The things you see on back roads
- Thread starter CJD3
- Start date
On my way home Friday I seen a dirty Bald Eagle eating a roadkill Raccoon on a backroad. His white feathers were yellow looking from the dirt I suppose
It was likely an immature eagle. They don't get the trademark white head and white tail feathers until they are several years old... I wanna say like 5 years. Young eagles can be brown, yellowish, blotchy, and a combination of all three.
Although not a "back road" , I had needed to get out for a bit and started driving. I ended up in Moundsville, W VA at the site of one of the most haunted prisons in the country. It was to late to take the tour but I did circle the outside. It operated from 1876 to 1995. Currently, the site is maintained as a tourist attraction and training facility.
"From 1899 to 1959, ninety-four men were executed. Hanging was the method of execution until 1949 with eighty-five men meeting that fate. The public could attend hangings until June 19, 1931. On that date, Frank Hyer was executed for murdering his wife. However, when the trap door beneath him was opened and his full weight was put onto the noose, he was instantly decapitated. Following this event, attendance at hangings was by invitation only. The last man to face execution by hanging, Bud Peterson from Logan County, lies in the prison's cemetery, as his family refused to claim his body. Beginning in 1951, electrocution became the means of execution. Ironically, the electric chair, nicknamed "Old Sparky", used by the prison was originally built by an inmate there, Paul Glenn. Nine men died in the chair until the state outlawed execution entirely in 1965. The original chair is on display in the facility and is a part of the official tour."
http://www.wvpentours.com/index.htm
Some say part of the haunting is because the 10 acre facility is (in part) built on an Indian burial ground which is located right across the street.
"From 1899 to 1959, ninety-four men were executed. Hanging was the method of execution until 1949 with eighty-five men meeting that fate. The public could attend hangings until June 19, 1931. On that date, Frank Hyer was executed for murdering his wife. However, when the trap door beneath him was opened and his full weight was put onto the noose, he was instantly decapitated. Following this event, attendance at hangings was by invitation only. The last man to face execution by hanging, Bud Peterson from Logan County, lies in the prison's cemetery, as his family refused to claim his body. Beginning in 1951, electrocution became the means of execution. Ironically, the electric chair, nicknamed "Old Sparky", used by the prison was originally built by an inmate there, Paul Glenn. Nine men died in the chair until the state outlawed execution entirely in 1965. The original chair is on display in the facility and is a part of the official tour."
http://www.wvpentours.com/index.htm
Some say part of the haunting is because the 10 acre facility is (in part) built on an Indian burial ground which is located right across the street.
That is pretty awesome right there. Thanks for posting that up and learning us a bit too. Always love seeing the old prisons.
Those prisons were really built back then. I'd hate to walk out of my house all the time & have to look at those walls.
Huckleberry Finn
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Jim, my wife works for an attorney in Warwood (just north of Moundsville and wheeling). A year ago she had depositions in the old Pen. Crazy huh? She took all kinds of photos inside. One really cool one had the gallow and trap door used for hangings.
The elk was "life size" but they were closed by the time I got there too.
I don't know if it was a bow target or plastic or cement. It was good for scale though.
Cotty; wow! I'm not into the goulish type stuff however the history of the place is fascinating and I do intend to go back and take the tour. (and see the mound across the street) Dose she think it would be worth a $12.00 tour?
It's a impressive sand stone structure.
I don't know if it was a bow target or plastic or cement. It was good for scale though.
Cotty; wow! I'm not into the goulish type stuff however the history of the place is fascinating and I do intend to go back and take the tour. (and see the mound across the street) Dose she think it would be worth a $12.00 tour?
It's a impressive sand stone structure.
There's no doubt it's worth the tour. Another cool pic she took was of a jail cell and someone had written the words to Guns N' Roses "Graden of Eden" on the wall. That must've been done right before the shut down since the jail shut down in 95 and that album was released in 91. I'll see if she still has the photos and I'll post them up. She saw some really cool stuff.
They do Halloween stuff there now. I've never gone but I heard its badass.
Here's the photo she took of the lyrics
View attachment 23068
They do Halloween stuff there now. I've never gone but I heard its badass.
Here's the photo she took of the lyrics
View attachment 23068
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