P.R.I.S.M. - Paranormal Research & Investigative Studies Midwest - PRISM Investigations - The Dodge House

History:
General Grenville Mellen Dodge, is an important historical figure in Pottawattamie county. General Dodge organized the Fourth Iowa Volunteers and the 2nd Iowa Battery to serve in the Civil War. In 1864, the general lead a campaign to rid Missouri of guerillas who were terrorizing residents of the state. In 1866, he became Chief Engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad's westward movement. He also became a United States Congressman that same year. On May 10, 1869 the Union and Central Pacific Railroads met in Promontory Summit, Utah. General Dodge's crew had laid 1086 miles of track.

In 1869, General Dodge and his wife, Ruth Anne Dodge, started construction of their home in Council Bluffs. The house is located at 605 Third Street. The General Dodge House is a National Historic Landmark. The house is now a museum that is open to the public. Gen. Dodge built this mansion at the cost of $35,000, which was a lot of money back in 1869. The Dodge House is a fourteen-room, three-story, Victorian mansion. The majority of the original furnishings remain in the home, including its parquet floors and original cherry, walnut, and butternut woodwork. General Dodge died January 3, 1916, from cancer. He was 84 years old.

(Portions of the above history were taken from the Pottawattamie County official web site.)

Photographic Evidence:

(Click on images to enlarge)

Is the Dodge House haunted by the ghost of a young girl?

On August 6, 2005 we recieved this interesting e-mail from Jacki C., a visitor to the Dodge House.

There is a spirit in the top west servant's quarters. Several people have either felt or heard her. She doesn't seem to like people messing around up there after hours. I don't believe there has been any research into her. There was a picture taken of a group of us when I was there and she showed up in the photo behind me. She seems to make an appearance at least once a year. -Jacki

PRISM Paranormal Investigation

(Fall 2004) PRISM investigator Karen C. visited the historic General Dodge House. She toured the inside of the house, but was not allowed to take any photos of the interior due to their policy. Upon leaving, she did manage to capture some very interesting photos of the exterior of the house. It was not cold outside and nobody was smoking at the time these photos were taken.

Photographic Evidence:

(Click on images to enlarge)

PRISM Paranormal Investigation

Date: 3/19/05
Time: 10:30 am to 11:00 am
Weather Outside: Clear
Outside Temperature: 36°F - 40°F
Humidity Outside: 25%
Sunrise & Sunset: 6:27am & 6:36pm
Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous (70% Full)
Solar Activity: Active
Geomagnetic Activity: Quiet

On 3/19/05, PRISM investigators David Rodriguez and Dan Christianson visited the historic General Dodge House to take photos of the exterior of the building. Nothing out of the normal was noticed.

Photographic Evidence:

(Click on images to enlarge)

General Dodge House - Exterior (Front Door)

A view of the front door of the ouse. This was taken to compare with the apparition photo taken by Jeffrey Raia in 2004. As you can see, there is no apparition of a young girl looking through the window of the door in this photograph.

PRISM Paranormal Investigations