Historic Oddity Headline: February 8, 1917 - Finds Hidden Rooms In House Of Mystery
The Wisconsin Weekly Blade
February 8, 1917
“Finds Hidden Rooms In House Of Mystery.”
Carpenter Work on Old Place Reveals Apartments None Knew About.
Chicago. - At 3624 Ellis Park is an old three story frame building that was a home when Ellis park was a woodland. For the last eight or nine years, in a remodeled form, it has been an apartment building.
A few days ago a carpenter, tearing away old planking to build a porch, broke through a wall and made discoveries which made 3624 Ellis Park a house of mystery.
Between the second and third floors he found a hidden apartment, of which not even John Chamales, new owner of the building, knew. Carefully Frank Wilder, the carpenter, entered through the hole he had made in the wall.
He found a complete set of rooms running from the front to the rear of the building. The walls and ceiling were unfinished. There were no windows and no visible means of exit. There was a small table in one corner with a few dishes on it and an old copper lamp. Rush covered, but with a frying pan of ancient days still on it, there was a stove. Some straw in a corner seemed to indicate where the mysterious occupant of the mystery chamber had slept.
A piece of wire between two walls served as a hanger for an old coat. Over everything was a thick layer of dust.
In hunting for an exit Wilder came upon a panel in the wall fastened with a hinge, two big iron hooks and a bar that fitted into iron clasps. It opened upon the staircase and so matched the paneling that it was invisible from the outside.
“Historic Oddity Headlines” showcases actual articles written about truly odd occurrences that took place and were published within United States newspapers back in the 1800s-1900s. The articles posted here are written exactly as they appeared during their original publishing date.
-The Pine Barrens Institute
The Superior Times
June 29, 1907
“Produces Chicken That Talks.”
Californian Crosses Parrot and Guinea Hen with Strange Result.
The Hartford Herald
July 25, 1894
“STORY OF WITCHCRAFT.”
IN THE SOUTH - - - OLD KATE BATTS’ AWFUL SPELL.
History of the Famous Bell Witch and Its Tragic Persecution of an Entire Family in Tennessee.
A CHAPTER OF MYSTERY.
Press and Daily Dakotaian
February 21, 1889
“THEY FLED IN TERROR.”
The Odd Occurrence that Startled the Inhabitants of Litchfield, Ills.
Iron County News
December 10, 1921
“Mystery of Lost Atlantis.”
Believed by Many to Be Merely Legend, but Idea Can Not Be Entirely Uprooted.
Northern Wisconsin Advertiser
November 3, 1922
“EASY FOR SNAKES.”
Fisherman Was a Benefactor, Though He Didn’t Know It.
But for Chance Encounter, Mystery of Missing Catfish Might Never Have Been Solved.
Watertown Republican
September 27, 1893
“FOUND TWO SKELETONS.”
It May Result in Clearing Up a Mystery at Oconomowoc.
The Washburn Times
February 9, 1911
“Rodents Hoard Much Gold.”
Office Boy of Chicago Jewelry House Solves Mystery of Disappearance of Valuables.
Wausau Pilot
February 2, 1922
“Secret Doors In Mystery House.”
“Chain Girl’s” Story Makes Modest Appearing Cottage a Mecca for Curious.
PRISONER IN ATTIC.
Through Days and Nights of Terror Fifteen-Year-Old Girl Languished in Chains, According to Statement to Police.
Daily Arizona Silver Belt
September 11, 1907
“September 9 Is His Unlucky Day.”
For Nine Consecutive Years Mike O’Byrne Has Met with Accident on this Fatal Date.
FATHER’S DEATH ON SAME DAY AN ODD OCCURRENCE.
Slipped into a Shallow Shaft at San Carlos on Monday and Broke His Arm - Full Diary of Nine Years of Hard Luck.
The Lafayette Advertiser
November 25, 1913
“Hay Ricks Lifted On High.”
Remarkable Phenomenon That Is Said to Have Been Witnessed by Party of Scotsmen.
The Wisconsin Weekly Blade
February 8, 1917
“Finds Hidden Rooms In House Of Mystery.”
Carpenter Work on Old Place Reveals Apartments None Knew About.
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The Minneapolis Journal
November 16, 1901
“PREHISTORIC.”
Skeleton of a Giant Found in a Cave With Specimens of Rude Art.