10/30/2024
I absolutely love this small town, we have a collective and colorful history that should be spoken more of. Here is a spooky article I wrote for our local travel guide this year; a nice familiar read in honor of Halloween! 🎃✨
In honor of Halloween, here is an excerpt from our 2024 Travel Guide focusing on hauntings in Sidney. We hope you enjoy, Happy Halloween ghosts & ghouls! 🎃✨
HAUNTED HAPPENINGS IN SIDNEY, NEBRASKA
Where History is Witnessed Far Beyond The Naked Eye
Kelsey Arrington
Sidney Sun-Telegraph
Sidney, Nebraska - The town of Sidney was incorporated in 1867 by the Union Pacific Railroad around an established military outpost. The Fort’s primary purpose was to protect Union Pacific track layers from arbitrary aggressive Indian attacks. Sidney, which was officially named after the premier railroad builder and executive manager from New York, Sidney Dillon, was recognized as Fort Sidney in 1870 after the post was relocated to its permanent site.
Directly situated on the now famous Sidney-Black Hills (Deadwood) Trail, thousands of travelers and frontiersmen made their way through town in the 1870s on their way to claim gold in South Dakota which had been discovered in the Black Hills in 1874. Within two years, the trail reached legendary Deadwood and other well-known settlements located in the pine-covered hills of hidden gold. Leaving a lasting impression on not only the hills, but their paths leading to, Sidney was cemented with a colorful enduring history.
From saloons galore to brothels, gambling dens, and dance halls, Sidney was quite the lawless old-west town. Known as the “Toughest Town on The Tracks,” “Sinful Sidney,” and “Wickedest Town in the West,” the rowdy western oasis stood still with a wild reputation to uphold.
Not letting the dust settle, countless outlaws and famous American criminals, gunfighters, and ladies of the night graced the streets and alleys of Sidney. Doc Holiday supposedly held his dental practice in town; while Butch Cassidy, Wild Bill Hickok, and Calamity Jane have also been reported to have frequented the parts.
Common for the small city, town dances consisted of provoked and unprovoked gunfire which often resulted in multiple casualties. Not one to bat an eye, the townspeople would toss the bodies to the corner until the dance was over; only then would they properly dispose of the cadavers. The disorderly conduct, conflicts, and murder were so common in Sidney that the railroad once threatened to remove its services to the area completely. Thankfully for the town on the tracks, that never happened, and Sidney still serves as a railroad town to this day.
To say Sidney has been graced with the footprints and bullet holes of some of the Old West’s most notorious faces and names would be putting it entirely lightly. And to say there’s no residual activity from such affairs would be, to put it mildly, unnaturally strange and far from unheard of.
THE POST COMMANDER'S HOME AND FORT SIDNEY MUSEUM
Housing the Fort's original base Commander as well as Sidney's most famous resident ghost, the Post Commander's home located at 1108 6th Avenue is swimming with the energy of days long past. Arguably most well known for the tragic 1885 accident that claimed the life of a young officer's wife, the historic home stirs with her paranormal specter. As the legend goes, the young homemaker was carrying laundry up a narrow staircase when she lost her balance falling down the stairs and breaking her neck. When her husband discovered her lifeless body he ordered the staircase to be boarded up, until it was officially discovered and restored in 1975. Still closed off to the public today, the staircase remains an exceptionally active location in the home. Witnesses claim to hear someone either walking up or down the stairs and then falling; the spookiest part? These accounts far outdate the 1975 discovery, meaning the phantom accident was heard and recounted even before the stairs were known of. House keeping to this day, she is still heard walking up the steps to her fateful fall.
Keeping the history of Sidney alive, the Fort Sidney Museum is bursting with over 2,500 different antiques, collectibles and treasures of days past. Located at 544 Jackson Street, the stop is well worth the trip. The museum (which neighbors the Post Commander's Home) is open for tours in the summer season Monday-Friday and Saturdays as well.
BOOT HILL, THE “BAD MAN’S” CEMETERY
“Boot Hill” Cemetery, Sidney's true original graveyard circa 1868, houses over a thousand untouched graves... some of which hold unspoken secrets over 150 years old. Often referred to as the “Bad Man’s” cemetery; known for its orbs, mist, full body apparitions, and “walls of fire” when photographed, the burial grounds served as a permanent drop off for Sidney's most undesirable residents and visitors. It's all in the name; many of these anonymous deceased died suddenly, often violently, and buried promptly with their boots on. Many whom put those in their graves often ended up there themselves. Known today as a small square of ground; what many don't realize is, Boot Hill is technically almost the entirety of Sidney's hills. In fact, if you've ever driven down Elm Street past the noticeable landmark, you've driven right over history itself. Underneath the asphalt lays 156 years of silenced mystery, with over 1,200 bodies scattered and undisturbed, “The true beginnings of a Stephen King novel,” jokes the head of Boot Hill Historical Committee, Kathy Wilson. With the last official burial taking place in 1894, the land laid forgotten and dilapidated. In 1922 a campaign led by the U.S. Army sought to uncover its fallen soldiers and Indian scouts from the unmarked plots; after an extensive process and the removal of 211 bodies – many of whom were not the desired find – the Army carefully collected their comrades, and quietly covered again the abandoned land and the rest of its occupants. What the Army had revealed furthered Sidney's lore; a man buried face down with barbed wire bound to his hands and pulled to the side of his head where it was then twisted around the neck, a Mother and her infant child sharing the same plot covered in 19 arrowheads through their scalps, and a strange “giant” from the time that peaked at well over seven feet tall. The list goes on. As the Army's efforts at excavations had delivered more surprise than reward, the land was once again pushed out of mind serving as farm ground for decades. Not commemorated in anyway, the area remains exceptionally active with supernatural activity, “Why wouldn't it,” Wilson says, “People are driving over them every day, what lays here is completely forgotten.” Active in preserving Sidney's untold history, Wilson and her committee have taken the time to truly learn the land, “The 'old timers' told us that the bodies are buried all the way up the hill spilling out into the county roads. Whenever we have work done police has to be on scene as bones are always uncovered, once we had a policeman fall through a grave on such an occasion.” As old west coffins were primarily made with unsealed walnut or other sourced materials, areas have sunk or have had to be collapsed where the wood has since deteriorated. The area frequents the phenomenon - phantosmia, defined as odors that aren't technically present in an environment; also known as 'phantom smells.' If you're walking the area of Boot Hill you may catch a whiff of either cedar or rose water; common scents for the 1860s as cedar was often used in the production of coffins, and rose water was implemented to mask the lingering odor of decay. The historic graveyard offers 13 boards explaining the happenings as well as the findings of the area. “We don't step on anyone's beliefs,” Wilson mentions, “Take the pictures, and see what you see.” Located at 706 Elm Street just off of the main roads in Sidney, Boot Hill is certainly worth the stop, or at least a drive past.
SIDNEY's OLDEST BUILDING – CAMP LOOKOUT
Known as the oldest building in Sidney, Cheyenne County, and perhaps even the Panhandle; Camp Lookout was built in 1867 to house soldiers protecting Union Pacific railroad workers striving to lay tracks throughout the open plains. Frequent clashes and impromptu battles between the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians with rail workers brought military officially to the area that would eventually be named Fort Sidney. What was once just a block house on a bluff soon became Sidney Barracks; later after the Army pulled out in 1894, the location was converted into a lodging facility as well as a cathouse and even a private residence. With six additions added to the original structure over the course of over 150 years, soon the once noticeable Lookout became an unrecognizable eye sore on the hill. With the help of volunteers and appreciators of the past, the Nebraska Landmark now stands and appears just as it did during its heydays in the late 1860s. “We're talking about nine years of extensive restoration projects,” Kathy Wilson, Chair of the Camp Lookout Committee had to say, “This was not just pulling up some carpet and painting a few walls, it is entirely period correct. It is just how it was in 1867.” The legend and lore of Camp Lookout still survives beyond its walls; with artifacts and mementos of the past resting in their treasured displays, the Lookout houses a number of unique excavated items – o***m pipes, soldier's boots and belongings, rings, coins, children's toys, old glass bottles, you name it and it's there. “We're not going to sanitize our history, we're going to talk about it,” Wilson mentions. As there are physical items of the past present, it only makes sense to say the ghostly imprint of its colorful history also lingers. There is recorded evidence of three or four different deaths at Camp Lookout; in fact, a Madame from the brothel was murdered right on the back porch of the establishment. Which leaves a very important question; is it haunted, or isn't it? The answer is for you to determine. Interested in witnessing history for yourself? Located at 940 Elm Street in Sidney, Camp Lookout is available for tours upon inquiry. The landmark is also in eyeshot of practically any downtown location.
SIDNEY ELK’s LODGE NO. 1894
Nestled on a cornerstone just off of the historical business district in downtown; home to Sidney’s oldest (still standing) performing arts venue, the Elk’s Club and Lodge which was originally constructed in 1930 houses displaced spirits from the once next door Tobin Opera House. The Opera House, which was built in 1883 as an entertainment hall for Sidney, hosting many different theatric productions as well as boxing matches, “electric theatre” motion pictures, and live events such as dances. The lights of the classic Opera House officially went dark in 1930 possibly from never converting from silent film to “talkie pictures,” Tobin Opera House was torn down in December of 1938. The old location has now been converted to a modern day parking lot, but the energy of the once popular Opera House still lives on. Members and staff of the Elk’s are quick to tell of a gentle “mother like figure” the Lodge has respectfully dubbed “Sheila,” who graces the MainStage and floor. Known to be particularly active during theatre productions, Sheila is most often felt or noticed during children’s shows. Dancing blissfully on the opposite side of the room, reports of a phantom couple dressed in formal period attire waltz on the floor beneath the stage. But the main floor isn’t the only with known activity; the basement, which served as a member’s only “club,” remains somewhat active as well. With miscellaneous dealings and gambling debts contributing, a potential homicide also stirs the energy in the air. Known for cold spots and unexplainable noises, the Lodge is available for tours upon inquiry. As it was also once the county jail; with the cell blocks still located upstairs bars and all, there are three floors of the unknown to discover at 1040 Jackson Street in downtown Sidney.
SIDNEY MIDDLE SCHOOL
Originally constructed in 1965, the shining linoleum floors specifically located outside of the middle school’s auditorium are said to house the spirit of a young girl from the 1980s who left to walk home for lunch and was struck and killed crossing the street. Often seen either walking the halls or playing in the middle school gymnasium or up on the stage; she is quick to scatter once noticed by teachers, students or staff of the school, even flinging open doors to flee from lurking eyes. The school can be found at 1122 19th Ave in Sidney.
*LISTED SOURCES:
- http://www.sidneyboothill.com
https://cityofsidney.org/265/Lynchings-Legends-Lawlessness
https://cityofsidney.org/202/History-of-Sidney
https://mynehistory.com/items/show/364
https://mynehistory.com/items/show/19
https://visitnebraska.com/sidney/camp-lookout
http://www.sidneyboothill.com/about-camp-look-out.html
https://www.nebraskahauntedhouses.com/
http://govdocs.nebraska.gov/epubs/H6000/B031-2016.pdf
https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/65868
Boot Hill & Camp Lookout Historical Committee
