Old site of the Swope Mansion

Site of the old Swope Mansion today

The old Swope Mansion used to be located at 308 N Pleasant Street, Independence, Missouri, but was razed by the RLDS Church after they purchased the property in the 1960's.  One can speculate why this beautiful red brick mansion was taken down, but it may be due to the fact that it was very haunted, and in fact, the location still may be haunted.  Col. Thomas Swope was murdered in the home by poisoning, and later 10 or 11 family members mysteriously died with the cause being reported as Typhoid from a contaminated cistern on the property.  See the book Deaths on Pleasant Street: The Ghastly Enigma of Colonel Swope and Doctor Hyde by Giles Fowler for more details. 

Here is the book description from Barnes and Noble:  "The 1909 murder case surrounding the wealthy Swope family of Independence, Missouri, gripped newspaper readers throughout the nation. This book gathers the facts behind the suspicious fates of three Swope family members: the eccentric Colonel, millionaire donor of Kansas City, Missouri’s Swope Park, his affable cousin, and a young nephew and heir. The mystery pits the Swope matriarch against her disfavored son-in-law, Dr. Bennett Clark Hyde. Charged with poisoning the Colonel and suspected of multiple other attempted murders, Dr. Hyde endures national media attention for this crime of the century. The series of trials and appeals that followed explores the question: Was he a diabolical villain bent on inheriting Swope’s millions or the unfortunate victim of a family grudge? This account of gothic-era America follows streetcar tracks from the courtrooms of Kansas City to the typhoid-plagued Swope mansion in nearby Independence. The author delivers an engaging and accurate retelling of these 100-year-old events in the literary journalism tradition by analyzing court transcripts, newspaper coverage, and personal memoirs. Readers also get a new scenario based on modern science for what may have happened in the dark hallways of the mansion on Pleasant Street. "
Link to book

However, the tale may not be so clear as the book purports.  According to my father, my great-great grandmother, Nellie Collins Swope, was a very sinister woman.  The entire family believed that she killed all three of her husbands for their money, as well as 11 family members (who were they?).  She was so feared and hated for her cruel treatment by the family that my father's father, Boyd Kithcart, talked his brother (who had a brain injury from WWI) into killing his grandmother with an ax in order to protect the rest of the family from her.  They all lived in a large stone house on Charlotte street in Kansas City, MO.  He attempted to do so but failed, and was taken away to the St. Joseph Sanitarium where he spent the rest of his life until he died in 1968.  Boyd died in 1956.  

It was known among the family members that Nellie was the 19-year old mistress of Mr. Henry Swope, and had her daughter, Minnie, out of wedlock.  After Mr. Swope's first wife died (how, I don't know) he married Nellie and then legally adopted his own daughter, Minnie.  They later had a son, George.  After Mr. Swope's death, Nellie married a man named Stephen March.  I don't know who the third husband may have been or if indeed there was one.

There are many gaps here, including the fact that I cannot find much information on Henry Swope, even after extensive research on Ancestry.com and other sites. Clearly, someone is hiding something.  I would like to get this cleared up if at all possible, and if you know something about the family I'd appreciate communicating with you.  I was able to purchase a photo of the mansion but the license will not allow me to use it in print or in a blog.   If you have a picture of it I'd appreciate getting a copy!

I was contacted by a former docent who worked in the Swope Mansion when they let people take tours after it was abandoned. Apparently, after the deaths the home was abandoned by the family and the City of Independence took possession of it.  The docent said that it was known among the staff that the house was very haunted, and that the workers often heard footsteps, doors opening and closing, doors locking of their own accord, and rustling of papers.  Col. Swope's office seemed to be the most active area and they would often find books on the floor of the office when no one had been in it.  Some workers even saw full body apparitions walking the halls.  No wonder, with 12 untimely deaths on the site. 

Now, as for the property, we are setting up a ghost hunt there this summer and I'll let you know how that goes on a future post. 
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Margie Kay is the director of Quest Paranormal Investigation Group and author of Haunted Independence and Gateway to the Dead: A Ghost Hunter's Field Guide. See more info at www.margiekay.com. 

The Vaile Mansion

The Vaile Mansion is on the front cover of Margie Kay's book Haunted Independence

The Vaile Mansion

1500 N Liberty, Independence, Missouri

816-325-7430

www.vailemansion.org
Open to the public daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This incredible Second Empire Victorian style Vaile Mansion in Independence, Missouri was built in 1881 by Colonel Harvey Vaile, who ran the Star Route mail delivery company via overland stage and railroad to Santa Fe, New Mexico from Independence.

Vaile was a successful abolitionist lawyer, cattle rancher, investor, and landowner. The mansion has 31 rooms, 9 Italian marble fireplaces, running water, and beautiful painted ceilings, and has been fully restored to its original splendor. 

The ghost stories about the Vaile evolved around different time periods and events. The first event was when Mr. Vaile was accused of mail fraud and sent to Washington for a trial. Even though he was acquitted, Mrs. Sophia Vaile, despondent over the accusations, took an overdose of morphine and died in the home in 1883. Others believe that she may have died from stomach cancer, but that was a taboo subject at the time and may have been the reason for the suicide tale.

Reportedly (but not confirmed) Mr. Vaile could not part with his dead wife so he had her buried in the front yard with a glass cover over the coffin so he could visit her. Protests from neighbors later resulted in the removal of the coffin to another location nearby.

Colonel Vaile died five years later. He never remarried. Sophia Vaile has been spotted looking out of the upper floor windows by passersby and inside the house throughout.

 The mansion was turned into an Inn after Mr. Vaile’s death in 1883. The Vaile Pure Water Co. was operated from the site until just after the turn of the century. Later, the home was used as an asylum and sanitarium for approximately 10 years during the early 1900s, and as reported by an ex-worker, the heavy metal cages where people were kept are still in the basement, however, another worker told me this is not the case and no cages exist.  The home was used as a nursing home for a half century or longer, and according to one staff worker hundreds of people died there. The staff does not like to visit the basement because strange noises and an ominous feeling occur there. The Vaile Mansion also served as a rest home, so one could assume that other people died here.

The mansion was purchased by Roger and Mary DeWitt in the 1960’s, and after the death of Mrs. DeWitt in 1983 it was donated to the citizens of Independence.

Spirits and ghostly activity have occurred over the years in several rooms in the house, on the grounds, and in the neighborhood. Some passersby walk on the opposite side of the street in order to avoid an encounter with a ghost. Neighbors report seeing a ghostly specter walking on the sidewalk and in the front yard of the property.

The third floor is now off limits to the public (perhaps due to pesky spirits) but during my visit on this floor some years ago with my husband, I sensed the presence of at least two spirits. One, a male spirit, was sitting by the back window, but as I stepped into the room, he slowly faded away. A second dark outline of a person stood in a corner for several minutes, seeming to watch our movements. This entity did not move or fade out, and remained as we left the room.  The reason the third floor is not a part of the tour is due to fire codes. The city was informed that they would have to install a fire escape if tours were to include the top level.

The staff also reports seeing imprints of someone sitting on the freshly made beds in one second floor bedroom when no one has been in the room.

So whether you are seeking spirits or not, it is worth taking a tour of the mansion.

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Margie Kay is the Director of The OZ Inter-dimensional Communication Institute and Quest Paranormal Investigation Group. She is the author of Haunted Independence and Gateway to the Dead and other books.  Visit www.margiekay.com or www.oz-ufo.com.com for more information.