Black Partridge Woods Investigation

This location was designated a forest preserve in 1964. Probably its name was suggested by Ransom E. Kennicott, chief forester of the Forest Preserve District from its organization on February 11, 1915, until his death in 1934, and its chief administrator until June 1927, when M.S. Szymczak became general superintendent. Szymczak resigned, effective December 3, 1928, after being elected Clerk of the Superior Court. John Berry served as acting general superintendent until the appointment of Charles G. Sauers on May 15, 1929.

Ransom Kennicott was historically minded with a predilection for Indian lore and names. He and especially Peter Reinberg, first president of the board, were instrumental in the adoption of this and other Indian names, notably: Miami Woods, Caldwell Woods, Bill Caldwell Golf Course, Shabbona Woods, Sauk Trail Woods, Sauk Lake and Chewab Skokie (the Skokie Marsh.)  

Black Partridge, according to Mrs. John H. Kinzie in her book, “Wau-Bun” (a narrative of early Chicago history and especially the Fort Dearborn Massacre in 1812), was chief of a Potawatomi band at Aux Sable Creek southwest of Channahon and Joliet. His Indian name was Muck-Ke-Tay-Pe-Nay. She describes him as a superb physical specimen and a “good Indian”, always a friend of the white man. She credits him with saving Mrs. Margaret Helm, daughter of Mrs. John Kinzie, mother of John H. and wife of Lt. Lenai T. Helm, second in command under Capt. Nathan Heald, from death during the massacre.  

He lived from c1744-1816.  He and his brother Waubonsie both attempted to protect settlers during the Battle of Fort Dearborn after they were unsuccessful in preventing the attack.  Black Partridge saved the life of a Mrs. Margaret Helm, the wife of Lieutenant Lenai T. Helm and stepdaughter of Indian trader John Kinzie, by holding her underwater under the appearance of drowning her. He later removed her to a nearby Indian camp where her wounds were dressed. Black Partridge also helped free her husband who was being held captive by the Red Head Chief at Kankakee. Delivering the ransom on behalf of U.S. Indian Agent Thomas Forsyth, he voluntarily offered his pony, rifle and a gold ring along with the original written order for $100 signed by General George Rodgers Clark.  

Returning to his village on Peoria Lake however, he found his village had been burned by the Illinois Rangers from Edwardsville under orders from Governor Ninian Edwards. Among the massacred villages included his daughter and his grandchild. Taking 200 warriors from nearby villages, as well as 100 from Shequenebec and another 100 from Mittitass, he joined in the attack against Fort Clark on September 19, 1813 although this attack was repulsed by the fort's defenders. Black Hawk, then a young warrior, was also present at the attack. Black Partridge and his band eventually surrendered after being driven back to Fort Clark by General Henry Dodge and Major Zachary Taylor. He was one of the 13 chieftains escorted by Colonel George Davenport to St. Louis where peace was signed between the Potawatomi and the United States. He was a later signatory of several treaties between the Potawatomi and the United States government.

Address: Bluff Road, east of I-355, Woodridge, Illinois 60517

Hauntings: Many people including a friend of mine from Certified Grocers have seen an old man walking around the area. Descriptions of the man are all dressed in black tattered clothing; very pale white face and broken teeth; a very scary visage.

The Ghost Research Society investigated Black Partridge Woods on September 20,  2020 and the team members included: Marge Sucha, Charles Williams, Kelly Griffey, Lori Rago and Dale Kaczmarek.

Equipment setup: Camcorders, full-spectrum and digital cameras were deployed along with digital recorders, Melmeter with proximity probe, Tri-Field Natural EM Meter and the Phasma Box app. This was a daytime investigation in the afternoon.

Experiments performed: Phasma Box and ParaTek app sessions were conducted on the fringe of the property where the ghostly figure has been reported and on a stone bridge overlooking some running water.

Personal experiences:

Kelly Griffey: I brought my Olympus voice recorder, my Zoom H2 recorder, my Canon. Black Partridge woods was peaceful but workers (either from a hired service or the conservation society) were walking around with machetes.  I was a little nervous, but they appeared to be walking around looking at the native plant species.  

Marge Sucha: We did two EVP sessions at this location.  The first area we investigated was just off Bluff Road.  Next we moved a little further in the woods to a small bridge that went over a creek.  We had some responses using the Phasma Box at both of these areas.  I did not get any EVPs.

Charles Williams: Another wooded area off Rt. 66, One haunted story included what looked like a homeless man wandering the area.  One thought I had was that people just may have seen a homeless person.  There was a group cleaning the preserve, but evidence was still collected, no personal experiences. 

Dale Kaczmarek: During our first EVP near the road, I used a Melmeter with a proximity probe and immediately after I turned it on, I got a 192mg spike which could have indicated a moving EM field. The meter quickly zeroed out and even after turning the device on and off several times, I never received another high reading like that. A little into the session however I received some smaller spikes between .7-1.2mg and there was nothing nearby that could have caused that reading. These devices are sensitive to only around 18” away.

Later at the bridge session, nothing was felt or sensed out of the ordinary. It was a very peaceful place but I thought that nearby running water might have contributed to any spirits that might have been around.

Evidence collected:

Elliott Partridge.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the road, a question was asked, “What’s the man’s name that walks down this road?” The device responded with, “Elliott.”

Follow Partridge.MP4 – while conducting a ParaTek app session on the bridge, a comment was made, “I think we’re going to have to leave now.” The device replied with, “Follow.”

Investigation Partridge.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the road, the device blurted out, “…investigation.”

Mason Partridge.MP4 – while conducting a ParaTek app session on the bridge, a question was asked, “Is there anybody on the bridge? Can you tell us your first name?” The device responded with, “Mason.”

Potawatomi Partridge.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the road, a question was asked, “What Indian tribe was Black Partridge from?” The device responded with what kind of sounds like, “Potawatomi.”  

Sixty Partridge.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the road, a question was asked, “How old are you?” The device responded with, “Sixty.”

Words spoken by Phasma Box: 16 0r 60, I’m freezing, Elliott, hurry up, Potawatomi, investigation, 2007, pretty eyes and I haven’t.

Words spoken by the ParaTek app: kiss, Mason, gentle, yoga, idiot, X, hell, thing, next, follow and whiskey.

Conclusions: It was hard to find a place to park as there was some conservation event going on and the main parking lot was closed. We were forced to park along the angular parking on the road. It was a pretty day and a great close to the 2020 season.

We did pick up some direct communications especially to questions asked and when we asked for a name; both Elliott and Mason came through. Another team member received Adam and Amelia on her device. Adam was also picked up earlier at Runyon Cemetery.

There were some meter spikes on the Melmeter and a few other interesting words like; investigation and what sounded like Potawatomi and follow when we were packing up and preparing to leave. We, of course, told the spirits that they could not follow us but had to remain here. Whiskey was a bit interesting as well because we know from history that American Indians loved whiskey or what they called, “fire water.”