The Abandoned Association and the St. Ambrose Church in Wisconsin

St. Ambrose Church is located in the small town of St. Nazianz, Wisconsin. This Roman Catholic Church was founded in 1898 by Father Ambrose Oschwald, an immigrant from Germany. Father Oschwald left his church in the village of Black Town, Germany, amid claims of mystical and prophetic works to avoid religious persecution from the town’s citizens.

But not every townsperson was critical of Father Oschwald. While in Germany, he amassed a following of believers who fled with him to the U.S. Father Oschwald and his cult-like following are said to have used a “divine white heifer’ to guide them through the forest. The heifer took them to what is now known as the village of St. Nazianz. The land was held communally, with all members agreeing to divide tasks equally and work without pay. After settling, Father Oschwald and his followers formed “The Association of Oschwald Brothers and Sisters” simply referred to as “The Association.”

The Death of Father Oschwald

Father Oschwald fell ill in early 1873. There were reports of strange happenings as he succumbed to his illness, like pounding on the walls of his and other residents’ houses. The mysterious pounding stopped after his death on the morning of the next day, February 27th. Father Oschwald’s coffin remained unsealed 63 days after his death before he was moved to a burial site within the Church compound.

The Decline of The Association

The Association and, by extension, the community that Father Oschwald created started falling apart shortly after his death. The decline was mainly due to legal property battles that strained the Association’s membership and finances. In 1886, The Association invited Father Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan, a German Catholic priest and the founder of the Society of the Divine Savior (Salvatorians). Later that year, the Association turned over its leadership and governorship of their remaining land to the Salvatorians. The remaining members of the Association thrived under The Salvatorians. During the 1920s and the 1930s, the Salvatorians beautified the church in brick and Gothic Revival styles. They also built a new church within the property, the new St. Ambrose Church. In addition to the new church, the Salvatorians also built a new Monastery, utility and farm buildings, a garage, a gymnasium, and a Chapel for the Salvatorian sisters. Most of this construction went into creating accommodation for newly admitted seminarians, who at the time were quite a number. In 1939, the church hosted up to 150 seminarians. Intake at the seminary started to decline in the 1960s. By the mid-1960s, only a few students were enrolling every year. This led the Salvatorians to convert the seminary to a school—the John F. Kennedy Preparatory High School. The following year, the school’s intake was at an all-time high, with the Salvatorians attempting to revive the once glorious seminary days. Unfortunately, the school was unable to maintain adequate enrollment, and it closed down in 1982.

The Haunting of John F. Kennedy Preparatory School

JFK Preparatory was rumored to be haunted. There were reports of unexplainable events happening in the school, attributed to the spirit of Father Oschwald, who is claimed to have cursed the church and other spirits of angry seminarians. The seminarians are said to have been mistreated by nuns while studying in the church. There were also accounts of the ghost of a seminary’s former student who is said to have committed suicide in the school’s dormitory. Currently, the former JFK Preparatory building lies in ruins, abandoned.

Passed Around and Converted

After the school closed in 1982, the church complex went through several owners every decade or so. The property as it stands now has been severely neglected and vandalized. Most of its buildings are dilapidated and uninhabitable. In 2008, United Ministries, a religious organization based in Green Bay, purchased the property and began its transformation to a Christian youth center campus. The Ministry has refurbished some of the church’s properties and buildings, including the former football field and several dormitories. The organization has remodeled the former gymnasium into a thrift store and built a campground near Lake Oschwald. The thrift store is one of the St. Ambrose church properties open to visitors. Even with these renovations, the main St. Ambrose Church building remains run-down and deserted, with only a temporary roof left to shelter curious visitors during the summer.

Conclusion

Despite its mysterious and slightly creepy history, the St. Ambrose Church in Wisconsin is a marvel to both visitors of St. Nazianz and long-term dwellers. The building is now a former shadow of itself with dimly lit windows and shabby structures but is still magnificent and full of history.

5 Abandoned Hotels in the American South

writer

The American South has centuries of history, recording countless important events from the American Revolution to the Civil Rights Movement. Today you can catch a glimpse of this history firsthand in the abandoned hotels that remain. You might run into a ghost, an apparition of the South’s past—or a squatter. Depends on the time, day, and hotel. Here are five abandoned hotels in the American South that are sure to spark anyone’s curiosity.

1. The Ben Moore Hotel, Montgomery, Alabama

The Ben Moore Hotel became a significant part of history when, in 1951, it was the first hotel to welcome African American guests in Montgomery. It was a significant meeting spot for Civil Rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy. It also hosted numerous musical icons, such as B.B. King, Clarence Carter, and Tina Turner. The 28-room hotel was built in 1951 but fell into disrepair after several alleged scandals. By the 70s, it closed its doors and now has an uncertain fate. Once a vibrant social scene free from racial hostilities, the hotel now has pigeons flying through its broken windows, leaving droppings on the dusty ticket booth counter. The barbershop on the premise, however, is still available for tours by appointment.

2. The Baker Hotel, Mineral Wells, Texas

Opened in 1929, the now-abandoned Baker Hotel attracted legendary guests like Lyndon B. Johnson, the Three Stooges, and Bonnie and Clyde. As the first skyscraper outside of a major metropolitan area, the hotel featured 450 guest rooms, meeting rooms for 2,500 guests, automatic light controls, and air conditioning. It also had the first Olympic-sized hotel swimming pool, which was the first-ever built in Texas. Despite surviving the Great Depression, the hotel closed down in 1972 after financial troubles. The Baker Hotel stood abandoned until 2019. Developers expect to reopen the restored hotel in 2022.

3. Orlando Sun Resort, Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Florida

First opened as the Hyatt Orlando Resort in 1972, this abandoned hotel is only five minutes from Magic Kingdom. It attracted many visitors, especially as other parks started to open following Disney’s move to Florida—Epcot in 1982, Hollywood Studios in 1989, and Universal Studios in 1990. Unfortunately, after September 11, Flordia’s tourism significantly dropped due to people’s reluctance to fly. By September 12, 2003, the Hyatt Orlando Resort closed abruptly, telling guests in the morning to leave by noon regardless of their travel plans. The space sat vacant for years before reopening as the Orlando Sun Resort in 2007. However, after horrible reviews, it closed again in 2012.

4. Hotel Viggo, Hebbronville, Texas

Located in the historic Jim Hogg County Courthouse square, the Hotel Viggo was built in 1915 to accommodate local travelers and businessmen. After the oil boom in 1924, developers added a south wing to the hotel to serve wealthy ranchers. The hotel also became significant to Texas history when Hebbronville residents used it as a fortress to protect them against Pancho Villa’s army of bandits. After the Hotel Viggo closed its doors, the County repurposed it as a senior center and space for EMS services. However, even those activities were abandoned, leaving a crumbling structure left to the climate’s destruction. Despite its decay, the state recorded it as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1983, and it still stands today for visitors.

5. The Savoy Hotel, Nowata, Oklahoma

The oldest hotel on this list, The Savoy Hotel was built in 1909 with 62 rooms. It was an elegant hotel and health spa that featured “Radium Water Baths” (I know, I cringed, too) after Nowata workers discovered a water spring while digging for oil during the 1900s oil boom. The owner, J.R. Cruff, advertised the mineral baths as having health benefits for malaria, skin diseases, nervous trouble, and rheumatism. In actuality, radium is a radioactive and extremely harmful element. After the hotel closed its doors, the city repurposed it as a County Hospital in the 1940s. The hotel underwent renovations in the 1990s to be used for weddings, dinners, and events. The feature film “Possums” was also filmed there in 1998. Today it remains abandoned with a leaking roof and decaying interior—and a ghost. In 2013, a man who tried to restore the hotel fell off the roof and tragically died.

What These Landmarks Represent

These abandoned hotels are a glimpse into the rich culture of the American South’s history. They stood as landmarks surrounded by significant historical events or were left abandoned for similar reasons. While the ones on this list still stand, others, such as the Wonderland Hotel in Tennessee, burned down in 2016. Now that you know their story add them to your road trip wish list before they disappear completely.

Concrete Arrows and the U.S. Airmail Beacon System

Sometimes Interesting

Scattered across the United States are a network of mysterious concrete arrows. They are often found in remote locations or areas difficult to access. Some will be accompanied by a small shack, a few have a metal tower affixed to their base. Many are in good condition while others have succumbed to nature. The shape and direction of the arrows vary, but it is clear they served the same purpose. The purpose was important: helping early pilots navigate U.S. transcontinental flights at night. In a era before radar, pilots used ground-based landmarks for guidance. This solution worked for flight during the day, but grounded pilots at night. Before long, a system of beacons was established across the United States to guide airmail pilots around-the-clock. When radar and radio communications made the beacons obsolete years later, most were torn down or abandoned.

Continue

Abandoned Kaua’i Jewel: The Coco Palms

Sometimes Interesting

On the east coast of Hawaii’s oldest island, an abandoned hotel is slowly being reclaimed by nature. It was a landmark for 40 years, a success story immortalized in classic American movie culture. The Coco Palms Resort was the result of hard work by the Guslanders, a couple who offered an enjoyable Hawaiian experience on beautiful grounds featuring a coconut grove and lagoon. The resort enjoyed worldwide fame when it was featured in several mid-century films, most notably the Elvis Presley classic Blue Hawaii. It thrived for decades as a popular hotspot among royalty and stars, but when Hurricane Iniki struck Kauaʻi in 1992 the hotel was critically damaged. Twenty-plus years later, most businesses and residents in Kauaʻi have moved on. But at the Coco Palms, it’s still 1992: A perfect storm of obstacles has kept the dilapidated structure in a seemingly-inescapable purgatory.

Continue

Abandoned Anthrax: Vozrozhdeniye Island

Sometimes Interesting

The Aral Sea was known as “the Sea of Islands,” and once upon a time this camp – now in the middle of the desert – sat on the largest. The secrets buried on Vozrozhdeniye Island lurk in the shadows of the greater Aral desiccation storyline. It was once the epicenter of biological warfare testing and housed the largest facility in the world. Its labs experimented with some of the deadliest pathogens known to man. The island operation was shut down in the early 1990s, and authorities believed the remote location of “Anthrax Island” offered the buried biological weapons insulation from the rest of the world. But when the Aral’s water level dropped a land bridge was revealed, which offered anyone access to the site and its arsenal of pathological weapons.

Continue

The Baikonur Cosmodrome: World’s Oldest Space Launch Facility

Sometimes Interesting

About 1,300 miles (2,100 km) southeast of Moscow in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, the world’s oldest and largest operational space launch facility is still conducting launches. The Baikonur Cosmodrome was originally constructed by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s as the base of operations for its space program. The Cosmodrome has been an important part of space exploration history, having been the launching site of earth’s first satellite and first man in space. Today operations have been scaled down, but it remains one of only a handful of active space launching facilities in the world.

Continue

The Penthouse Adriatic Club at the Haludovo Palace Hotel

Sometimes Interesting

Penthouse Adriatic Club Haludovo Palace Hotel

This architectural treasure is a remnant of the short-lived Yugoslavian casino boom of the early 1970’s. The Penthouse Adriatic Club casino at the Haludovo Palace Hotel was an extravagant retreat financed by the American magnate of the eponymous adult magazine. Built in the Croatian town of Malinska on the Adriatic island of Krk, the hotel and its lobby were a Brutalist tour de force, designed to attract the wealthy of the west.

Bankruptcy and a law change forced out the American owner after a year. For the next two decades the hotel remained open, but civil war in the early 1990’s drove tourists away and forced the hotel to close. Over the years the hotel has changed ownership several times, but no progress has been made on redevelopment.

Continue

Craco Italy: Mediterranean Ghost Town

Sometimes Interesting

Craco, Italy is a commune and medieval village located in the Region of Basilicata and the Province of Matera, about 25 miles inland from the Gulf of Taranto at the instep of the “boot” of Italy. The medieval village is typical of the hill towns in the region with mildly undulating shapes and the lands surrounding it sown with wheat. Around 540AD the area was called “Montedoro” and inhabited by Greeks who moved inland from the coastal town of Metaponto. Tombs have been found dating from the 8th century suggesting the original settlement dates to that period. Today, earthquakes, landslides, and a lack of fertile farming land have contributed to the abandonment of Craco.

Continue

1...286287288...309 Page 287 of 309