"In 1868, the main part of this church was built. In 1886, the people wanted a more "imposing house of worship, and wanted a grand bell tower built as well, like the great British churches. The foundation of the bell tower wall was sunk 15 feet deep, to support the later to be 60 ft massive structure, with walls 4 feet thick. The building of the tower was stopped for a long time because the masons working on it disappeared.
When building the tower was finally started again and finished in 1927, a room to please the tower ghost was added, just below the eleven carillon bells, that weigh 20 tons. This ghost room has an inlaid wood floor, and big gothic windows that surround it. The ceiling is hand-plastered, with a chandelier hanging from it. This special room can only be reached by climbing an 85 ft spiral stairway, which starts in the church basement.
HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS:
As no one local in 1886 had the skill to do the quality of stone masonry required for such a grand effort, two Swedish immigrant masons were hired to do the job. While they did a great job laying the foundation, they only built part of the tower, before both men disappeared.
One morning, the church's rector, Dr. Rafter, stopped by to ask if any more cement or stones were needed. He noticed that only one mason was there and he was quite nervous and agitated. The next day, no one showed up for work, so the unfinished tower became a study room for the rector, after they put a roof on it.
In 1966, a very old man confessed to Father Todd, the then present rector of St. Marks, that when he was a young man, he and a fellow mason were hired to work on the bell tower of Saint Marks Church. When his fellow mason slipped and fell to his death, he panicked and stuffed the body in an unfinished section of the wall, bending it so it would fit in the curvature of the wall. After putting a thick layer of cement over the body, he placed stones over the body, sealing it in the wall.
Manifestations:
Started to happen soon after the study room was completed.
1) However, this study room, made from the unfinished bell tower in 1886, was anything but quiet, as the new rector found out. What was described as hammering beating, and muffled indistinguishable talking came from the walls. For a while after that, the room was sealed. Then a pipe organ was put in there.
2) In 1927, when work began again, some of the masons heard the sounds of hammering beating and muffled indistinguishable words coming from the newly made stone walls. (This caused great fear and dissension among the workers, bringing the construction to a halt. The foreman went to Father Bennett, with the idea to build the ghost its own room, as the men felt this would please this ghost.)
3) Sometimes church goers heard jumbled words still, but one sentence came out quite clear. "There is a body in the wall."
4) In 1979, the bell tower was opened for public tours, which was very popular around Halloween. A few years later, a popular Denver psychic, Ms. Wright, and a deejay from a Cheyenne radio station tried to spend Halloween night, broadcasting from the tower. As Ms. Wright climbed the stairway, she was overcome by dreadful feelings, as she sensed the presence of a frightening, upset apparition. She also sensed a second spirit, an elderly white-haired man who walked with a cane. He was later identified as Father Rafter, mentioned above.
5) After Ms. Wright and the deejay had set up in the tower room, Father Todd locked all the doors and left. Looking out the window, Ms. Wright saw little balls of white light dancing around the church gravestones in the cemetery below.
6) A sense of fear and foreboding came over Ms. Wright again when she saw tiny blue lights climb the stairs to their room. A slimy substance began to ooze from the room's baseboards. All at once the carillon bells began to ring all by themselves. Over the loud bell ringing, a rough man's voice shouted at them, "Get out while you still have your mind." The deejay called for help. Within 15 minutes, all made a hasty exit from the bell tower, escorted out by Father Todd and the radio manager.
7) After twenty minutes, the bells again rang all by themselves. After a thorough search by police, no human pranksters were found, and there was no logical explanation for the ooze, the lights, the voice or the impromptu bell ringing. The floor was white with a dust-like substance, that wasn't there when they first entered the room.
Still Haunted?
According to Ms. Wright's research, it definitely still is.
Conclusions from Ms. Wright's psychic experiences:
1) The Bell Tower is haunted by two spirits; The mason who is buried in the wall, and by Father Rafter.
2) Ms. Wright doesn't feel that the spirits inhabiting the bell tower are evil, just upset to have the living intrude in on their peace that they find in their special room.
3) Father Todd feels that this beautiful church is filled with the spirits of many deceased church members; men, women, and children, whose lights were seen by Ms Wright as she looked down on the gravestones in the church graveyard.
Tours of the bell tower are no longer offered, to keep the living out of the spirits' much loved private chamber suite." (from (
visit link) )
The plaques read:
ST. MARK'S
EPISCOPAL CHURCH
PIONEER CHURCH OF WYOMING
A National Historic Place
Finding "the wickedness unimaginable and appalling," the Rev. Joseph Cook organized St. Mark's Parish Jan. 27, 1868, in Cheyenne, Dakota Territory, the a railroad winter camp. The first church at 18th and Carey Avenue was dedicated in August 1868 and was the first church building erected and dedicated in Wyoming.
This present edifice was constructed in 1868 and was patterned after Stoke Poges Church, Buckinghamshire, Engalnd.
The ministry of St. Mark's is historically linked with the settling and development of the frontier west. The church register records the burial service of cavalrymen killed by Indians, the wedding of the acting governor, and use of the Parish Hall as a social and cultural center.
The Rev. George Rafter, Rector, was asked to "pray over" Tom Horn during his public hanging in November 1903.
In August 1915, the wife and three daughters of General John J. Pershing were buried with solemn military rites from this church. They lost their lives in a tragic fire at the Presidio, San Francisco. Hundreds of cavalry troops from Fort D.A. Russell participated in the burial procession.
On Sunday, Oct. 11, 1936, President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt worshiped here.
Historical Marker Erected in 1972
In Loving Memory of
Ruth Beggs Parker
By Her Family and Friends
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ST. MARKS
EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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The first church
edifice built in the
State of Wyoming
August 23, 1868.
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Placed by
Historical Landmark
Commission of Wyoming
[NOTE: Wyoming was not a state until July 10, 1890]