Old Benton County Jail Investigation

Built in 1876 of limestone in the Italianate- style architecture at a cost of around $25,000. It was permanently closed in 1997. As was common in those days, the Sheriff and his family lived in part of the building.

One of the most profound incidents occurred here, a Civil War Veteran, Jacob Nelling, who worked for the Atkinson family broke into the house on September 24, 1883 and murdered 15-year-old Ada Atkinson. She was later found dead, chocked and stabbed 28 times in her bedroom on the family farm which was 1½ miles south of Oxford, Indiana on Pine Village Road.

Nelling was arrested on October 15^th and confessed to the murder. He was jailed in Lafayette, Indiana for his safety and returned to Fowler for trial on November 16^th.

On the night of November 18^th, 59 masked men from Benton and Warren Counties broke through the east door of the jail with sledge hammers and eventually broke into Nelling’s cell. He was pulled from his cell and at 1:45am the next day was hanged from a walnut tree 200 yards from the Atkinson home. Nine hour later the corpse was cut down. Over 3000 came to see the spectacle and school was dismissed so students could view it as well.

He was later taken to Oxford’s Town Hall for further display. On Nelling’s coat was a piece of paper with the words, “A Warning to Murderers.” The rope and tree was cut up for souvenirs. He was eventually buried in an unmarked grave in West Cemetery.

The Atkinson farm was razed in 1974.

Address: 708 E. 6^th St., Fowler, Indiana 47944

Hauntings:

Some say that the old Atkinson’s bedroom were the murder took place, the walls ooze blood through the wall paper even though it’s been papered several times since the murder.

There are reports in the old jail of shadow images, strange disembodied voices and sounds as well as numerous EVPs that have been captured here in the past from other investigative teams.

Some believe that the jail is haunted by Jacob Nelling, who was lynched without a fair trial.

The Ghost Research Society investigated the Old Benton County Jail on August 17, 2019 and the team members included: Dale Kaczmarek, with help from Carrie Werner and members of the Indy Ghost Trackers along with members of 765 Paranormal

Equipment setup: No equipment was setup as this was a public investigation. Only hand-held equipment was used like the Phasma Box app, digital recorders, cameras and camcorders, Melmeters, REM Epod that was positioned on top of a file cabinet in the cellblock area.

Experiments performed: A single Phasma Box session was recorded in the cellblock area and a REM Epod was placed on top of a set of file cabinets near the entrance to the cellblock. We did not venture upstairs.

Personal experiences: I personally did not feel anything out of the ordinary while in the building during the investigation or the initial walk-through. There was however an ominous atmosphere especially in the actual cell blocks.

Evidence collected:

Stabbed him Benton.MPG – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the cellblock the device blurted out, “Stabbed him.”

What’s the day Benton.MPG – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the cellblock the device said, “What’s the day?”

Other words or phrases spoken by the Phasma Box: changing and why not.

Conclusions: The was a the other public investigation sponsored by Freak Out at the Fowler and it was a most interesting location with a very dark history of a mob breaking into the prison and lynching a man accused of murder before his trial.

There were some very intriguing drawings and sketchings of motorcycles in one prison cell and long, dark hallways and at the beginning of the history walk, several were spooked by a bat that began to swoop the participants before flying upstairs in the dark.

Everyone seemed to be entranced by the Phasma Box device and even though only two phrases came out, they weren’t answers to any of the questions asked. There were a few other random words and phrases and others that were harder to discern.

This would be an area that I would love to come back one day with a smaller crew and more equipment and cameras positioned throughout the building. I’m sure that we could capture additional evidence.