Whitewater’s fascinating and mysterious history

Published On: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 – By Holly Tierney – Categories: Blog, Explore Jefferson County, History – Tags: Fort Atkinson, ghost tours, Haunted Wisconsin, Legends of Whitewater, Morris Pratt Institute, Salem or Wisconsin, Second Salem Brewing, spirit tours, Starin Water Tower, Watertown, Whitewater, Whitewater Ghost Tour, Witches of Wisconsin –

Your first clue when traveling through Whitewater may be when you notice a brewing company called Second Salem.

“That’s a unique name,” you’ll think. “Perhaps the owners are from Salem, Massachusetts or Salem, Oregon,” you’ll tell yourself. “They probably moved out here for some reason and brought their brewing business with them. Hope they like it here!”

If you dive a little deeper, you’ll find Whitewater appearing on websites like Only In Your State, and being named as the “Creepiest Town in Wisconsin.” You’ll learn that Second Salem doesn’t refer to a relocated brewing practice but to the former nickname of Whitewater itself. How can one cute little college town get such an eerie reputation?

The Morris Pratt Institute

Some folks says it all started in the 1800s when the Morris Pratt Institute was built. The institute was devoted to teaching spiritualism, a popular subject at the time. Students were instructed on practices that supposedly allowed them to contact spirits to further their understanding of God and the afterlife.

The institute operated in Whitewater for about sixty years (about fifty of those as a functioning school with classes, the final ten simply as an organization), then moved to Milwaukee where it still exists today. Sadly, the beautiful building that housed the original institute no longer stands.

But stories of the Morris Pratt Institute are just the beginning. Tales of strategically positioned graveyards that form something called a “witch’s triangle” and a haunted water tower also add to the tapestry of mystery.

The Witch’s Triangle and Tower

While it could be argued that it’s not really so strange that Whitewater’s Oak Grove Cemetery, Hillside Cemetery, and Calvary Cemetery form a triangle (considering that three of anything form a triangle), legend has it that everything within this triangle is haunted. Included within this triangle, not far from Calvary Cemetery, is the Starin Park Water Tower, known locally as the Witch’s Tower.

Built the same year as the Pratt Institute, this water tower still stands today, but Whitewater residents have mixed feelings about it. Many want to preserve it, but many others don’t harbor much affection for it. Rumors of strange rituals happening there go back for over a hundred years. This tower is located near the college campus, and many students refuse to walk past it at night or when they’re alone. To add to the mystery and legend surrounding it, the spiked fence that encircles the tower has its spikes pointing not out as you’d expect, to deter vandals and trespassers, but inward! The story goes that this is to keep the spirits of the bygone witches from escaping.

Several years ago, people were advocating to preserve it and honor the tower as a landmark. However, in 2021 there was talk about whether its protected status should remain once a new water tower went up. These days, the debate continues about whether the cost to preserve it is worth it.

Ghost and Spirit Tours

Countless other tales of hauntings, a sinister ancient book kept under lock and key, and a witch named Mary Worth who cursed the town add to the tapestry of mystery. To learn more about all of these, take a Whitewater Spirit Tour.

Interested in other ghost and spirts around Jefferson County? Take the Watertown Darkside tour or join the Fort Atkinson, WI Paranormal Society.

To delve deeper into the mysterious history of Whitewater, read up on: