To everyone

Hello, everyone, I apologize it has been so long since I have posted anything. I had to take a break with school getting crazy. Stay tuned because there are a lot of adventures I have to write about coming your way!

Urban exploring trip Sneak Peek!!!

Here is a sneak peek at what is coming soon! Here are the ruins of....... Stay tuned to find out the story behid this place!! 

Exploring Trip #8 Antioch, NE

Nebraska is a land of untold tales. I found another amazing abandoned place. This one’s history is more unique than any other place I’ve explored. Each time I explore a new place, it becomes another exciting adventure.

This is the story of a booming business town in Nebraska: the little town of Antioch located in Sheridan County. In less than a year later, it went from being a sleepy little town to becoming the leading potash producer in the world! Antioch was very small. During this time there was a church, schoolhouse, a store, and homes.

    

Potash is used in many things from fertilizers, fire extinguishers, textiles, medicine and other uses. Potash is also known as the water-soluble form of potassium.  It is mined and mixed with manufactured salts. Potash can be produced in a few different ways. It can be found in deposits left behind by ancient seas. Which Nebraska is known for being located underneath an ancient sea at one time. The other method was to burn wood until it became boiling.  The resulting lye left over is the potash.

    

Things started to change for the town when two chemistry students from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln found a way to extract potash from the alkaline lakes located in the sand hills which Antioch rests upon. Potash became a massive industry in North America between the late 1700s and early 1800s.

When WWI started Antioch got it’s moment to shine. Most of the U.S. potash trade came from Germany at this time. During WWI we were fighting with Germany and that meant our potash inventory ran out. As a result, Antioch became the leading producer of potash in the world. When the year 1918 rolled around, Antioch had five potash plants operating around or in the town.

There were many fights between companies who were trying to obtain the rights to lakes nearby. At the peak of the town, the potash production reached 100 tons of product per day. Due to all the factories, Antioch became a business town. This led to the addition of company stores and houses to accommodate over 2,000 new workers.

After WWI ended, things started to decline for Antioch. The U.S. resumed trade with Germany and regained their original supplier because it was cheaper to import than to manufacture it in Nebraska. It took just a few short years for the potash plants to go from employing much of the area to being out of business altogether. The ruins of Antioch were placed on the national register of historic places in 1979. What remains is the two separate sites with ruins of the potash plants of Antioch. 

When I traveled to Antioch, I found myself once again feeling alive. That is because the most beautiful things in life are not associated with money. They are the memories and moments we treasure. If you don't make those amazing experiences for yourself they will pass you by.

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Urban Exploring #7 Belmont, NE

     

As I set off across Nebraska I take road less traveled. I find myself getting lost among the endless hills and plains in Nebraska until I traveled to the furthest northwest corner of the state. There I found small mountains and canyons. There was a need for a railroad tunnel to cut through this rugged landscape. Therefore the Belmont trail tunnel was born and is the only train tunnel ever built in Nebraska.

    During the years of 1888-1890 the beautiful Belmont tunnel was constructed. This tunnel is located in Belmont, Nebraska. The Burlington Northern railroad was trying to build tracks that would connect with the Chicago and Quincy Railroad. This also gave them a junction point in Alliance, Nebraska. Belmont started off as a railroad camp. The camp was made up of over a thousand tents and special wooden structures called boarding shanties. This camp became what is now known as Belmont. The town was a big rail stop for passenger trains traveling to the Black Hills in South Dakota. Belmont’s post office opened on November  9, 1889 and it closed in 1957. During the town’s peak there were about 80 people living there during the early 1920's. There where a whopping 28 buildings which included; two stores, a telephone office, pool hall, lumberyard, ice house, grain elevator, saloon, potato cellars, and a machine shop. Currently what’s standing is the Belmont school, which someone converted into a private residence. In addition two other houses still stand abandoned. 

All around when there is not a sound, the train tunnel speaks because it has a story to tell as well. The tunnel is 750 feet long, or about 12 train car lengths. It was said to be an incredible feat of engineering at the time. Belmont's tunnel was considered the utmost importance to the point that there were guards standing there around the clock during WWI. The tunnel was widened and repaired and then renovated from 1919-1920. A symbol of that renovation is still seen on the top of the entrance to the tunnel with the year 1920 in bold on it. Only one worker died in the renovation period when there was a cave in. That said to be the only person ever hurt during the whole history in construction of the tunnel. The railroad stopped passenger services in 1969 and this is led to the decline of the city the closing of the Belmont's train depot. Freight trains continued to run until 1982. During the 1980's double tracking became standard. The railroad built its double tracking adjacent to the Belmont tunnel. "According to the Nebraska Trailblazer No. 10 from the NE State Historical Society, "Nebraska is flat, with no mountains and few hills". It was essential to build a railroad tunnel. Nebraska does have mountains I have seen them in the furthest corner of the Nebraska panhandle there are mountains big enough with canyons and caverns for train tunnel was needed. There is only one photo taken of a passenger trail on these tracks posed just before the tunnel. The Burlington Northern Railroad Alliance division, stopped just before the north entrance of the tunnel on July 1, 1966, so the passengers on board could see the view. In addition there are huge hills on the other side of Nebraska in Crofton. I went to go see Nebraska's abandoned ski resort, be sure to check out that story as well if you haven't. Belmont's tunnel was used was 93 years. Now it stands frozen in time. It’s a well kept secret that is preserved perfectly.

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Whats to come!

Hello everyone thank you to all of you who follow me and read my stories! I love sharing them with the world. There is so much more to come with my best content yet. Also some of the best photography I have ever done!!!! Please feel free to like, share, follow, subscribe to my content it would mean a lot to me. Stay tuned.......

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Urban Exploration #3 Abandoned Grotto, Omaha, NE

    When I first started exploring the locally abandoned historical sites here in Omaha, Nebraska, it amazed me at the number of places that still exist.  There is a hidden gem in the form of an abandoned grotto which resembles the home of a hobbit from “The Lord of the Rings.” It is probably one of Omaha's best-kept secrets. My research has turned up some very interesting stories about this particular grotto.

     Although the true story of the grotto is a mystery, this is one account of the history of the mysterious grotto. The grotto was allegedly built in the early 1920's by a priest that collected rocks one by one until he gathered enough cobblestone to build it. The property in the area in which it stood was owned by St. Joseph Hospital. The Original hospital stood at the corners of 10th and Castelar St. During this time in which it was owned by the Sisters of St. Francis. But it all changed in 1907 when a famous Omaha philanthropist, John A. Creighton passed away. John A. Creighton was a prominent businessman in Omaha Nebraska at the time of his death. He had expressed to his wife that he had a strong desire to start a university. When he died, his wife honored him by opening Creighton University. In addition, Creighton was one of the organizers of the Omaha stockyards as well.When Creighton passed away he left a large amount of money to the Sisters of St. Francis in his will. With this inheritance from Creighton, they were able to expand the St. Joseph Hospital from the years 1908-1911. A new addition was added on to the building, with renovations to the existing structure.

     In 1945 a man named Edward J. Koenig who was a famous landscape artist at the time arrived in Omaha. According to one source, Koenig's specialty was building religious grottos-small shrines, that are often dedicated to religious figures for people to pray in. One story that is retold about Koenig is that he built the religious grotto all by hand, without the use of blueprints or lists at all. He created his own work from plans drawn in his head.

    Throughout his career he had many advertisements boast about his intricate designs and others were intimidated as well. The plan at one time was to model it off of the famous Our lady of Lourdes Grotto, which is located in France. This is also where the Virgin Mary is said to have visited at one time. Although there are two major differences between the two grotto's, located inside the grotto in Omaha there are at least two statues located inside. One of which was Mary. The other statue was that of St. Dymphna, who is the patron saint of the mentally ill.

    During that time it became the first hospital in Omaha Nebraska to create a program dedicated to treating psychiatric disorders.

    Later on through more expansions as the hospital grew. St. Joseph in 1923 added the neuropsychiatry addition. This addition stood on the east side of the building where the grotto was located. The statue of St. Dymphna was added to link the connection between the mental health mission St. Joseph was trying to create.

    When the grotto opened to the public it was open throughout the day for both patients and visitors. They were able to enter into the grotto, light some candles and pray. You could find people day or night praying inside the grotto.

    Throughout time as the hospital continued to grow in size so did its location. In 1977, the main campus hospital which is now known as Creighton University was moved from 10th and Castelar to its current location on 30th street. The old St. Joseph hospital was demolished in 1985. Although the mental health center and the grotto remained.

  The director of pastoral care at St. Joseph who served from 1992 to 2004 stated that he remembered hospital visitors and employees using the grotto. There were many indentations in the walls for candles to be placed inside.

    Over the years the grotto relied on help from a nearby neighborhood. They would bring flowers to the grotto and they would clean up old burned out candles. As times changed so did the hospitals ties to the grotto. In 1999, St. Joseph mental health services merged with Alegent Health and moved to Immanuel Medical Center. This left the mental health building vacant. As a result, the statues inside the grotto were removed and it was forgotten about. A heavy door was added over time because it was an active spot for drug deals and other illegal activities.

    Throughout the years the property underwent numerous owners.  Today the property is owned by Victory apartments. The grotto continues to remain abandoned. It’s sad that an amazing piece of history like this is so unknown! There are so many people and so much history tied to this property.  

There are so many stories left unheard. I want to bring light to the subject to make history enjoyable. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this article. Keep a looking out for more content to come!!! Thanks for reading.

Coming Soon

What is this mysterious object? Where did it come from? How old is it? Stay tuned for another article and you can find out the answers to these questions and much more! 

Urban Exploring Trip #1 Scoular Grain elevator, Omaha, NE

    Growing up in Omaha Nebraska I have driven past this elevator thousands of times. It's hard not to miss, as it sticks out along the side of the interstate all alone. I have always wondered if there was a way to get inside of it? Answering this question is was sparked my interest in this topic and the hobby of urban exploring. In addition I was also curious about the history behind the elevator. I had a friend recommend that I share the facts I learned and the stories I have with the world. It ignited a passion in me. Knowledge, wisdom, and passion go hand in hand. They drive the human spirit. To explore the world, and take advantage of experiences you have not had the chance to before! Although saying Y.O.L.O. has a more comedic connotation to it, it also has a lot of truth to it as well. You only live once, which is true so I have decided to have passion in something that makes me happy. That is what life is all about finding happiness! Or should it be about creating your own happiness?

Scoular grain elevator in Omaha Nebraska was the first urban exploration trip I went on. This is the trip that started this excitement of exploring abandoned places. The Scoular grain elevator is hiding in plain sight with a history that has been forgotten. Yet the tower still stands all these years later. To understand the tower we must first examine the history of the company. The Scoular Grain Company was originally founded in Superior, Nebraska in 1892. Superior Nebraska which was named for its superior farmland was the perfect spot to lay down the groundwork for grain and lumber operations. Although this was the ideal spot for farm land, it was too far from the railways for the transportation of product. William Loudon got the Burlington Northern railroad to build an East and West connection for the rails in Superior, Nebraska in 1880. This paved the way for three other railroads that would eventually intersect here. In the early days of the Scoular grain company consisted of horse-drawn wagons between each railroad depot.

    Years later in 1898 the Scoular company partnered with a man named Dennis Bishop. Then the company was renamed to Scoular and Bishop Lumber and Grain. George Scoular passed away in 1930. When this happened George’s son Bob Scoular took over as chairman of the company. As the company grew over the years so did their mission statement. Scoular company wanted to invest in communities with good schools, health care offices, and hospitals. This way the local economy could support different access to quality shipping. In addition expertise on merchandising. Scoular took a big step when they started buying and leasing small grain elevators that cold hold around 600,000 to 700,000 bushels of grain.

Over time there was changes in the company during the mid 1980's the Scoular company owned 72 grain elevators. This operation spread to eight states and had around 550 employees. Scoular was a power house and became the United States fourth largest grain warehouse company. Unfortunately for Scoular, congress passed a new farm bill which got rid of the government help to grain storage programs and tax breaks. In turn this left Scoular company with nothing more than 100 million bushels of empty space. Sadly I cannot find a specific date as to when the elevators were officially abandoned we all know it's been a long time. In addition I was not able to enter the tower because it was blocked off. So the pictures I have are not mine from the inside, but the pictures the outside ones are mine. Now the tower stands frozen with a tons of history and opportunities for all of us to explore. I hoped you enjoyed reading my story. I'd like it if everyone liked, shared, and subscribed! Until next time stay tuned!

Above this is at the base of the Scoular Grain Elevator.

Above shown at the base just on the front side.

Urban exploring trip #1 Sneak peak of my first trip

     This first site I visited definitely sparked my interest in this hobby a lot. Here is a sneak peak of where it all started. Can anyone guess where or what this is?

Urban Exploring Trip #6 Part 2 Monowi Nebraska, 1/6/18

Hello everyone! For those of you who are reading this for the first time, check out part one of this post, as this is part two for my trip to Monowi. For those of you who are reading this again, welcome back! I hope you enjoy my stories because I enjoy writing them! When I got to Monowi, Nebraska, I pulled right up to the World-Famous Monowi Tavern and inside I found Elsie Ellier. She is the only remaining resident of Monowi, Nebraska. I sat down with her and she was full of  information on history of the town and her life. Monowi, Nebraska started off as a railroad town in 1902. This is when the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley railroad tracks all extended to this area of Nebraska. Elsie gave me the inside scoop on the town’s history. She told me that before 1902, this area was just a settlement of land with no name to it. I know what you might be thinking: who is Elsie Ellier? We will get to that later in the post. Monowi  has a coverage of only 0.21 square miles. The Name "Monowi" comes from the Native American word for "flower", but which Native American tribe said this is still a mystery to this day. Monowi was a farming and railroad town that reached its peak in the 1930's. At its peak, there was a whopping total of 159 people living in the town. During this time there was one K-12 school, as well as a one-room schoolhouse. The k-12 school had two stories. In addition to that, there was the Monowi State Bank and a church. These were the main buildings in town. What made the  city decline in population was the lack of jobs. Therefore lots of children in the town sought jobs in other towns including the children of Elsie Ellier and her husband, Rudy Ellier.

    Now onto Elsie Ellier. She let me interview her when I got to the tavern. Elsie was born in 1924 and grew up on a small farm with her family outside of Monowi in the adjacent town called Lynch. Shortly out of high school, Elsie went to airline school in Kansas City to become a stewardess. But Elsie was denied because she was too young. She told me other women were denied back in the day for simple things such as the way they wore their hair, or what color it was. Crazy to think that those were rules back in the day! Later in life she married Ruddy Ellier on June 28th, 1954.When they were married, Rudy joined the Air Force and spent three years in France. While Rudy was over in France, Elsie taught two years of elementary school. Jump to the year 1971: Rudy and Elsie bought the Monowi Tavern for a place to have everyone gather. They were the only remaining citizens of Monowi until Rudy’s death in 2004. June 2017 would have been there 50-year wedding anniversary. That is when she became famous for being a town of one. This means that Elsie is the mayor, the librarian to over 5,000 books, and sole resident of Monowi, Nebraska. Elsie has became famous with having visitors from 47 states in the U.S., and over 41 different countries as well.

    This visit was filled with beautiful history of Elsie Ellier's life and the now-famous abandoned town of Monowi, Nebraska. She asked me why I thought the town was so special. I told her that it’s because of the beautiful history behind the town and her life! Before I decided to take the trip, a friend said to me, “One lady living in a town all by herself… That sounds like a witch to me!” I will let you make your own decision on what you think after seeing the pictures I have for you. In one building a wall was covered in weird symbols that did not look like the alphabet, so I would love to hear what you guys think they mean. Thank you everyone for reading, I hope you enjoyed this story!

Above shown is inside the only church in town. 

Above shown is the beautiful prairie grass adjacent to the church. 

Above shown is Rudy Ellier's, who is the spouse of Elsie. This his library that is home to over 5,000 books and is two buildings down from the Monowi tavern.  In addition you are allowed to check out books from the library no matter where you live! 

This is one of the very full guest books that I signed that Elsie has for everyone to sign!!!

This is a picture of Elsie in Rudy taken years ago hanging in the bar for all to see.

Elsie was very nice and let me get a picture with here this is inside the tavern. This is as if you were looking right through the front door of the tavern. 

Monowi Church. 

The famous Monowi 1 sign shown just outside of town. 

Above some abandoned trailers people used to live in back in the day.

The famous Monowi 1 is also displayed in the tavern.

More pictures inside the Tavern. 

This is the building adjacent to the tavern it was not specified as the use of this building. 

This was inside the building shown above.

Above shown is the one room school house. And as far as the eye can see the rolling parries of Nebraska!!

Above shown the inside of the large one room school house. 

Shown above another beautiful abandoned house in town. 

Shown above is the only fertilizer manufacturer in town. 

Another beautiful view inside the church.

This is inside the church as well this is the ceiling. 

Another image inside the church. 

The world famous Monowi Tavern!

This was inside one of the buildings that the use was not specified as well. Thats why the figures on the wall intrigue me. 

Close ups of one of the abandoned houses in town off the main street. 

Another house shown above left behind as well.

More house trailers.

This is inside the main building of the fertilizer company in town. 

Inside the same building as well.

These images were taken inside the same building as well.

This was one of the most beautiful spots I had driven past on the way to the town. I couldn't help but stop in the middle of the road and take a picture of it. Yes I was so much in the middle of no where I could get out in the middle of the road and take this picture, without being ran over. The views were breathtaking as you could see in any direction looking around you prairie grass as far as the eye could see!