The Ghosts of Sag Bridge

Recently I’ve been speaking at libraries and other local organizations about the history of Sag Bridge, a town that once existed near Archer Avenue, where Route 83 makes a turn from a north-south road to an east-west road. Although it is now part of the Village of Lemont, Sag Bridge was once a town of its own, with a hotel, taverns, post office, general store, school district, fire department, train station, electric streetcar stop, and a port on the I&M Canal.

The history is fascinating, but it’s not possible to cover all the facts in a single session. Due to an expressed interest in knowing more about Sag Bridge, I’m reposting some of the articles I previously wrote about the area. Since I wrote these some seven or eight years ago, most of you have never read them, and I trust others will have long forgotten them. If you do remember them, I hope you will take pleasure in reading them again. 

I’m beginning with The Ghosts of Sag Bridge, since who doesn’t love a ghost story?

The late 1890s seems to be when ghost activity peaked in the area of Sag Bridge, Illinois, now the northeast corner of Lemont. Many ghostly tales, some well documented, began here.
 
In late December, 1897, a rash of new sightings and hauntings was stirred up. Some said it was due to the discovery of the skeletons of nine Indians, well documented by scientists from Chicago. Professor Dosey determined the skeletons were several hundred years old, one being over seven feet tall. This was not the first time: skeletons had been turning up in and near Sag Bridge for years. But now villagers began reporting phantom Indians on horseback riding through the town at night, and other visions of roaming spirits. Some felt this was due to the fact that the skeletons had been disturbed, and demanded they be reburied. Some were reburied, but some were sent to the Field Museum in Chicago.
 
Not only Indians haunted the area. There were tales of a horse-drawn hearse traveling along Archer Avenue, pulling an infant’s casket, which was seen to glow through the viewing window. A county policeman reported chasing several figures in monk-like robes until they vanished before his eyes. A priest is rumored to have seen the ground rise and fall as if it were breathing.
 
Much of this activity seems to have been near St. James at Sag Bridge, a church in the middle of the forest, surrounded by a cemetery dating back to the early 1800s, years before the church was built. It is said that the site was originally an Indian village and an ancient Indian burial ground. Even in daytime, the property gives off an eerie atmosphere.
 
A story told about St. James at Sag Bridge also happened in 1897. Two musicians, Professor William Looney and John Kelly, had provided entertainment for a parish event, which went on until 1 a.m. Not wanting to travel back to their homes at this late hour, they opted to sleep overnight in a small building on the property. Looney was awakened during the night by the sound of galloping hoofs on the gravel road and looked out the window. He could see nothing to account for the sound, and gradually it faded.
 
He woke Kelly to tell him what had happened, and as they spoke, the sound returned. Both men looked out, and as the sounds again faded the form of a young woman appeared in the road. The sounds again approached, and this time horses and a carriage were seen coming part way up the drive. The woman danced in the road until she entered shadow, and the horses and carriage disappeared, only to start again a short time later. Each time they appeared, something new was added to the scene, and the woman began to call, “Come on!” as she disappeared.
 
The men reported the incident to local police the next morning, and it was verified that NO drinking had taken place to account for the tale. Since that time, similar sightings have continued to be reported by respectable residents. It is said the ghosts were the spirits of a young parish helper and housekeeper from the church, who fell in love and decided to elope. The man told his young lover to wait part way down the hill while he hitched the horses, but as he was coming for her, they startled, bolted, the wagon was overturned, and both were killed.
 
Today St. James at Sag Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places, and still operates as a Catholic Parish. If you attend Mass there on a Sunday morning, you will park on this very hill, and walk through the cemetery, and you will see ushers pull ropes to ring the church bells, and you will think you have been transported back in time.
 
Is it any wonder that I set my novel, The Mystery at Sag Bridge, in this very special place?

My new release is now available at Smokey Row Antiques in downtown Lemont, Centuries and Sleuths in Forest Park, and Andersons Bookshops (Downers Grove only).As with my other books, you can also get all my books at Amazon.com, in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle. Ebooks are also  available as Kindle unlimited. Here’s the Amazon link:  https://www.amazon.com/Books-Pat-Camalliere/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3APat+Camallier

So excited by early reviews of The Miracle at Assisi Hill!

Here’s one from David W. Berner, of The Writer Shed podcast. David is an award-winning writer and bestselling author. His most recent books are Walks with Sam and Sandman. Here, in part, is some of what he had to say:
 

The Miracle at Assisi Hill by Pat Camalliere is a touching and beautiful story of a woman finding her way through illness and religious doubts, who is ultimately thrust into a mysterious adventure linked to a woman bound for sainthood. The narrative is linked to historical facts from the area where most of the story takes place—Lemont, Illinois—and is a mixture of mystery, mysticism, and the power of resilience all wrapped around characters who you will feel for, be touched by, and who will awaken your senses to thought-provoking ideas. Through it all, though, love is the center of the story. The Miracle is what a novel—mystery or not —should be, full of depth.

Camalliere is the creator of the Cora Tozzi Historical Mystery Series. She bases her stories in and around where she lives in Lemont, Illinois and all have a strong connection to historical fact. But in the end, like The Miracle at Assisi Hill, they are all tender stories of resilience and redemption.