It's hard to believe that five acres of waterfront property on 57th Ave S in Seattle could have a horrific past.  That exactly what the land, that began with a home named 'Morningside,' eventually became associated with.  It turns out the original owners weren't the original owners after all.

Courtesy of the Seattle Public Schools Archives 392-1
Courtesy of the Seattle Public Schools Archives 392-1
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Judge Everett T. Smith, who was a juvenile court judge, bought 5 acres of property from a man named John Wilson in 1889.  Wilson would obtain the property as repayment of a loan from Asa Mercer in 1867.  Smith would begin building a home on the property that he would dub 'Morningside'.  One of the more unique constructs Smith would add to the property was a hollow staircase that would lead to a giant Madrona tree on the property.

Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives 30561
Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives 30561
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The Original Inhabitants Of The Property Were Never Recorded on A Deed

That's because they were members of the Duwamish Tribe.  The Duwamish used the land for hunting, fishing, and burying their dead.  The construction would have unknowingly disturbed those sacred burial places of tribe members...but we'll come back to that.

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The Creation of The Martha Washington School For Girls

It sounds innocent enough right?  By 1920 Judge Smith was ready to relocate and he sold his 5 acre property to the Seattle School District.  20 years before ( in 1900) Maj. Cicero Newell and his wife Emma, along with the Woman's Century Club, would start a reform school called Parental School for Boys and Girls.  It originally opened in the Queen Anne area, move to Mercer Island, then back to Seattle in 1914, a year after Major Newell's death.

The school split into a boys school and girls school, with the girls school becoming the Martha Washington School for Girls and eventually moving in to 'Morningside'.  The students at the school were considered to be "bad girls" that needed to be housed away from society.  The horrific stories of what unfolded within the walls would become the stuff of macabre legend.

Courtesy of the Seattle Public Schools Archives 392-2
Courtesy of the Seattle Public Schools Archives 392-2
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It was whispered that it wasn't only "bad girls" that stayed there, but also girls deemed "insane".  Stories of human experimentation on the girls would circulate though no one could ever prove them.  It was also told that the property's caretaker (whose hut was supposedly built on sacred ground) would drink heavily before abusing and assaulting the girls staying there.  It was rumored the angry spirits of the Duwamish drove him mad.

The Killer Janitor

Sometime in the 1950s, a janitor who worked at the school was said to have gone on a rampage.  The exact number of girls he assaulted has varied over the years, but the one act that committed that has stayed consistent is the tragic fate on one girl in particular.  The janitor supposedly raped, then murdered a student before hanging her body from one of trees on campus.  Many of which were planted by the students.

Courtesy of the Seattle Public Schools Archives 392-13/Canva
Courtesy of the Seattle Public Schools Archives 392-13/Canva
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The End of The Martha Washington School for Girls

Washington State assumed control of the school in 1957 from the Seattle School District and would operate it until shutting the doors for good in 1971.  The City of Seattle would but the property the following year and use it for other purposes until boarding it up in 1983... but more evil was set to take place on those grounds.

Enter The Satanists

Courtesy of the Seattle Public Schools Archives 392-14/Canva
Courtesy of the Seattle Public Schools Archives 392-14/Canva
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The boarded up school building (and large campus) attracted a local group of Satanists.  Rumors spread that the group was using the place for various ceremonies, some of which included animal sacrifices.  The buildings fell into disrepair, graffiti adorned the walls, and the campus eventually became a hang out for addicts and the homeless.  Residents began to complain to City Council who eventually decided to act.

Courtesy of the Seattle Public Schools Archives 392-31
Courtesy of the Seattle Public Schools Archives 392-31
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In 1989 the City demolished the buildings and Martha Washington Park was created.  The hollow staircase to the Madrona tree still remains. The arch at the school entrance was preserved and memorialized at Green Lake Park.  It is breathtaking to behold during the day, but at night...

The Haunting of Martha Washington Park

Countless sighting of former students have been reported when the sun goes down.  A girl in a translucent nightgown is one of the most common spirits encountered.  Footsteps, voices, and the occasional scream has also been encountered by the brave souls who wander into the park before before being chased out.  Some have reported feeling uneasy in the park as the sun begins to set.

It's also been told that the spirits target their wrath at those who have committed crimes of abuse, yet ease those who are victims of it.  The overarching belief is that the original disturbance of the land in the 1880s is what started the tragic series of events that would befall the school and its inhabitants.  Some looking for supernatural encounters have said they've seen spirits of the Duwamish near the waterfront and by the caretakers old hut, the place that may well have angered those ancient spirits.

Canva
Canva
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This is the time of year when many will flock to the park to see if the stories are true.  If you decide to wander into to Martha Washington Park when the sun goes down, bring a friend (or two, three, or four), and do so at your own risk.

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