Ghost Stories

Hot Lake Hotel was originally built in 1864 in La Grande, Oregon during the gold rush. It resembled that of a shopping mall. Businesses located in the wooden structure included barber shop, dance hall, post office, blacksmith, and bath house. In 1903, the original building was demolished and construction began on a new brick hotel. Dr. William T. Phy first became involved in the project in 1904. Construction was completed in 1908 containing 100 guest rooms. It became THE place for vacationers as the 205 degree sulfurous Hot Lake were thought to have healing properties. Phy bought the establishment in 1917 and turned it in to a state-of-the-art medical facility known as the Hotel Lake Sanatorium or the "Mayo Clinic of the West". It came equipped with medical wards, offices, and a kitchen/dance hall. The Mayo Brothers (founders of the Mayo Clinic) and Wild Bill Hickok and his Wild West Show also visited Hot Lake regularly. Prior owners and investors include Governor Walter M....

The White Eagle Saloon was considered the place to be for men from all over the world who worked on the docks. It wasn't just the thirst of alcohol that kept them coming back. The White Eagle Saloon depicted much of the seedier side of frontier life in the 1900s. Two Polish immigrants, Barney Soboleski and William Hryszko, opened the White Eagle in 1905 to offer other Polish immigrants a place of after-work recreation: pool, cigars, poker, liquor, beer and for the right price patrons could indulge in a brothel upstairs or an opium den downstairs. It earned the nickname "Bucket of Blood" from frequent brawls that erupted in and around the saloon. However, it didn't stop the trolley from dumping men at its doorstep until 1916 when Prohibition put a stop to legal drinking. Then, The White Eagle became the "it" place to get ice cream cones and those wanting a good stiff pop could still get the goods down in the basement, below the "soda shop." Once...

Crater Lake in Southern Oregon is the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh deepest in the world. It was formed of the eruption of Mount Mazama over seven thousand years ago. The blast was believed to be 42 times greater than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. It expelled so much magma that the summit of the mountain collapsed and formed a giant crater. Over time, the caldera sealed itself off and allowed rain and melted snow to fill the crater. Cinder cones was formed due to earlier eruptions. Only one managed to breach the surface of the water. In 1885, a man named Will G. Steele dubbed it Wizard Island because it resembled a wizard’s hat. Native Americans were known to inhabit the area long before it even erupted. They believed it to be a sacred place. Some believed if you looked upon the lake you would die instantaneously. Crater Lake went undiscovered for so long due to local tribes steering away any visitors. They would deny its very existence. There are so many...

Hot Lake Hotel was originally built in 1864 in La Grande, Oregon during the gold rush. It became THE place for vacationers as the 205 degree sulfurous Hot Lake were thought to have healing properties. A Dr. William T. Phy bought the establishment in 1917 and turned it in to a state-of-the-art medical facility known as the "Mayo Clinic of the West". Actually, the Mayo Brothers who established the Mayo Clinic were frequent visitors. Wild Bill Hickok and his Wild West Show also visited Hot Lake regularly. Prior owners and investors include Governor Walter M. Pierce and Senator Parish L. Willis. There Dr. Phy practice along side his son Marcus until his death in 1931 from a cold or alleged radiation poisoning. Marcus committed suicide a couple of years later. In 1934, a fire destroyed the ballroom and library. The remaining buildings went on to be a hotel. Then later an insane asylum, a nightclub, nursing home and restaurant in the 1970s. Nurses trained there during World War ...

The White Eagle Saloon was considered the place to be for men from all over the world who worked on the docks. It wasn't just the thirst of alcohol that kept them coming back. The White Eagle Saloon depicted much of the seedier side of frontier life in the 1900s. Two Polish immigrants, Barney Soboleski and William Hryszko, opened the White Eagle in 1905 to offer other Polish immigrants a place of after-work recreation: pool, cigars, poker, liquor, beer and for the right price patrons could indulge in a brothel upstairs or an opium den downstairs. It earned the nickname "Bucket of Blood" from frequent brawls that erupted in and around the saloon. However, it didn't stop the trolley from dumping men at its doorstep until 1916 when Prohibition put a stop to legal drinking. Then, The White Eagle became the "it" place to get ice cream cones and those wanting a good stiff pop could still get the goods down in the basement, below the "soda shop." Once...