The Ghost of Port Gamble Washington

In July 1853, Captain William C. Talbot (1816-1881) establishes a steam sawmill as the

Puget Mill Co. at Port Gamble. Ten men, mostly from Talbot's hometown of East Machias,

Maine, construct a bunkhouse, a cookhouse, and a store before starting work on the mill.

The site is on a sand spit the local Native Americans call Teekalet, meaning "brightness of

the noonday sun." The settlers call the mill Teekalet until they change the name to Port

Gamble in 1868. The mill will operate continuously for 142 years, from 1853 to 1995.

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W elcom e to PIH A ’s H istoric H aunting of W ashington State M agazineW elcom e to PIH A ’s H istoric H aunting of W ashington State M agazineW elcom e to PIH A ’s H istoric H aunting of W ashington State M agazineW elcom e to PIH A ’s H istoric H aunting of W ashington State M agazine

On behalf of the volunteer paranormal investigators of PIHA, I invite you to experience

Washington State’s amazing historical sites and museums like never before. PIHA has created a

program unlike any other in Washington State. Through our process of networking with local

historical societies, museums and registered historical sites, PIHA hopes to help educate the public

of our state’s exciting history and the process and technology utilized in today’s paranormal

investigations.

PIHA was created with two goals in mind:

1. PIHA hopes to bring our history to life by attempting to obtain significant evidence of

these strange occurrences. Utilizing the latest in today’s electronic technology and

dedicated paranormal investigators, we are accomplishing this objective.

2. PIHA wants to stimulate additional interest in our residents and visitors to Washington

State’s fascinating history. We want to encourage individuals, families, schools and

community organizations to visit these (and other) historical locations for a better

understanding of our state’s history and the people who made it.

PIHA is not out to prove or disprove the existence of possible paranormal activity, but to publish

any significant evidence collected at an investigation and let each individual decided for himself

what to believe or not to believe.

Wherever your travels in Washington take you, best wishes for a “Trip to the Extraordinary”.

For additional information about PIHA, visit our website at www.pihausa.com

3

In this Issue:In this Issue:In this Issue:In this Issue:

Welcome to PIHA’s Historic Haunting of Washington State Magazine…..2

Washington State History………………………………………...….……….5

The Olympic Peninsula History………………………………………..…….7

Port Gamble, WA History.…….……….........…………………..………..….9

The History of Port Gamble Historic Sites Investigated………………...…10

Paranormal Investigation Report…………………………………....……....12

Contact PIH A :Contact PIH A :Contact PIH A :Contact PIH A :

PIHA (Paranormal Investigations of Historic America) Vaughn Hubbard: Case Manager/Historian

Phone: 360.799.4138

Email: [email protected]

Website: WWW.PIHAUSA.COM

Debbie Knapp: Lead Investigator/Historian

Kathy Gavin: Lead Investigator

Dave: EVP Specialist

Christian Wells: Investigator

PIH A M agazine Publisher:PIH A M agazine Publisher:PIH A M agazine Publisher:PIH A M agazine Publisher:

Publisher………………...…..….Historic Haunting

Chief Publisher…………..……..Vaughn Hubbard

Program Manager:………….…..Debbie Knapp

Marketing Manager:………….....Kathy Gavin

Graphic Designer:…………...…..Christian Wells

A cknow ledgem ents:A cknow ledgem ents:A cknow ledgem ents:A cknow ledgem ents:

We wish to acknowledge the HistoryLink for allowing PIHA to use their published historical

research information as reference material. To read about the history of Washington State

visit the HistoryLink website at: WWW.HISTORYLINK.ORG

Special thanks to Dave from Silent Voices who works with the Grey Team as our EVP

Specialist. To read more about the groundbreaking work that Dave is involved with and his

instructions on EVP's techniques, visit his web site at www.SilentVoices.info

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5

Washington State History

The State of Washington occupies the far northwest corner of the contiguous 48 United States. It occupies

66,582 square miles (176,600 square kilometers) between the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Idaho

border at 117 degrees longitude. Washington borders Canada on the north along

the 49th parallel and Oregon on the south along the Columbia River and 46th

parallel. Great Britain and the United States jointly occupied the region between

1818 and 1846, when Britain ceded the Pacific Northwest below the 49th parallel to

the U.S. In 1848 the U.S. created Oregon Territory, including the future states of

Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and a portion of Montana. Washington Territory

(including Idaho and western Montana until 1863) was separated from Oregon on March 2, 1853, and

gained statehood on November 11, 1889.

The federal government created Oregon Territory on August 14, 1848. The area of the new jurisdiction

included the present-day states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and western Montana. The discovery of gold

in California in 1848 triggered a large westward migration, and settlement of Oregon Territory was

promoted by passage of the Donation Land Claims Act of 1850, which granted 160 acres to any U.S. citizen

who agreed to occupy his or her land for five years.

On August 29, 1851, 27 male settlers met at Cowlitz Landing (south of present-day Olympia) to petition

Congress for a separate “Columbia Territory” covering the area between the Columbia River and 49th

parallel. The petition was reaffirmed by 44 delegates who met in Monticello on November 25, 1852.

Congress approved the new territory on February 10, 1853, but changed its name to “Washington.”

President Millard Fillmore signed the bill on March 2, 1853, and Olympia was named the Territorial

Capital and has remained the capital of both Washington Territory and State since 1853. President

Franklyn Pierce named Isaac I. Stevens as the first governor of an area that included northern Idaho and

western Montana until President Abraham Lincoln established Idaho Territory on March 4, 1863.

Washington’s non-Indian population grew steadily to more than 300,000 over the following

decades. Its residents began petitioning for statehood in 1881, and Washington was admitted

to the Union on November 11, 1889, with the signature of President Benjamin Harrison.

Thirty federally recognized sovereign Indian tribes and reservations occupy substantial

areas in Washington, and there are an additional seven unrecognized but culturally distinct

tribes. Native American Indian tribes have occupied this area; now know as Washington State

for over 10,000 years and have a rich history in culture and survival. By the 1850s, when the first Euro

American settlers arrived at Alki Point and along the Duwamish

River, diseases had already taken a devastating toll on native

peoples and their cultures. During the 80 year period from the

1770s to 1850, smallpox, measles, influenza, and other diseases had killed an

estimated 28,000 Native Americans in Western Washington, leaving about

9,000 survivors. Historian Robert Boyd conducted extensive research on the

effect of European diseases on Northwest coast Indians. In his book, The

Coming of the Spirit of Pestilence, he states that the 1775 Spanish expedition

led by Bruno Hezeta, commander of the Santiago and Juan Fracisco de la Bodega &

Quadra, commander of the Sonora was the most likely carrier.

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7

The History of the Olympic Peninsula

Captain George Vancouver’s expedition left England in 1791 in the ships

Discovery and Chatham to explore the Northwest Coast of North America.

Vancouver sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, explored the South Pacific,

and wintered in the Hawaiian Islands, before reaching the Northwest Coast in

April 1792.

Captain Robert Gray, born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, in 1755, was on his

second fur trading voyage to the Northwest. Two days before encountering

Gray, Vancouver sailed past the mouth of the Columbia. Like Gray, he noted

signs indicating a river f lowing into the ocean.

However, Vancouver relied on the reports of an English captain named John

Meares, who investigated the purported river mouth in 1788 and concluded

decisively (though wrongly) that no such river existed.

By April 1792, Vancouver’s expedition had entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca and

commenced his exploration of Puget Sound and making maps of the regions he

explored. Vancouver named the features he encountered for his friends, patrons, crewmembers,

and even his ships. He named every island, mountain, waterway, and point of land in sight -- 75 in

all.

After leaving the river, Gray continued trading north up the coast. In late June, his ship, Columbia,

was damaged in a storm, and he spent a month at Nootka on Vancouver Island,

repairing it. Vancouver also visited Nootka, saw Gray's chart, and recognized

his error. In October 1792, Vancouver sent William Broughton in the Chatham,

with a copy of Gray's chart, to explore the Columbia River. Broughton sailed

farther up the river than Gray had, charting and naming many features along the

way. Broughton named a point Vancouver located on the north shore of the

lower Columbia in honor of his commander.

The Olympic Peninsula is one of the most beautiful and diverse regions in the country. With its

tall timber, abundant wildlife and vast water resources it’s no wonder that the early settlers chose

this location to start a new life. The communities of the Olympic Peninsula are as diverse as its

weather. Some depend on the lumber industry and others on the fishing industry while still other

communities have become national Historic Sites depending on tourism. The Olympic Rainforest

can get 12 feet of rain a year where as Sequim, only 100 miles away receives less than 15” of

rainfall annually. But they all have one thing in common; most of these communities have a

history of paranormal activity and lots of ghost stories to tell.

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9

The History of Port Gamble Washington

Port Gamble looks like a little town that time and geography forgot, a bit of unspoiled 19th-

century New England dropped onto the shore of Puget Sound.

The body of water was named by the Wilkes Expedition in 1841 after U.S. Navy Lt. Robert

Gamble. The community, originally known as Teekalet, was founded as a company town by

Josiah Keller, William Talbot, and Andrew Pope.

In July 1853, Captain William C. Talbot (1816-1881) establishes a steam sawmill as the Puget

Mill Co. at Port Gamble.

Ten men, mostly from Talbot's hometown of East Machias, Maine, construct a bunkhouse, a

cookhouse, and a store before starting work on the mill. The site is on a sand spit the local Native

Americans call Teekalet, meaning "brightness of the noonday sun." The settlers call the mill

Teekalet until they change the name to Port Gamble in 1868.

The mill will operate continuously for 142 years, from 1853 to 1995. Talbot's first shipment of

lumber from Puget Sound did not come from the Teelaket Mill however. Captain Talbot

purchased pilings from Henry Yesler at Seattle in September 1853. On his way

back to San Francisco, near Port Townsend, Talbot encountered the L.P. Foster

with his partner Josiah Keller aboard. The L.P. Foster was a clipper schooner,

and it had carried the mill machinery and merchandise for the store around Cape

Horn from Maine. Talbot told Keller of the site selected for their mill. Keller

landed with his wife and a daughter and he took charge of the operation.

In September 1853, within a week of landing the engine, boilers, and a Muley saw, Keller had

steam up and he and the Takeelet crew cut its first log. On September 24, 1853,

even before the mill was ready, Keller inserted an item in the weekly Columbian

(Olympia) with a list of the goods in the store and an offer to cut lumber.

Keller died at Victoria, B.C., in 1861, which dissolved the partnership. Pope and

Talbot settled with Keller's heirs and bought out Foster's interest. Pope and Talbot

then formed a partnership that included the Puget Mill Co.

In 1966, the town of Port Gamble was designated a National Historic Landmark District. In 1985,

Pope & Talbot, the successor company to Puget Mill, split into Pope & Talbot and Pope

Resources, the latter of which took over the site and the sawmill. In 1995, the mill shut down after

142 years, making it the longest operating sawmill in the country.

10

The History of Port Gamble Historic Sites Investigated

The Port Gamble Theater: Port Gamble’s first community hall was built in 1869 as a dance hall and church. In 1907, the

present structure was designed by the Seattle architectural firm of Bebb and Mendel.

The first floor had space for a doctor’s office, a dentist’s office, a barber shop, telegraph office,

and post office. The auditorium on the second floor served as a meeting room, athletic venue,

theater, movie house, and dance hall.

The Port Gamble Museum: The Port Gamble Museum is on the lower level, below the General Store.

The current structure was erected in 1916 on the bluff above the mill. The store was always the

centerpiece of the mill town where employees and their families purchased food, dry goods,

preserved meats, supplies, and convenience items. A bulletin board displayed news clippings.

From offices upstairs, the superintendent and his managers ran Puget Mill Co. Employees received

their pay here, in cash, daily if they chose. Payment was made in fifty cent pieces. Prices at the

store were generally higher than in Seattle, but storekeepers were willing to order just about

anything that customers wanted. Today, the store still operates on a daily basis.

The Historic Walker/Ames House:

Cyrus Walker, mill superintendent from 1854 until 1888, built his home in the center of town with

the front rooms facing the bay. This gave visitors arriving from the bay the best possible view of

his Queen Anne style Victorian home, impressing one and all with his style and status. The home

may have been built from local lumber but the stained glass and other furnishings were shipped

from such glamorous locations as Boston and St Louis. When Walker retired from the mill, the

home and superintendent's position were turned over to his son-in-law Edwin Ames. This

transition gave the house its hyphenated name.

The Historic New York House: The New York House (Doctors House #7) was built by the company in 1863 in order to attract

and retain the resident physicians who lived there over long period of time. It likely served both as

hospital and home to the town’s resident physician until sometime prior to 1929, when the hospital

was situated closer to the mill.

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12

The PIHA Grey Team’s Paranormal Investigation

On the weekend of January 29th

and 30th

, 2010 the PIHA Grey Team accomplished a paranormal

investigation of the historic Port Gamble and came away with some interesting results indicating

that possible paranormal activity does exist in this historic community. These are the results of

those investigations.

The Grey Team began their investigation on Friday night January 29th

at the Port Gamble Theater

at 9:00 PM. Next, the team began their investigation of the Port Gamble Museum at 1:00 AM. On

Saturday night, January 30th

, the Grey Team started their investigation at the historic

Walker/Ames House at 9:00 PM and later that night the team moved to the historic New York

house, better known as the “Doctor’s House” or house #7.

As is the usual practice, the team first completes a scan of the area to be investigated. They use

their EMF (Electromagnetic Field) detectors to locate any abnormal electronic energy that may

exist. A team member also scans for any significant changes in the ambient (room) temperature.

Next, the Grey Team sets up their IR (Infrared) camcorders to video tape any shadows or strange

movement that may take place during their EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) session.

Finally they position the parabolic dish that they use to record any noises or voices that may or

may not be heard by ear. The parabolic dish also has a headset attached allowing an investigator to

hear any voices or noises that cannot be heard naturally by the other investigators during the EVP

session. This has proven to be a valuable tool to validate anything recorded during the EVP

session that would otherwise go unnoticed.

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The Port Gamble Theater:

9:30 PM - Kathy is talking but no one hears banging noise picked up on parabolic dish

9:45 PM - Debbie hears a whistle type noise during RVP session with the Parabolic Dish

10:30 PM - During an EVP session in the Theater, Kathy ask if someone want to communicate

and get the response "Yes"

11:30 PM - First Debbie feels the chair she is sitting in kicked, then it moves on its own

The Port Gamble Museum:

2:00 AM- Investigators keep hearing a knocking sound that starts, then stops, then starts again.

We were unable to determine the source of the sound.

2:05 AM - Kathy is touched on her back

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The Historic Walker/Ames House:

9:20 PM - Debbie, Kathy & Dave smell pipe tobacco smoke. Debbie identifies it as "Whisky

Cherry", the same type that her Dad used to smoke.

9:30 PM - In the kitchen Dave was talking to the friendly spirits and had continuous contact and

readings of three to four then was interrupted and spirits went away.

9:45 PM - Kathy & Dave picked up EMF readings from the K-2 Meter in the kitchen

10:30 PM – Debbie was loading her recorder with batteries and felt something tap her right lower

arm as if they were poking her.

11:00 PM - Debbie, Kathy and Dave were in the basement of the Walker Ames house doing a

walkthrough and EVP session. Right after Dave said "there must have been 20 pause 25 of

them" Debbie hears "two of em' from a male voice very clearly.

11:15 PM - Debbie was in the attic and felt as if someone was behind her, as she turned around

and felt a cold breeze shoot accross her face.

12:00 AM - There are some marks on the wall that were caused by some pictures. Pictures were

mysteriously removed from the wall and neatly stacked on the floor. When Vaughn tried to video

tape the wall with the IR Camcorder, it would not focus. Everywhere else in the room focused fine

except the wall.

12:00 AM - Set it up in the kitchen headed down the hall way for about a half hour while we took

a break in the van. When Kathy returned, something had turned the video camera off.

1:00 AM - Dave took Debbie and I down to the basement, he explained that there may be a teen

boy who is mentally challenged and liked to play games and scare the women who come to visit.

As Dave was explaining what had happened last time he was there we three were facing the same

direction and all of a sudden a strong Hand come up and slapped me on my back, Kathy stated "I

could feel the full imprint of the hand and fingers it was enough force that I did move forward a

little at the same time I screamed".

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The Historic New York House (Doctor’s House #7):

10:00 PM - Debbie hears a voice whisper something while using the parabolic dish.

11:00 PM - Debbie gets very cold sensation during an EVP session in the upstairs landing

11:18 PM - During an EVP session, Dave hears the name "Walker" but it is too faint to be

recorded.

11:20 - During the EVP session Dave asked the question "is the person here who says open it" and

Debbie hears the answer "No". It was too faint to record.

1:00 AM - After we finished our investigations and turned off all equipment Kathy and Debbie

were going to go into the downstairs bathroom. It was dark so Debbie was feeling for the light

switch on the left and couldn’t find it so she moved the door back on the right and placed her hand

on the wall to try to find the light switch. Right then, something grabbed her left hand. She jerked

her hand back as it was uncomfortable as her wedding ring was turned into her middle finger and

the squeeze hurt her finger. Debbie then said, “it’s ok to touch me, but if you do it again please be

gentle”. Right then, something swept over her hand, not in a harmful way but in a comforting way.

1:30 AM - Kathy did an EVP section in the kitchen area, hear a slight bang, do not know what it

was from, maybe something out side? Kathy then stated "I did feel like someone touched me real

lightly".

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O n behalf of the volunteer paranorm al investigators of P IH A , w e invite you to experience O n behalf of the volunteer paranorm al investigators of P IH A , w e invite you to experience O n behalf of the volunteer paranorm al investigators of P IH A , w e invite you to experience O n behalf of the volunteer paranorm al investigators of P IH A , w e invite you to experience

W ashington SW ashington SW ashington SW ashington S tate’s am azing h istorical sites and m useum s like never before. P IH A has created a tate’s am azing h istorical sites and m useum s like never before. P IH A has created a tate’s am azing h istorical sites and m useum s like never before. P IH A has created a tate’s am azing h istorical sites and m useum s like never before. P IH A has created a

program unlike any other in W ashington State. Through our process of netw orking w ith local program unlike any other in W ashington State. Through our process of netw orking w ith local program unlike any other in W ashington State. Through our process of netw orking w ith local program unlike any other in W ashington State. Through our process of netw orking w ith local

h istorical societies, m useum s and com m unity leaders, P IH A hopes to help educate thehistorical societies, m useum s and com m unity leaders, P IH A hopes to help educate thehistorical societies, m useum s and com m unity leaders, P IH A hopes to help educate thehistorical societies, m useum s and com m unity leaders, P IH A hopes to help educate the public of our public of our public of our public of our

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h istory and a curiosity in the paranorm al phenom ena . O ur approahistory and a curiosity in the paranorm al phenom ena . O ur approahistory and a curiosity in the paranorm al phenom ena . O ur approahistory and a curiosity in the paranorm al phenom ena . O ur approach , equipm ent and procedures to ch , equipm ent and procedures to ch , equipm ent and procedures to ch , equipm ent and procedures to

paranorm al investigating are prim arily based on research and logic in obtaining ev idence of paranorm al investigating are prim arily based on research and logic in obtaining ev idence of paranorm al investigating are prim arily based on research and logic in obtaining ev idence of paranorm al investigating are prim arily based on research and logic in obtaining ev idence of

possible paranorm al activ ity.possible paranorm al activ ity.possible paranorm al activ ity.possible paranorm al activ ity.

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that som ething paranorm al exist, physics and logic can debunk. That said , occasionally P IH A that som ething paranorm al exist, physics and logic can debunk. That said , occasionally P IH A that som ething paranorm al exist, physics and logic can debunk. That said , occasionally P IH A that som ething paranorm al exist, physics and logic can debunk. That said , occasionally P IH A

obtains ev idence that neither physics nor logic applies. W hen this occurs, w e classify it as obtains ev idence that neither physics nor logic applies. W hen this occurs, w e classify it as obtains ev idence that neither physics nor logic applies. W hen this occurs, w e classify it as obtains ev idence that neither physics nor logic applies. W hen this occurs, w e classify it as

paranorm al ev idence and let eachparanorm al ev idence and let eachparanorm al ev idence and let eachparanorm al ev idence and let each indiv idual decide for h im self w hat to believe or not believe. indiv idual decide for h im self w hat to believe or not believe. indiv idual decide for h im self w hat to believe or not believe. indiv idual decide for h im self w hat to believe or not believe.