Dan has a morbid sightseeing suggestion for those of us passing through Wyoming (which I haven’t done since 1982, but you never know):
“If you’re ever winding your way west on I-80, be sure to stop in Rawlins, WY for the tour of the Wyoming Frontier Prison. It was a very harsh place to be jailed: no heat, no hot water, a whipping pillory, isolation cages (4×4x4 in size), a dirt-walled underground cell for the incorrigible, a two-floor execution building with a hanging area and a gas chamber, and of course, a mandatory chapel. Really creepy Victorian architecture too! It was also the location for the 1987 grade-C horror movie Prison (Viggo Mortenson’s first movie), which you can buy on VHS in the gift shop.
“All in all, a morbid delight!”
Frankie’s Web Kingdom Road Trip
The Wyoming Frontier Prison (Official Site)
More Morbid Sightseeing suggestions can be found at The Morbid Sightseer.
Sightseer
I received an e-mail from John C. Von Hohenstein who was delighted to see his great-great grandparents’ grave displayed on my Bonaventure Cemetery blog:
“I am very pleased that you posted the picture of my ancester’s tomb; Charles and Mary Hohenstein. They are my Great Great Grandparents. Charles and his Brother came from Germany at the end of the Civil War. They were shipping merchants who came to capitalize on the rebuilding of Savannah, Atlanta, and New Orleans. The Hohenstein Shipping Yard is still in operation at the Port of Savannah.”
If you’re interested in cemeteries, Savannah, or Savannah cemeteries, please have a look at my Bonaventure Cemetery travelogue. Other travelogues and suggested morbid sites are available at The Morbid Sightseer.
Sightseer
Jamie sent me a link to a great travel blog called Nothing To See Here that has an article about a park in London that contains a memorial to people who died trying to save other people’s lives. Even better, the plaques describe the deaths in that wonderfully poetic 19th century style that I find so irresistible! For example: “Frederick Alfred Croft, Inspector, Aged 31, saved a lunatic woman from suicide at Woolwich Arsenal Station but was himself run over by the train, Jan. 11, 1878.” Oh, such a glorious place to visit!!! A photograph of this plaque and other equally delightful examples can be found on the blog. Enjoy!
Postman’s Park, London
This site has been added to the England page of The Morbid Sightseer too. I also fixed a few broken links on the page.
Sightseer
I’ve been to most states in our hallowed union, but the one glaring exception that torments me is the great state of Massachusetts. One of these days, I simply MUST take a trip to bask in that witchy ax-murderer vibe… and when I do, I’ll be sure to use Boston.Com’s “This Could Only Happen In Massachusetts” as my guide. (Thanks to Steve O’ for sending me the link.)
Sightseer
I updated the Davis Memorial page of The Morbid Sightseer to include some fascinating (and much better) insider information sent by Vicki (at the bottom of the page). If you’re ever in Hiawatha, Kansas (as if!), you should check it out.
The Davis Memorial
Sightseer
