dead in this room.
One of our stationary cameras was set up in this area of the location. For more details see the Background and
the History sections of this investigation report. |
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This is the southwest cell on the 1st floor, and its labeled as Cell #1 on our investigation
map. Some sources refer to this as the "haunted" cell. It is said that almost any person touring the
jail area will be able to identify this cell by the oppressive atmosphere that exists in this cell. Nausea has
been reported by people visiting this cell...as well as some of the other cells on this level.
Two weeks prior to this investigation, a tall shadowy shape was seen exiting this cell by Lindsey Gaston and member's
of another paranormal investigation group. |
| We performed a series of ghost vigils in this cell throughout the night and one of
our stationary cameras was set up in this room. For more details on what we experienced in this room check out
the Contact in Cell #1 and Possible EVP's sections of this investigation report. |
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This is the center cell on the south side of the 1859 Jail and it labeled as Cell
#2 on our investigation map. Some sources identify this cell as the "haunted" cell that almost anyone
touring the jail can pick out by its oppressive atmosphere. See the Background and the 1982 Investigation sections
of this investigation report for more information. |
| Two weeks prior to our investigation, Lindsey and another paranormal investigation
group saw a tall shadowing figure gather itself out of Cell #1, and then slowly move into this cell. See the Background
section of this investigation report for more details. |
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This is the one photograph I'm not 100% sure I have identified correctly. I'm only
about 80% certain this is a photo of the center cell on the north side of the 1st floor Jail Hallway. It was labeled
as Cell #5 on our investigation maps. Mike spent about 45 minutes completely alone in this cell with both iron
doors tightly closed. Mike is a hardcore skeptic and was convinced that he could easily spend the time alone in
the cell. |
| While Mike did not experience anything paranormal, during his 45 minute stay in the
cell he began to pace back and forth. He had entered the cell planning on sitting still during his vigil, but soon
began to pace. This is the only time anyone on our investigation began pacing. Mike said he paced back and forth
in the darkness for quite awhile. This certainly shows the psychological impact being in these dark cells alone
can have on an individual. |
| I say "spending time there," because Frank James was treated much more
as a guest than as a prisoner. Unlike the bare cells with straw and (sometimes) wool blankets on the floor, Frank
James had a cot, a chair, a pillow, and other furniture. And Frank James basically had a key to the jail. He would
eat with the Marshall in the Marshall's House, and occasionally he would step out for a show or to buy a cigar,
and then let himself back into the jail for the night! |
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This is the breezeway between the Marshall's House and the 1859 Jail building. It
was originally open to the elements, but now it is closed off from the weather. The only connection between the
1859 Jail and the Marshall's House in their original conditions was a large iron door towards the end of this breezeway.
That iron door led directly into to the Marshall's Office. |
| As I've mentioned elsewhere on this site, this breezeway bothered me every time I
had to walk through it. At the far end of this breezeway I detected an out-of-place odor. For more details about
this, see the Strange Events section of this investigation report. |
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This room was the Marshall's Office. The Marshall would sit at his desk in this room,
leaned back in his chair against the window framing...and wait for citizens to enter his office to turn themselves
in, pay fines, and file complaints. In the picture on the top-right there is an indention visible in the window
framing. Lindsey told us that many believe this indention was caused over years and years by the back of the Marshall's
chair rubbing on the window frame. Frank James and William Quantrill both walked these floors. |
| The only connection between the Marshall's House and the 1859 Jail was a large iron
door that led from this office to the Breezeway between the two buildings. This was necessary to protect the Marshall's
family from any jail-break attempts or jail violence that might take place. |
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This was the formal Parlor of the Marshall's House. It was where the family would
entertain guests. The top-left photo shows a piano that was abandoned in a farm field during the enforcement of
Order 11 in the 1860's. |
| When the order was enacted, families who didn't want to be burned-out or arrested
had to pack up and leave very quickly. The family attempting to flee with this piano must have had 2nd thoughts
about their ability to take it with them...and left it in the middle of a field. It was found and brought to the
Marshall's House, where it still remains. The middle row of photos shows a painting of Mrs. Waldo. See the Background
section of this investigation report for details on the reported paranormal activity tied to this painting. |
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This is the stairway in the Marshall's House that leads from the Front Hallway on
the 1st floor to the Hallway on the 2nd floor. During the investigation this stairwell made a lot of noises. It
makes squeaking and popping noises when you walk on it...and it makes squeaking and popping noises when no one
is walking on it. In the picture on the top-right, Lindsey had just heard what he thought to be a female voice
when we were descending the stairway. We stopped just a few seconds after this picture was taken to listen for
it to happen again. |
| Mike (in the red hat) was the only one left on the stairs at that point, and three
loud popping sounds came from the stairway in quick succession. See the Strange Events section of this investigation
report for more details. |
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This was the Kitchen of the Marshall's House. There was actually a separate building
used for cooking in the summer. That building no long exists. The Kitchen was our base-of-operations. |
| The room now serves as the front entrance to the 1859 Jackson County Jail Museum,
with brochures, gift-shop items, etc. This is where we kept our extra equipment and set up the stationary camera
monitor and DVR. |
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This is the stairwell in the 1903 jail expansion building. Lindsey once smelled tobacco
in this stairwell when no one has smoked here in years. And he was once "pushed" while traveling the
stairs. See the Background section of this investigation report for more details. |
| Early in the investigation, Mike Cross detected an odor he described as "smelling
like an ashtray" in the stairwell. See the Strange Events section of this investigation report for more details.
During a vigil on this stairway, Shawn and Dave captured an unexplained sound that appears to be a voice on a digital
recording. See the Possible EVP's section of this investigation report for more details. |
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The 1st floor of the 1903 jail expansion building has been converted to a museum
display area. The history of the 1859 Jail, the City of Independence, and our region are all highlighted here with
photos, displays, and paintings. We did not focus a lot of investigative effort in this area because we had no
report of paranormal activity here. For anyone interested in history, this museum area is definitely worth a visit! |
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The photo on the far left is outside, and represents the area between the 1859 Jail
building and the Kitchen of the Marshall's House. At the end of the space you can see that an iron banded door
with glass behind it blocks access to the Breezeway of the house. |
| When the jail was operational, this iron banded door and glass were not present,
and the "Enclosed Breezeway" on our investigation map was actually open to the elements. It is believed
that this iron banded door was once part of the original iron banded floor of the 1859 Jail. The photo on the right
was also taken outside, and shows one of the iron louvered windows that allowed minimal light into each jail cell.
These windows are now outfitted with glass on the inside, but when the 1859 Jail was operational there was no glass
in these windows. Air traveled freely through the iron louvers...even in the dead of Winter. |
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