Whitewater's haunted historyBy: Kassie Lechner
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Before UW-Whitewater was established, there was the Morris Pratt Institute, which was a school for Spiritualism.
"Morris Pratt was a very early settler in the Whitewater area," University Archivist Karen Weston said. "Pratt was an adherent to Spiritualism who vowed that if the spirits helped him find iron ore in the Michigan Upper Peninsula, he would found a school for Spiritualism in his hometown."
Pratt ended up striking it rich by finding iron ore and obtained a considerable amount of wealth.
"He built the school in downtown Whitewater, where it held classes until the 1930s when the Spiritualists moved to Whitewater," Weston said. "The building was used as a boarding house until the 1960s when it was torn down."
The Morris Pratt Institute is long gone, but there have been reports of strange and unusual happenings in Whitewater and on campus.
Lynette Brown has heard rumors that the cemeteries and the water tower on Starin Road were used for witching rituals.
Brown said the three cemeteries also form an isosceles triangle.
Weston said the cemeteries do form a triangle but doesn't think it has any ties to witchcraft.
"The cemeteries do make a triangle, but I do not think the Congregationalists and Catholics who established them in 1848, 1858 and 1865 would have appreciated any links to witchcraft being made," Weston said.
The city of Milton was a site for the Underground Railroad, but there is no documentation in Whitewater, Weston said.
"The stories about tunnels under the city probably refer to bricked root cellars used as Underground Railroad sites before the Civil War," she said. "The most likely location for one is Hamilton House."
Some say the city tries to keep its past hidden, but others argue the history of the city is readily available to those who are interested.
"I also read online somewhere that at one point in time, any and all written material made public about witching and negative things that happened in Whitewater had been banned from the city by the City Council," Brown said. "All books, diaries and newspapers that contained information on any of the wicked events that took place had been pulled from the public eye and were locked up in the City Hall or burned or destroyed."
Weston said the history of the town is made available quite easily.
"There is a [currently active] historic landmarks group who is documenting the history of the town's buildings," Weston said. "There are many volumes of local history available to researchers on campus and in the public library."
The plot for the film "The Witches of Whitewater" is about the book believed to be kept under wraps in the library. The book supposedly causes its readers to die, but the book's existence and powers are debatable.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the library contained a book at some point that dealt with the occult and spells, but I don't believe in a book that kills people," Brown said. "I'd have to see proof, like names and death certificates to believe something like that. So far, I have found neither."
Weston, who is asked about the book once or twice yearly, said no such book exists.
"No one in the library has ever been given a title, an author or publication information for this so-called book when patrons ask for it," Weston said. "If such a book existed, we would expect that at least one of those pieces of information would be available."
The transfer of the library's Special Collections material may have sparked rumors of the book being in the library because the material was kept in a locked cage storage area.
"The locked storage was eliminated during the 1988 library renovation and all volumes transferred to the current Special Collections stacks."
"The Witches of Whitewater" has yet to have a release date.
Weston said the movie seems to be based more on rumors than facts.
"After the library staff became aware of the film, my archivist assistant sent an email to the producers of the film asking about their sources for the film," Weston said. "She did not receive any reply."
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