The location of our geocache is near a thing or building--nowhere on private property. Street parking is available. The general direction is West of the original address. Furthermore, considering the problem of accessibility, you can remove the parking area from your search range as it is private property. Although the prison has been demolished, we still hope you can recall and reflect the specific history about Civil War in this journey-enjoy the haunted geocache.
In downtown St. Louis lie the angry souls which inhabited the Gratiot Street Prison—A once brutal prison built in the mid 1800’s. During the Civil War, Gratiot Street Military Prison was operated by the Union army to not only hold Confederate prisoners of war, but spies, guerillas, civilians, and even Federal soldiers accused of crimes or misbehaviors. Shot and mistreated, the ghosts of prisoners are said to have been seen in the windows on the prison. Eerie noises came from the prison as eyewitness have claimed. The prison was demolished and paved over, and now there is a Purina parking lot. Gene McCoskey, Manager of Contract Services and Security of Purina, is quoted in an article, "Whenever the grounds crew does any type of digging on the property near the Administration Building, they always come back and mention all the rubble they find after going into the ground just a short distance...I think they are finding rubble of the old prison."