Restless Spirits in Wyoming

Wyoming Territorial Prison at Laramie State Park in Laramie was built in 1872. In the north wing, there were just 42 cells, 14 cells on each of the three levels. The cells were small with arched ceilings and iron gate doors. When there was overcrowding two inmates had to share a cell. Inmates here were convicted of offenses ranging from stealing to manslaughter. Since no capital offenders were sent here at this prison there were no executions.

In 1884 there were only 10 inmates at this prison so plans were made to expand the place so that Federal Authorities would not close it down. By 1889 the prison had doubled in size. There were more cells, a new dining room had been added as well as a chapel/activity room and another wing, the south wing. In the south wing on the 2nd floor, 12 women inmates were housed. Their living quarters consisted of two cells and a third cell as their bathroom. The first floor of the south wing held 42 cells, on three tiers. Not having enough guards there was a great number of escape attempts.

When the Wyoming Territorial Prison became overcrowded again plans were made for a larger prison in Rawlins. In 1903 when the new prison opened the Territorial Prison was converted to become the Agricultural Experiment Station. It remained so for 60 years and then in 1989 the farm land and the prison itself were bought and restored to become a state park and museum. One can take a walking self-tour of the prison.

During the years, the Wyoming Territorial Prison discipline was strict. Prisoners had to wash at least twice a week, do their own laundry, make their own clothes, cook, keep things neat and clean, and learn a useful skill to be able to use once they were released. As a young man, Butch Cassidy spent some time here for stealing. Rehabilitation of course didn’t work for him and he returned to a life of crime. Violence here was at a minimum so there were only two isolation cells. In 1893 one inmate was killed during an escape attempt. There were doctors on contract to take care of sick inmates. Terminally ill patients were pardoned and sent home to be with their families and to die there. Only one man died in prison from a heart attack – Julius Greenwelch.

This man Julius Greenwelch would never realize his dream of becoming successful in the cigar business. In the 1890s he was a cigar maker from Provo, Utah who traveled around Wyoming selling fine cigars. He found a market for his cigars in Evanston, Laramie, Cheyenne, and Sheridan. Before and even after he got married he would visit a bordello in Evanston, Wyoming before returning to Provo. In 1897 he arrived at his favorite bordello to find his wife, Jennie working there. It may have been perhaps to earn some spending money or perhaps to get even with her husband for his infidelity. Whatever the case may be when Julius arrived at the bordello and saw Jennie there he shot her on the spot. This earned him a 2nd-degree murder conviction and a lifetime stay at the Wyoming Territorial Prison. He began his sentence on September 29th, 1897 in the north wing, in a third-tier cell. He was allowed to set up a cigar-making operation to bring in some money for prison funds. A couple of years later he died of a heart attack.

Spirit with Cigars

In 1989 during major renovation and restoration work, some of the cells were removed to make room for doorways and historical exhibits. One of those cells that was removed was Julius Greenwelch’s cell. This may have “awakened” the man’s spirit and so the entity of Julius continued with his work. Throughout the north wing whiffs of cigar smoke may be smelled. While restoration was going on workmen would find their hammers, drills, and saws missing then turning up in strange places. Julius has appeared in the doorway where his cell used to be in front of small groups of tourists or staff.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church is located on Central Avenue in Cheyenne. The main part of the church was built in 1868. Then in 1886, people decided they wanted their church to look impressive sort of like the great British churches with large bell towers. So a foundation for the bell tower was sunk 15 ft. deep to be able to support the 60 ft. massive structure that would be built. However, the building of the tower came to a stop for a long time because the masons working on the tower disappeared.

Then the building began anew and finally the tower was finished in 1927 with a room added just below the 11 carillon bells weighing 20 tons. In the special room, a chandelier hangs from the ceiling and the room can only be reached by climbing an 85 ft. spiral stairway which begins in the church basement.

What happened in 1886? Two Swedish immigrant masons had been hired to do the job. The tower was only partially built when the two men disappeared. The church’s rector, Father Rafter stopped by one morning to inquire if any more material were needed. He noticed that only one mason was there and that mason appeared to be nervous and agitated. Then the next day no one came to work. So a roof was put on the unfinished tower and it became a study for the rector.

Body in the Wall

Then in 1996, a very old man came to Father Todd the present rector for confession. He told him that when he was a young man he and another mason had been hired to work on the bell tower of St. Mark’s Church. Unfortunately, his fellow mason slipped and fell to his death. In a fit of panic, he stuffed the mason’s body into an unfinished section of the wall. Then he put a layer of cement over the body, placed stones over it, and sealed it into the wall.

The study room had been made from the unfinished bell tower in 1886 and was anything but quiet for the rector. There were beating and muffled indistinguishable talking sounds that came from the walls. After that, for a while, the room was sealed. Later a pipe organ was put in it.

Spirit Makes Contact

Then in 1927 when work was resumed on the bell tower again beating and muffled indistinguishable sounds came from the now newly made stone walls. The workers were very afraid and the foreman had to go to Father Bennett and tell him that the men would prefer to build the ghost its own room. There were times when churchgoers heard jumbled words, but one sentence came out clearly, “There’s a body in the wall.”

Paranormal Activity

Then in 1979, the bell tower was opened to the public for tours. This was a very popular thing to do on Halloween. A few years later a popular Denver psychic, Ms. Wright, and a DJ from a Cheyenne radio station tried to spend a Halloween night broadcasting from the tower. Climbing the stairway Ms. Wright was overcome by dreadful feelings. She sensed the presence of a frightening, upset apparition. She also sensed an elderly white-haired man who walked with a cane. Later the old man was identified as Father Rafter who had been the rector in 1886. When Ms. Wright and the DJ had set up in the tower room, Father Todd locked all the doors and left. Looking out the window Ms. Wright saw small balls of white light dancing around the gravestones in the cemetery below.

The Ringing of the Bells

Then a sense of fear and foreboding overcame Ms. Wright as she was witness to tiny blue lights climbing the stairs to the tower room. From the room’s baseboards, a slimy substance began to ooze and all the carillon bells began to ring. Suddenly over the sound of the bells, a rough man’s voice yelled, “Get out while you still have your mind.” The DJ shouted for help. Within 15 minutes they all made a hasty retreat from the bell tower, escorted by Father Todd and the radio manager. Twenty minutes later the bells began ringing again. The police made a complete search and found no pranksters. There was no logical solution for any of it and the floor was covered by a white dust-like substance that wasn’t there when they first entered the room.

Two Spirits Haunting the Tower

Ms. Wright concluded from her research that the bell tower is haunted by two spirits – the mason who was buried in the wall and Father Rafter. She feels that the spirits in the tower wish to be left alone in their room. Father Todd feels that the church is filled with the spirits of many church members who have passed on which is the reason for the lights seen among the gravestones in the churchyard. Tours of the bell tower are no longer given to leave the spirits there in peace.

And if you're interested in what I think, since I too am highly sensitive toward the world beyond – I kept thinking about those words they heard in the bell tower – to get out while they still had a mind – what if – or perhaps – the mason who was walled in wasn’t really dead and came to consciousness to discover he was walled in – wouldn’t that make someone lose their mind? I mean so to speak?