One of the oldest military forts in Wisconsin, Fort Howard, is home to one of the earliest murder trials — and the ghost stories that followed.
- Heritage Hill State Historical Park in Allouez is the subject of this installment of Your Haunted Neighborhood
- Fort Howard military base was operational near the Bay of Green Bay prior to Wisconsin gaining official statehood — and was the site of a murder on February 7, 1832, according to historians and court records
- Now, Heritage Hill staff says the victim of the murder is rumored to be the source of paranormal experiences at the park
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
One of the earliest and most notorious murderers in Wisconsin was held in one of these cells at Heritage Hill State Historical Park, and his victim said to still haunt these walls2 00 years later.
One night in February of 1832 at Fort Howard military base — before our state existed — a soldier, Private Patrick Doyle, was in trouble.
“For drunkenness, which was a problem here at Fort Howard, starting our Wisconsin roots,” said Elizabeth Jolly-Haslitt, Heritage Hill’s Director of Development. “He probably would have been put in the light prison.”