Business - Wausau, Wisconsin

Public Business – Wausau, Wisconsin

History of Location

The history of this establishment traces back to Jacob Kolter, a man born in 1839 in Rhein, Bavaria, who immigrated to America in 1855. After spending two years in New York, he relocated to Wausau in 1857, where he spent the remainder of his life, except for a brief two-year period in Missouri. Jacob Kolter had a diverse range of interests and pursued various professions during his lifetime. He began as a cook, eventually owning and operating a bakery. He also ventured into selling pharmaceuticals, farm implements, toys, and even ice cream. In addition, he was involved in the lumbering and farming industries and held the distinction of being a member and once the president of Wausau's first band, the Wausau Cornet Band. Notably, Jacob Kolter was the first person to recognize the need for outdoor lighting and took the initiative to install it. In 1867, he married Bertha Janke, and they had six children together. He passed away in 1893 due to pneumonia.

The Jacob Kolter House can be found at 202 Grand Avenue in Wausau. Presently, this location houses Bill's Moonstones and Crystals, Grateful Nails, and the Melissa Marie Salon. Jacob Kolter also owned a farmhouse located to the west of Wausau, which is where he ultimately passed away.

In 1869, following the destruction of his bakery due to a fire, Kolter built the Kolter Music Hall. This sizeable two-story structure, measuring 120 by 60 feet, featured two stores on the ground floor, a drugstore and the Silverthorn & Plumer banking house. The upper level above these stores housed the music hall. On the building's north side, there was a saloon with a dining room on its second floor, separate from the stores and music hall. Notably, Dr. James C. Bennett, a dentist, acquired a shotgun from this saloon, which he used to murder Dr. Edwin Hogel, a rival dentist, at the nearby McCrossen Building in 1880.

Later in 1869, a devastating fire erupted on the north side of the building. The fire, which damaged the music hall and numerous surrounding homes and buildings, was finally controlled by demolishing an adjacent addition to the music hall and covering other buildings' roofs with wet blankets. The financial strain of repairing this damage led several insurance companies to bankruptcy. This event prompted the Village of Wausau (not yet a city until 1872) to establish a fire department, as prior fire-fighting efforts relied on a bucket line extending from the river.

The Kolter Music Hall served as the primary venue for performing arts, lectures, and political gatherings until the opening of the Wausau Opera House in 1883. By 1885, the music hall's popularity had waned significantly, leading to its eventual demolition.

Kolter’s Music Hall in 1869

The current building, designed by Philip Dean in the Commercial Vernacular style and constructed in 1904, originally served as the Livingston Department Store, founded by Charles and Samuel Livingston. In 1911, Samuel Winkelman bought the store, renaming it Winkelman's. A third floor was added in 1936. Contrary to some beliefs, the "W" medallions on the building represent Winkelman's, not Wausau or Washington. This is particularly apt since "Winkleman" in German translates to "man on the corner." Winkelman's ceased operations in 1970 after being acquired by Johnson Hills, which significantly altered both the interior and exterior of the building.

In 1983, extensive renovations restored the building's original outdoor brick façade and interior. It was then rebranded as “Washington Square” and has since hosted a variety of shops and restaurants.

Livingston Department Store in 1904

Washington Square in 2010

Paranormal Activity Reported by Client

· Orbs displaying intentional movement caught on security cameras

· A shadow person was seen walking into a back room

· Items moved, including a phone on the front desk

Investigation

The WPRS arrived on Saturday, November 11^th, 2023 at 7:00PM. The weather conditions were cloudy with sporadic sleet and approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Investigators Brown, Christiansen, and Duginski were present. Equipment used during the investigation included:

· Digital Video Recorder (DVR) system

· Digital infrared cameras (4)

· Cellphone cameras

· K-2 EMF meter

· Spirit box

· Rem Pod

· Digital voice recorders

· Motion detectors

· Structured light sensor (SLS) via app

· Mel meter – temperature/EMF

· Omni Pod

The client was present to allow the WPRS into the building and detail some of the activity witnessed. He remained on-site for the duration of the investigation.

The business is approximately 1,479 square feet with an open-concept layout. The second floor is occupied by another business.

Temperature and electromagnetic field (EMF) readings were taken in multiple areas. The temperature was a consistent 64 degrees Fahrenheit and no elevation of EMF was detected.

Multiple digital photographs were taken of every angle but nothing was found upon review.

Four infrared cameras were set up and connected to the DVR system. One camera was placed in each corner facing inward, which allowed a full view of the business. Prior to our arrival, the client had hung black tarp in the windows (front and back) to minimize light pollution.

We immediately made note of the following, which unfortunately resulted in contamination of any audio or video evidence captured:

· Very loud noises and music coming from the second floor directly overhead; it sounded like children running back and forth and stomping on the floor. This persisted throughout the entire investigation.

· The downtown area was much busier than usual at that time of the evening. There was heavy foot traffic and a lot of talking could be heard both outside and within the business interior. The increased vehicular traffic interfered with video evidence due to bright lights kicking the infrared off and on and creating shadows.

The WPRS investigators began the investigation by considering possible explanations for the paranormal activity reported by the client. Both the WPRS cameras and the client’s security system captured a lot of orb-like activity, but none appeared to move intentionally – most likely dust. Later in the evening, we discovered a small refrigerator near the desk that was stirring up dust every time it would kick on; that timing was consistent with the noted spikes in camera activity.

None of our other equipment captured anything anomalous and temperatures/EMF readings remained unchanged throughout the evening.

An Estes EVP session was held at 9:37PM. Below are the questions and responses in the order in which they were asked/received; the answers are not lined up with the questions asked. The notable responses are highlighted in yellow with a possible explanation in parentheses.

Questions

· Is there anyone here who’d like to talk to us?

· Can you tell me how many of you are here?

· Can you tell me your name?

· Can you tell us the name of the song playing now?

· How old are you?

· Are you a man or a woman?

· What year is it?

· Is that “no” as in, you don’t want to talk to us?

· What hurt?

· Were you here when the fire almost burned down the music hall?

· Is this Jacob Kolter or anyone in his family?

· We heard you had a lot of interests; can you tell me what your favorite one was?

· Is there any message we can give to someone?

· How did you die?

· Do you have any loved ones here with you?

· Would you like us to open the door?

· What did you hear?

· Do you mean “Livingston”?

· Why do you stay here?

· What was your job?

· Did you have any pets?

· Did you have any children?

· Is it OK that we’re here talking to you?

· Do you like what they’ve done with this building?

· Did you work in construction or watch this building be constructed?

· How can we help you?

· Do you need help crossing over, moving on?

· Are you looking for someone?

· Do you want us to leave?

Answers

· No. (We got this response after asking “What year is it?” but can apply to any of the previous questions.)

· It hurt.

· I lived it.

· Hello?

· Mirror. (Potentially noting all of the mirrors throughout the business.)

· The door.

· I heard.

· Kingston. (Possibly meant Livingston?)

· Can you hear me?

· Feel alright.

· Construction. (This answer was given right after we asked “do you like what they’ve done with this building?” and could be relevant)

· Outside (This answer was given right as a large group of people ran past shouting outside.)

· Help me.

Evidence Collected

The only unexplainable matter at this time is the inexplicable noises that came from the second floor directly overhead. At one point, the client went to check it out as he attested to never hearing sounds from up there before. The business above is only open on weekdays from approximately 5:00AM-11:00AM. A nearby security guard was unaware of anyone in the business and no one responded to knocks on the door.

Conclusion

Due to the lack of substantial evidence collected during the investigation, the WPRS cannot confirm or deny that paranormal activity is occurring at the location at this time. However, this is greatly taking into consideration that due to the following, any evidence we may have obtained was contaminated:

· The constant sound of children running, and music, directly overhead

· A business was hosting a party and there was much more foot and vehicle traffic than usual at that time of the evening. The foot traffic caused a lot of talking and laughing, and the vehicular traffic interfered with our video equipment and caused a lot of shadows.

· A small refrigerator would kick on every so often, which would disturb dust.

Because of this, we recommend a follow-up investigation for the following reasons:

· The sound of children running and the music coming from the second level business is still unexplained and warrants further review.

· The location has an extremely rich history with the potential of very strong emotional ties by many people who have passed on.

· Often times, multiple investigations are needed to capture paranormal activity.

The ideal circumstances for a secondary investigation would include the following:

· A different combination of investigators from our team; only women investigators participated in this attempt and it’s possible that some spirits would rather communicate with males.

· Have the small refrigerator by the front desk turned off for the duration of the investigation.

Ask that the client not be present for two reasons – 1) it is a small area and having fewer people reduces the chances of evidence contamination, and 2) sometimes spirits will be more communicative if the person's they recognize are not present.

We hope to investigate the site again under better conditions.