The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-11-01
John s. Hunt, Vancouver. Wash.)

until they had. and had laid a ghost
Earlham has had a ghost and has laid
one. But few are left of the one hun
hundred and fifty or more. who were
students in Friends Boarding School.
Indiana, during the winter
term OF 1872. During this term
there occurred one of those optical il
lusions that gave rise to ghost stories
that for the time baffled the wisest
to explain.
Before proceeding with our story, it
will be necessary to give brief expla ,
nation of the building as it was then
Being one of the youngest boys there,
the events are as vivid as if they had
occurred within year
The west wing of what is now known
as Earlham Hall, was all that was then
completed, though the foundations Of
the hole building were in.
On the north Of the long hall, run
ming through the building from east to
west, were two rooms; the west was
used as a public parlor or reception
room: the other as office and library,
the second story room over the libra.
ry was the girls parlor. the room
above it as the boys parlor, opposite
the library on the first floor was the
room or chapel, the room
above it was the girls nursery or hos
pital. having a fire place in the east
end; small hall or lobby was cut off
the west end of this room that formed
a passage way from the large hall to
the porch on the south of the meeting
room, this porch was the same height
as the building and was enclosed with
rolling blinds. A private stairway
reached from the basement to the sec
ond floor and was used by the girls
and domestics; the third floor was en-
tirely given to the boys, who used the
square structure just east Of the long
hall, on the foundations intended for
what is now the center building of
Earlham, Hall in passing from the
basement to the third floor. The
shape of this frame structure and it's
to the rest of the building.
gave it the name of THE Old MILL to
the school room from it's having the
appearance of the elevators on the
front of the FIGURING mills of that day.
The name of The Old Mill" chung to
the place as long as l had any knowl-
edge of the place. The IT, of the
west wing was used as follows: The
basement as the dining room. the first
floor as school rooms, being divided by
a board partition starting from the
center of the middle of the double
window on the porch, the girls using
the south half, and the half of the
porch window being arranged for a
door that was used by the girls to
reach the main hall, and to pass up to
their dormitory.
Across the main stairway between
the second and third floors there was
a temporary partition. This expla-
nation will explain the appearance of
the ghost and it's discovery.
During the winter of 1852 there
was a great amount of sickness among
the students, but happily, no deaths.
The attendant physicians did not ap-
pear to understand the cases. No
matter whether it was measles or a
simple cold. in few days the patient
would be taken with severe pains in
the back and head, followed by uncon-
sciousness and great nervousness.
One evening during study hours one
of the girls. who had been complain
ing for several days. asked the privi
lege of going up to the girls parlor on
the second floor: candles were used ex-
clusively for lighting the building. the
lights of the school rooms and nursery
gave sufficient light to pass through
the porch and up the private stairway:
way to the lobby the girl uttered one
OF those screams that once heard will
never be forgotten, as it betokens the
greatest mortal fear and danger Fol-
lowing the scream we heard a body
fall on the floor above us. The boys
next the porch opened the window and
rushed up the private stairway while
the boys in the other part of the room
made for the main stairway. was
among those that reached the upper
floor first. There we found a girl Of
sixteen lying in a heap on the floor
and apparently dead.
In the nearly sixty years that have
passed since that night l have passed
through many scenes Of excitement
that tried my nerves, but never one
where there was more confusion and
many of the girls fainting
from fright. Not over a dozen were
over twenty-one. Lewis A Estes and
his wife were the princi pals of the two
lived halt mile towards
town. The Superintendent and wife
were an old couple not accustomed To
such scenes. We're as badly frightened
as us boys. Three Or four of the Oldest
students among whom remember two
from Richmond, namely. Zaccheus
Test and Matthew Charles. who too;
the lead and had the girl carried to
the girls parlor and sent two of the
best runners to town for a doctor. and
as they passed, to call for L. A Estes.
1t was half an hour before he arriv-
ed. and an hour before the doctor came
followed by a crowd from town. as the
word got out that one of the girls had
been murdered. The doctor found
the girl living. but apparently dying.
They could not find any marks on her
A searching party was organized, but
no traces of the supposed assailant
could be found. and it vas thought