Photo courtesy of the Colorado Department of Human Services web
site: www.cdhs.state.co.us/ddd/GJRCHistory.htm
The site of the former Teller Indian School is rich with history and
ghost lore. It was originally constructed in 1885 in the area that is
now known as Pear Park in Grand Junction, Colorado as a Boarding
School for Native American children. By 1900 there were over 200
students enrolled from the Ute, Navajo, Papago, Moquis, and
Shoshone tribes. The site is said to contain a cemetery with at least
eleven students buried, although no official records can be located.
The only evidence we were able to uncover were burial references
to the school in obituaries. The requirements for enrollment were a
minimum age of fifteen years and completed at least eight grades of
schooling prior to enrollment. Tuition was free for Colorado
residents and a $20 per month fee was charged for out-of-state
tuition. In 1911, the school closed after the Federal Government
decided to send the children home for their educations. The state of
Colorado took over the property and buildings and in 1921 turned it
into the State Home for Mental Defectives. By the 1960’s there were
approximately 800 people living in the facility. There are extensive
stories of abuse and torture that took place in the facility until the
late twentieth century, although there is no official documentation to
support these rumors.
*Because of our strict confidentiality policy and the fact that the
property is currently a functioning business, we will not disclose the
address or the name of the current business on the property.
We began our investigation at approximately 20:00 with a cold front
approaching, although there weren’t any climate conditions that
would effect our investigation. The three-story building we were
investigating was abandoned due to high levels of asbestos that
was determined to be too costly to remove and is currently used as
storage for the business on the property. There was no power to
the building, making it difficult for us to conduct a full investigation
however we used our hand-held devices and proceeded as if we
were in a cemetery. Because there was no electricity to the building,
we were more encouraged about any EMF readings we could get.
We were able to separate into teams of two with Clarissa leading
the A-team and Chade leading the B-team. Jim, our host
accompanied Clarissa on her team and pointed out several areas of
interest within the building, to include a now sealed-off area that
was used to “cage” mental residents who were determined to be a
danger to themselves or to others. It consisted of cages that were
said to be very small and was accessible from the outside. That
area of the building produced very cold and heavy feelings, but we
were not able to gather any EMF or EVP in that area. The main
stairwell was part of the original construction of the building which
was of magnificent architectural design. The third floor of the
building has had reports of people standing in the windows staring
out across the campus, however when personnel check to see who
might be in the building, no one can be found. We examined the
third floor extensively and had several personal experiences,
although we did not gather and EMF or EVP.
Early in the investigation, the A-team attempted to contact Chade
and the B-team via our hand-held radios. When there was no
answer, they proceeded to the ground floor which was B-team’s last
known location. While in the stairwell, Clarissa repeatedly yelled out
the names of the B-team, with no response. Her voice did not echo
at this time, which was odd considering the construction of the
stairwell. Once the B-team was located, we tested the stairwell
again, with A-team going back to the third floor and the B-team near
the entrance to the building on the ground floor. Clarissa yelled
down the stairwell again. Not only did her voice echo in the stairwell,
but the B-team was able to hear her quite clearly. At that point, the
two teams combined and the investigation proceeded as one large
group.
While investigating the third floor, Chade and Clarissa were walking
through a doorway to an area that was once a large atrium. Most of
the windows have since been removed and replaced with plaster
walls, but the room still gave the appearance of a small gymnasium
or even a ballroom. Upon entering the room, all electronic
equipment lost power simultaneously and Clarissa and Chade were
hit with a large blast of cold air. The blast was strong enough to
blow Clarissa’s hair back, as if in a wind storm. Once the event was
over, the cameras and other electronics resumed power. We
examined the room extensively and found no possible source for
the air. The same thing happened a second time, although not as
strong, when we entered the stairwell to go back to the ground floor.
We decided to separate in teams again with one team examining
the outside of the building and the other attempting to gather EVP
on the third floor. With the B-team outside the A-team chose a room
on the third floor and sat down to casually converse and meditate.
With the tape recorder going, they sat in silence for a brief period,
occasionally asking questions, with no change in atmosphere. After
a few minutes, they began to converse among ourselves when we
heard a very loud groan. With the groan, came a very heavy and
uncomfortable feeling. They uttered a brief “Thank You” and quickly
went downstairs to the B-team to go over the recordings. After
careful examination of the recordings, we were not able to find the
groan on any of the recording devices in use at that time.
We concluded the investigation at approximately 23:00 and left to
analyze our data and get some sleep. While we had a few personal
experiences on this investigation, we were not able to gather any
concrete evidence that would indicate the location is haunted. We
would like to thank Jim and the current property owners for allowing
us to investigate. If we are able to check out this location again, we
will attempt to obtain a power source so we can use more extensive
equipment and provide a second report page.
site: www.cdhs.state.co.us/ddd/GJRCHistory.htm
The site of the former Teller Indian School is rich with history and
ghost lore. It was originally constructed in 1885 in the area that is
now known as Pear Park in Grand Junction, Colorado as a Boarding
School for Native American children. By 1900 there were over 200
students enrolled from the Ute, Navajo, Papago, Moquis, and
Shoshone tribes. The site is said to contain a cemetery with at least
eleven students buried, although no official records can be located.
The only evidence we were able to uncover were burial references
to the school in obituaries. The requirements for enrollment were a
minimum age of fifteen years and completed at least eight grades of
schooling prior to enrollment. Tuition was free for Colorado
residents and a $20 per month fee was charged for out-of-state
tuition. In 1911, the school closed after the Federal Government
decided to send the children home for their educations. The state of
Colorado took over the property and buildings and in 1921 turned it
into the State Home for Mental Defectives. By the 1960’s there were
approximately 800 people living in the facility. There are extensive
stories of abuse and torture that took place in the facility until the
late twentieth century, although there is no official documentation to
support these rumors.
*Because of our strict confidentiality policy and the fact that the
property is currently a functioning business, we will not disclose the
address or the name of the current business on the property.
We began our investigation at approximately 20:00 with a cold front
approaching, although there weren’t any climate conditions that
would effect our investigation. The three-story building we were
investigating was abandoned due to high levels of asbestos that
was determined to be too costly to remove and is currently used as
storage for the business on the property. There was no power to
the building, making it difficult for us to conduct a full investigation
however we used our hand-held devices and proceeded as if we
were in a cemetery. Because there was no electricity to the building,
we were more encouraged about any EMF readings we could get.
We were able to separate into teams of two with Clarissa leading
the A-team and Chade leading the B-team. Jim, our host
accompanied Clarissa on her team and pointed out several areas of
interest within the building, to include a now sealed-off area that
was used to “cage” mental residents who were determined to be a
danger to themselves or to others. It consisted of cages that were
said to be very small and was accessible from the outside. That
area of the building produced very cold and heavy feelings, but we
were not able to gather any EMF or EVP in that area. The main
stairwell was part of the original construction of the building which
was of magnificent architectural design. The third floor of the
building has had reports of people standing in the windows staring
out across the campus, however when personnel check to see who
might be in the building, no one can be found. We examined the
third floor extensively and had several personal experiences,
although we did not gather and EMF or EVP.
Early in the investigation, the A-team attempted to contact Chade
and the B-team via our hand-held radios. When there was no
answer, they proceeded to the ground floor which was B-team’s last
known location. While in the stairwell, Clarissa repeatedly yelled out
the names of the B-team, with no response. Her voice did not echo
at this time, which was odd considering the construction of the
stairwell. Once the B-team was located, we tested the stairwell
again, with A-team going back to the third floor and the B-team near
the entrance to the building on the ground floor. Clarissa yelled
down the stairwell again. Not only did her voice echo in the stairwell,
but the B-team was able to hear her quite clearly. At that point, the
two teams combined and the investigation proceeded as one large
group.
While investigating the third floor, Chade and Clarissa were walking
through a doorway to an area that was once a large atrium. Most of
the windows have since been removed and replaced with plaster
walls, but the room still gave the appearance of a small gymnasium
or even a ballroom. Upon entering the room, all electronic
equipment lost power simultaneously and Clarissa and Chade were
hit with a large blast of cold air. The blast was strong enough to
blow Clarissa’s hair back, as if in a wind storm. Once the event was
over, the cameras and other electronics resumed power. We
examined the room extensively and found no possible source for
the air. The same thing happened a second time, although not as
strong, when we entered the stairwell to go back to the ground floor.
We decided to separate in teams again with one team examining
the outside of the building and the other attempting to gather EVP
on the third floor. With the B-team outside the A-team chose a room
on the third floor and sat down to casually converse and meditate.
With the tape recorder going, they sat in silence for a brief period,
occasionally asking questions, with no change in atmosphere. After
a few minutes, they began to converse among ourselves when we
heard a very loud groan. With the groan, came a very heavy and
uncomfortable feeling. They uttered a brief “Thank You” and quickly
went downstairs to the B-team to go over the recordings. After
careful examination of the recordings, we were not able to find the
groan on any of the recording devices in use at that time.
We concluded the investigation at approximately 23:00 and left to
analyze our data and get some sleep. While we had a few personal
experiences on this investigation, we were not able to gather any
concrete evidence that would indicate the location is haunted. We
would like to thank Jim and the current property owners for allowing
us to investigate. If we are able to check out this location again, we
will attempt to obtain a power source so we can use more extensive
equipment and provide a second report page.
| Teller Indian School |
| Grand Junction, CO Sunday, October 28, 2007 |
| Chade analyzes data collected at the site of the former Teller Indian School. Clarissa couldn't resist posting the picture! |
| The CCPI team attempts to gather data on the third floor. Because there was no electricity in the building, we had to rely solely on flashlights, thus the streak coming from Mikey's head & Deb's camera as well as the reflections on Chade's shirt and Jim's pants. |
| Mikey checks out an area for drafts following the incident where Chade and Clarissa were "blown away" with no possible source for the air current. |
| The Teller Indian School as it appears today. We apologize for the quality of this particular photo. We are in the process of recovering files and will provide a clearer picture as soon as one becomes available. |
| Lunar Phase Solar Activity Geomagnetic Activity Temperature 54° F Barometric Pressure 31.03 IN |