AMERICAN HAUNTINGS GHOST HUNTS
NIGHT AT THE HAMILTON PRIMARY SCHOOL
OTTERVILLE, ILLINOIS
NEXT AVAILABLE DATE:
7:00 PM TO 1:00 AM | $48 PER PERSON
Mysterious shadows.
Disembodied moans.
Phantom footsteps.
A person shoved into a coal room in the basement.
A rope is pulled by unseen hands.
These are all things that you might expect to hear about happening in a haunted house, but what about in a haunted school?
Want to find out? Join us at the Hamilton Primary School in Otterville, Illinois (a short distance from Alton, Grafton, and Jerseyville) and discover for yourself if the decades of ghostly tales are true!
The former school has a legendary history that began with Dr. Silas Hamilton, a Mississippi plantation owner turned abolitionist who freed his 28 slaves and moved north to Otterville in 1830. When he died four years later, he left $4,000 for the construction of a school that would be opened to both white and black children alike. It was completed one year later and became the first free and integrated school in the entire United States.
According to legend, it also became a stop on the historic Underground Railroad, the secret system that helped slaves to escape from bondage in southern states, hiding them out various stations until they made it to safety in the north. While there were no records kept of these stations – due to their illegal nature at the time – nearby Alton was an important crossing point for escaped slaves at the Mississippi River and Otterville was directly along the route moving north. And thanks to Dr. Hamilton’s abolitionist fervor, it makes sense that he would have assisted escaped slaves before his death.
The original school building was used until 1872, when it was replaced by a new Italianate-style building that still stands today. It is no longer a school but had been a historic site that has operated under the care of the Otterville Historical Society since 1982. Unfortunately, there has been difficulty keeping up with the maintenance of the building and it was listed as an endangered Illinois site since 2014. Tickets for the events at this building with help to preserve it for history and ghost buffs for years to come!
With all the ingredients of history, the Underground Railroad, decades as a school, and more, the Hamilton Primary School has earned its reputation as a haunted place! There have been reports of seeing mysterious shadows in classrooms, voices, footsteps on the staircase, seeing invisible hands pulling the rope that rings the school bell and much more. If you’re brave enough, we’ll hope you’ll join us for this spooky evening and help save a little of Illinois’ haunted history!