Timeless Tavern Investigation
This blog post was written by Whitney Dankemeyer and Sierra Swan.
Many drive through the Village of Vesper and think of it as a ghost town. There are a few open businesses, a surrounding neighborhood families reside in, and an empty school no longer in operation. Other than that, there isn't much to see. It’s a quick drive down Cameron Avenue, and you’re already on the outskirts of town. So, why do people stay?
While most people label Vesper as deserted, our team chose to provide another perspective on that. This village not only holds sentimental value for settlers’ families who made a living here, but it is so rich in history, the surrounding cities in the state may not have become what they are without it. Let’s get started, shall we?
We all know before Wisconsin, there was Native American occupancy. They occupied most of the land until the first settlers arrived in the 1850s. The first business to be developed was a sawmill in the 1870s. It was built on the bank of Hemlock Creek, and it was initiated by two men, Girard and Drake. The sawmill brought in a lot of people, which led to businesses being built on both sides of Hemlock. One to two years later, they sold the mill to John and William Whorton of Appleton and began to manufacture pine lumber. James Cameron from Appleton came with them and was their foreman for a few years.
In 1894, tragedy struck the thriving mill town. A grass fire broke out and devastated the community as a whole. According to the Centralia Enterprise on August 28, 1894:
“The thriving little town is all but wiped out. Ashes and ruins mark the site of its former industry. The sawmill, planing mill, lumber in the yards and about 25 dwelling houses, in fact all of the little town west of Hemlock Creek, was totally wiped out by the fire. The fire had its origin in the forest fires that have been running throughout that region for weeks. But no immediate danger was apprehended. Tuesday afternoon about half past three o'clock the wind shifted to the south, and before anyone was aware of the danger, the fiery element was beyond man's control. The fire was first observed in a large boarding house in the southwestern part of the town. From here it leaped with ferocious rapidity to adjoining dwellings and into the lumber yard where about 9,000,000 feet of lumber were piled. Everything was dry as tinder, owing to the long drought. The sawdust burned like powder and a strong wind swept waves of flame over the doomed portion of the town. Half an hour after the fire started, the mills, lumber piles and houses were one angry roaring mass of flames. There was time to save but little. Mrs. J. W. Cameron was sick abed at the time and her safety was first looked after. After that there was only time to save Mrs. F. J. Cameron's handsome piano and a box of furs from Mr. Cameron's residence. Few people had time to save anything. Fears for the safety of the other part of town resulted in a call to the Grand Rapids fire department. Hurriedly the fire engine and hose carts were taken down to the stricken town via the Port Edwards, Centralia & Northern road, but the company could be of little service. A strong south wind blew the smoke and heat away from the east half of the town and there was, hence, but little danger from fire in that quarter. The mills and the lumber belonged to the Sherry-Cameron Lumber Co. The plant consisted of a double-band sawmill and a planing mill (and the 9,000,000 feet of lumber). The loss to the company will amount to $150,000 covered by insurance to the amount of about $90,000. The fire will probably mean the wind-up of affairs at Vesper, as the mill will not be rebuilt, all of the timber of the company having been cut."
Another story submitted about the fire by a former resident, Mary Dolan:
“The big fire on Aug. 28. The fire came in from the south and was fed by the long dry grass. It just roared along. All who saw it said there was no hope for Vesper if the wind changed. The big open sheds that belonged to the Circle stave mill were piled with what we called clippings. Cuttings from the staves. The mill was out of there for a long time but that trap remained. They burned with a fierce flame and heat. Six or seven houses in that area were soon in ashes. Others then began to remove their possessions but could not-the fire came so fast. In two or three hours it was gone and swept everything before it. The heat in Mr. Flanigan's yard was so intense you could not stay out. On account of very good management no one was hurt or injured which was really a miracle. People were so eager to save their belongings and few had any insurance. My brother came for me in the evening and along the road were mattresses and women and children sleeping on them exhausted from that awful day.”
After the 1894 fire, the lumber company’s holdings were sold to Edward Benson and Charles Anderton from a Milwaukee real estate team. They purchased 11,000 acres for $2.50 per acre, of which 100 of those acres were the Vesper Village. A man named Clifford Goldsworthy later traded them some property in Racine County for the 100-acre land site. For one and a half years, two to three farms sold daily until the land balance was given to Goldsworthy. He then hired a man named Charles Hull to clear the stumps and moved to Vesper in 1896.
For years, Goldsworthy was crucial to the redevelopment of the community. He was a farmer, started a lumber business, opened a hotel, real estate business, and an operating store. Others in the community started businesses in the village such as: a button factory, church, ice cream parlor, roller-skating rink, pickle company, schoolhouse, state bank, post office, and many more. A civil engineer’s first visit to Vesper in 1897:
"Vesper…was about the most forlorn and forsaken hamlet one could expect to see, but notwithstanding its homely appearance and the contrast which then existed between that part of the state from which we came (Waukesha and South Wayne) and the county of Wood, the impression was such that we were convinced that some day Wood county would reach the highest pinnacle in the point of wealth.”
In 1910, he later said:
“We have no hesitancy in predicting that before the close of another decade Wood county will rank among the foremost dairy counties in the state. There were over 100 silos built in Wood county in 1910 and it is said that 200 or over will be built in 1911. The best move a farmer makes is to establish a silo.”
Because of the 1894 fire, the land in Vesper was not suitable for crop farming. As an alternative, they began raising cattle and started dairy farming. In the early 1900s, Jacob Schmidt introduced the Village of Vesper to Holstein dairy cows. Later introduced were Guernsey and Jersey cows. Businesses were then established to serve dairy farmers who couldn’t travel far outside the village. Equitable Creamery Company was started on November 20, 1907 and was a creamery and cheese factory for surrounding businesses. It operated until it was purchased by Fred Hadler on October 17, 1921. It has since then been called American Milk Products Company, The White House Milk Company, and Western Condensing Company. The plant was used in later years to make Penicillin.
In 1902, bricks started being placed on Vesper buildings. The Vesper Brick and Tile Company was established by John Murgatroyd and Sons, making 25,000 bricks and 8,000 tiles per day. Almost all of the brick before the 1920’s came from that plant itself. And one of those buildings is the reason for our story today.
In 1910, W.T. Strack’s Meat Market was in operation. Whether or not this was the confirmed opening date, it was owned by the Klawitter Brothers. Over the last 114 years, businesses rotated out of the building and the sign outside would change. Other business names include Irene’s Bar, Village Pump, Red Brick, Polly’s, Brahma’s Saloon (2021), and what it is known for today, Timeless Tavern.
While there are no records of paranormal activity on site, Timeless Tavern’s property is known for some spiritual encounters. Swan’s family is from the Vesper area, and one of her family members reached out to us to look into this bar. Her relative claimed to have been tapped on the shoulder on two different occasions while he was there. He also mentioned one of the previous owners experiencing activity in the basement. It was then we agreed to check out the location.
Our excursion was Saturday, April 12, 2024 about mid-afternoon. The bar didn’t open until three, so we wanted to get there at a reasonable time. When we did arrive, there was an event going on, so scoping out the inside was limited due to space. Still, we were able to walk around, take some photos, and converse with the bartender over some kitty cocktails.
For those of you who follow our investigations, you know we perform Estes methods in the car when there’s either bad weather or if the business is incredibly busy. Not all locations have quiet spaces to perform, but if some spirits can wander up to thousands of yards away from their death site, we can communicate with them from the side of the road. So, we did just that.
We began the session by setting boundaries to only speak to positive spirits with good intentions. Swan started sweeping through radio stations and put the headphones over her ears. She said, “Proposal,” so I asked, “What do you have for us?” I kept getting the feeling that someone was saying they had a business proposal, but when I asked, the spirit just laughed. Due to their light-heartedness, I asked if we were speaking to someone younger. Swan responded, “Estes.” While that didn't necessarily mean the spirit was younger, it did mean they were intelligent. Still, the presence felt younger in age.
The spirit we were speaking to never sat on a subject for very long. As a group of girls with abilities, it’s not difficult to sense when more than one spirit is present; in fact, reading energy helps notice a shift in conversation. The one we were talking to this Saturday was the same spirit throughout, but their attention span was quite short.
Swan hollered at us to get up and dance. I asked the spirit we were speaking to if they loved to dance, and Swan responded, “In town.” I asked if they danced in town, and Swan said, “Born.” This was followed by, “While he’s back in town.” The spirit was clarifying they were born in Vesper and went out dancing when a particular person came back to town. Swan said she was hearing music and seeing guitars. I asked spirit if the person coming back to town was a musician or if she was referring to the dancing. Swan said, “They’re here. Here he comes.”
So far in the investigation, we gathered we were speaking to a younger spirit who felt feminine. She would wait for a musician and his band to come back to town, and they would go dancing. We said hello to the spirits she introduced us to, followed by asking for their names. We got the necrometer responses “Kayla” and “Brandon” back-to-back.
The subject was changed when the necrometer said, “Reading.” I asked if they were by the library, which was previously a few hardware stores. Swan said, “Come,” so we asked if they were trying to get us to go over there. That was when Swan said, “Sneak out of the car.” We had to explain to them why we do Estes sessions in the car on busy days, and Swan responded, “Fine.”
This is when the spirit said, “On Tuesday.” We knew this was still Kayla because of how the energy in the car felt. I asked if she liked to read, and Swan said, “Prime time.” At the library on the corner, there are reading nights on Tuesdays. This was an awesome response to receive because she was again letting us know she was aware of her surroundings.
What was interesting about the next topic of conversation was Kayla saying, “I’m their daughter.” Unfortunately, we’re unsure if this is referring to the library or one of the previous businesses on the block. Before we could ask another question, Kayla said, “Harry and Greg.” We tried to figure out what to say next, but Swan was already sputtering, “Landscape.”
We would have followed up on the names first, but we wanted to know more about the business. I asked if she had a family business or if she owned one, and she said, “I did too.” She mentioned the name John D., and then she brought up the name Harry again. Because Harry was mentioned twice, we believed she had a connection to him and just knew the others. When we researched the history of Vesper, there was a Harry Cole who owned a store and ran a roller-skating rink. He later moved to Nekoosa, but we couldn’t find much information on his life or death at all. We don't even know for sure if he had any children.
Before our session came to a close, we asked Kayla if she could tell us one thing: if Timeless Tavern or the land it sits on is haunted. Without skipping a beat, she answered, “You got it.” She did say “New front” after that, which led us to believe she was referring to the early 1900s when brick was introduced to businesses on the block. This was also around the same time that Harry came into the picture.
Unfortunately, our research was limited, and we could not make any concrete connections to the names Harry and Kayla. Still, we believe that not only Timeless Tavern has paranormal activity, but the whole strip itself. You have to keep in mind the area suffered tragedy and loss when the first village was destroyed by fire. Not only was the community so loyal to rebuilding it, but it became their happy place to return to in the afterlife as well. Vesper is, after all, one big happy family.
“Vesper, WI has always held a special place in mine & my family’s hearts. In the fall of 1967, my grandparents moved to the Vesper area and began building their home. My grandpa worked for the Rapids Mill, while my grandma began her 3-decade career at Vesper Elementary School in 1973. She worked on the playground & in the cafeteria up until she was hospitalized before passing in 2008. The kids at school (& us grandkids) were her absolute world. Through those decades, she watched 3 generations of families pass through and left her mark on every single child. I would spend every day with my grandparents in vesper, whether I was running grass clippings up the road with grandpa, riding around on grandpa’s bicycle waiting for the bus, or following grandma to school to hang out with the “big kids'' & eat all the staff lounge’s candy. I spent over a decade beside my grandma baking hundreds of pumpkin pies each fall at St. James Catholic Parish for their Fall fundraiser. Not only did my mother & uncles go to school in Vesper, but my siblings and I did as well. I cannot think of a time where the town didn’t feel like a giant family, especially in my grandma’s final days. I swear the entire town was at her visitation/funeral just to pay their respects. Though the streets and faces have changed, the homey & comforting feeling of little Vesper, WI will never go away.” -Sierra Swan
Thanks for reading.
Supporting Links:
https://www.mcmillanlibrary.org/vesper-historical-photographs
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122120266220100349&set=pcb.122120266364100349
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122114253134100349&set=a.122106053336100349
https://www.facebook.com/people/Village-of-Vesper-History/61553010494330/
Village of Vesper, Wood County, WI – Official Website (villageofvesper-wi.com)
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