Purgatory Traditional Cache
Tsmola: Archiving to make way for a multi that will better showcasr this area.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Al Capone hideout? Haunted road?
I discovered this area quite by accident a while back. It was a
very odd place when I first found it and later I learned that it
had some local legends associated with it.
This area is best known as "Purgatory" by people living in the
Three Rivers/Jones area. Why it is called that I have really don't
know for sure, but my best guess is that it is named after nearby
Purgatory road. It is literally out in the middle of nowhere.
Supposedly the foundations here are all that remains of an Al
Capone hideout. I never got the chance to see the house that stood
here in person, but I have heard it was huge. All that's left
besides the foundation is a small, wine-cellar type room in the
side of a hill and another small building that is nearly always
flooded that is filled with strange pumps and other old machinery.
It is said that this used to be some type of hydro-electric
generator that was used to power the house.
Al Capone hideout?
Rumor has it that the house that used to stand here was once a
hideout for Al Capone. There aren't any facts to really back up the
claim of this, so I can't say for certain if this is true. When you
are out on this old road though, it's easy to see why people think
this area could think this would be one of his hiding places. It is
out in the middle of nowhere. Since I have not been able to locate
a pic of the house when it was still standing, I've had to go by
whatever info I can find online about what the place looked like.
One rumor is that the house was surrounded by a large brick and
mortar fence topped with broken glass and that there were even
escape tunnels that led out of the house. Some say you can still
find those today, my own searches of the area revealed nothing
however. In searches of the internet, you'll find an interesting
phenomenon where Al Capone supposedly had hideouts just about
everywhere you can think of. As to the authenticity of these
claims, no one can really say for sure. But it still makes for a
great story. Here are a few short quotes I found online about this
area. If they are real or not I have no idea.
"Regarding Al Capone's house at Purgatory road (St. Joseph
County Michigan). It was told to me that Al Capone built a boxing
rink for Joe Louis outside the house and a motel across the way to
house journalists to watch Joe Louis workout. About 5 years ago an
arsonists burnt down the house and last year the motel was
bulldozed to the ground all that remains is the wine cellar and
pump station. the house was used primarily used a half way stop off
point during prohibition as it sat halfway between Canadian border
and Chicago. The alcohol would be transferred in the surrounding
state forest. So much for preserving the heritage of the county
"
"I have seen that house. Someone told me they were alligator
pits. I could never tell if they were pulling my leg."
" The mansion in Jones area burned down by some kids back in
2003 or 2004. The "Factory" as they call it underground used to
actually be a place for him to gamble while he was there, and it
was a spot for money laundering while he was not there. This room
is STILL ACCESSABLE to this day.
As you can see, rumors are numerous for this place.
Haunted?
Of course, with rumors of an Al Capone hideout come rumors that the
area is haunted. By whom is not really known, I always seem to find
the same basic things said about Purgatory: "weird things happen
out there". I am still keeping an eye out for more info one the
"weird happenings" in the area. When I visited here at night with a
friend, we experienced nothing odd or out of the ordinary. It is
defintely a creepy area though and worth a look if you are in the
area.
This is also the only one of my Haunts and Local Legends caches
that can be visted at night. It gets very dark back here so bring a
light if you do. This is a very remote dirt road that doesn't
recieve a whole lot of traffic, so if you want to walk up and down
the road a bit and look for ghosts after locating the cache you
should be able to without disturbing anyone. Although be forewarned
that night is when things supposedly get "pretty crazy" out here.
I'm not sure exactly what is meant by that, my one trip here at
night was pretty uneventful. Please be aware that some of the area
nearby is open to public hunting and there may be hunters about.
This is supposed to be a party spot for local kids and there are
supposedly some crazy people living in the area, so I threw in the
dangerous area icon just to let you know it may not be an entirely
family friendly location.
The cache itself is a small lock and lock hidden along the right of
way where the road crosses a small creek. I had to hide it along
the right of way because no cache containers are allowed in State
Game areas. So basically I had to make do with what I had to work
with. This hide is more about the location than the hide itself,
bring a camera. The house foundation is located just a short ways
up the hill and around the corner, you can't miss it. If you do go
at night, please do share any odd experiences and pics in your
log.
Also, as always if anyone can provide any additional information on
the history of the house, especially pictures of it before it
burned to the ground, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email
and let me know.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
qba'g snyy va, cvyr bs ebpxf
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