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No. 1 Stable
– For years soldiers on night duty have reported seeing a man in
old-fashioned clothing ride through the stable and then disappear.
Years later, when work was being done to the stable, the skeletons of
horse and rider were found in an old ravine.
Post
Cemetery -- In the summer of 1855, a woman named Cornelia
Armistead died of the cholera epidemic that was raging through the
fort. Cornelia was the second wife of Major Lewis A. Armistead of the
Sixth United States Infantry Regiment. As the cholera epidemic had
already begun by July, 1855, Armistead feared an outbreak among his
troops and left
Fort Riley,
heading southwest. However, after traveling only nine miles, the
disease took hold among his men and the unit was forced stop. In the
meantime, the epidemic was raging through
Fort Riley,
leaving in its wake as many as 125 men, women and children dead. On
the very day that Major Armistead returned to the fort, his wife had
died. A few years later, when the Civil War broke out, Armistead was
killed in 1863. Since his death, Armistead has often been seen
kneeling at his wife's grave. Upset and weeping, his ghostly presence
is wearing a dark blue uniform and clearly wishes to be left alone, if
approached.
Quarters 124
– This house is reportedly haunted by a woman who drowned herself in a
well on the fort grounds in the 1860’s. Over the years,
residents have reported hearing loud noises during the night such as
someone dragging a wooden box up and down the stairs. At one
point it was so bad that a priest was called in to do an exorcism. At first, the ceremony was successful, but apparently the ghost
returned several years later. However, nothing has been heard
from the ghost recently.
Trolley Station -- In July
of 1855 cholera was diagnosed at the fort and by the end of August,
most of the Fort was dead. A woman named Susan Fox lived with
her step-father in a small frame building across the creek from the
trolley station. Engaged to be married soon, she was home alone
for several days when her father was away and her fiancée in the
nearby town of Pawnee City caring for the sick.
Contracting the horrible disease, she died
alone in her home on August 30. Her finance discovered her body
after he returned to the fort and she was buried in her wedding dress
in a small grave near the railway bridge to the trolley station.
After her death, the residents of the house described many strange
occurrences. Her fiancée was quoted as saying at the time "It was a
difficult passage for her, and Susan came back to her old home several
times demanding to be let in."
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