Gilbert Historical Museum
Gilbert’s first school district was called Highland School, because it was the highest land south of the Salt River.
The first school was built in 1900 and was located on the southwest corner of Baseline and Cooper Roads. In 1909 the school district moved the school to the northeast corner of Guadalupe and Cooper Roads. When the elementary school (nicknamed the “Alamo”) was built at the southwest corner of Elliot and Gilbert Roads in 1913, the districts name changed from Highland to Gilbert School District. The Alamo is now the home of the Gilbert Historical Museum.
In 1911, a creamery opened and sometimes students would hitch a ride to school on a farm wagon that was headed to the creamery.
Many artifacts (including old class photos) from early Gilbert Schools are preserved in the School Room at the Museum. Children can experience school life in a recreation of an old-style Gilbert classroom, and for some adults, it may stir memories and experiences from their youth.
The Gilbert Historical Society was organized in early 1960 with the goal of “Preserving the Past for the Future.” Collections of pictures, documents and artifacts relating to the history of the community were preserved with the hope that a history of the area would be written and a historical center would be developed. In 1977, the old elementary school at Gilbert and Elliot Roads was abandoned for classroom use. This seemed to be the ideal location for the Museum.
In 1979, the Gilbert Historical Society was incorporated as a non-profit corporation. In June 1980, the school building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The old elementary school building has been a Gilbert landmark for more than 90 years, preserving an element of life dear to the community. The Society now owns the building thanks to the generosity of Otto and Edna Neely and on May 15, 1982, the Gilbert Historical Museum opened to the public.
WEATHER CONDITIONS – DAY OF INVESTIGATION
FOR SEPTEMBER 5th 2009 Gilbert, AZ 85234
High: 95
Low: 77
Average High: 102
Average Low: 73
Record High: 113
Record Low: 56
UV Index: 10
30% Chance of precipitation
Isolated Thunderstorms Throughout day, Partly Cloudy at Night’
Humidity: 29% Possible High 43%
Wind
7-10mph from WSW @ day
3-5mph from S @ night
SEISMIC DATA REPORT
Closest seismic activity is in California, so should have no bearing on Gilbert.
Closest geothermal area to Gilbert is in Mesa, so also should not be any sort of factor.
GEOTHERMAL RESEARCH
There are no geothermal springs in the Gilbert area or anywhere near the Gilbert Area. Closest geothermal springs are the Roosevelt Dam Springs.
TOPOGRAPHY RESEARCH
MINERALS:
Gilbert does not lay in a mineral district and the bedrock is bedrock covered by sedimentary deposits of the late Cenozoic age. Gilbert is only a few miles from the Higley basin salt deposit which causes fluctuation in gravity
BEDROCK:
See Minerals above.
WATER FLOW:
The Western Canal runs east/west less than 1/2 mile away from the museum, the Consolidated Canal runs north/south also less than 1/2 mile from the museum.
NATURAL SOURCES:
Gypsum and salt
UTILITIES:
Underground electrical lines
NATURAL EMF:
Unknown at this time
MAGNETIC:
From Tucson Observatory – 946 Meters
24,892 H (Activity Low)
-154 E (Activity High)
40,892 Z (Activity High)
48,134 F (Activity High)
ELEVATION:
1236 Ft
TERRAIN:
There is also also the Union Pacific Railroad line that runs less than 1/4 mile from the museum. Terrain is flat. The Superstition Mountains are approximately 22.1 miles from the museum.
SEISMIC ACTIVITY:
No earthquakes in last 7 days.
PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION SUMMARY
ARRIVAL TIME: 7:00 P.M.
INVESTIGATION START TIME: 10:30 P.M.
EQUIPMENT TEAR DOWN: 2:00 A.M.
DEPARTURE TIME: 3:00 A.M.
WALK THRU AND EMPLOYEE INTERVIEWS:
During the walk-thru we were informed by one of the volunteers at the museum that a superintendent of the Gilbert school district used what is now the gift shop as an office. While in his office he experienced footsteps around him and voices when no one else was present.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES:
Several Investigators experienced what appeared to be voices of children in the archive basement. A female investigator felt what we refer to as the cobweb effect in the same basement. The cobweb effect is when it feels as though you have walked through a cobweb when in fact there is nothing there. Two investigators in the archive room also experience what appeared to be responses to questions by sitting a flashlight on the floor and it would dim and brighten in response to some of the questions asked.
DEBUNKING:
Footsteps and voices do carry throughout the museum. The acoustical patterns from the wooden floors creates up the perfect atmosphere for voices to be misinterpreted by someone in another part of the museum as something paranormal. During our investigation, we were careful to eliminate all possible audio contamination from team members. No significant EMFs (Electro Magnetic Field) were present that would give the feeling of being watched, cause nausea or audio and visual hallucinations. The building does create sounds as a result of
temperature and humidity changes.
EQUIPMENT USED AND AREAS COVERED:
8 Channel DVR System
3 Long Range IR Cameras
1 Mid Range IR Camera
4 Wide Angle IR Cameras
4 Roaming H2 Audio Recorders (Used in each EVP session)
HD Sony Camcorder
Hi8 Sony Camcorder
EVP SESSION ASSIGNMENTS AND LOCATIONS:
Command Center Operator: Makayla
Session 1:
Andy & Daniela in the archive basement
Shaun, Aly, & Dimitra in the main basement
Kelly, Christina, and Teresa in the toy room
Celeste & Kris in the occupation room
Session 2:
Kelly & Marianne in the archive basement
Daniela, Teresa, and Aly in the quilt room
Shaun, Celeste, and Kris in the toy room
Steve & Christina in the occupation room
Session 3:
Kris and Dimitra in the archive basement
Andy and Kelly in the main basement
Celeste and Marianne in the west room
Shaun and Steve in the military room
Session 4:
Shaun, Christina, and Celeste in the archive basement
Marianne, Andy, and Teresa in the family room
Daniela and Steve in the toy room
Kelly and Dimitra in the police room
Session 5:
Kelly, Teresa, and Steve in the archive basement
Daniela and Andy in the school room
Aly and Marianne in the toy room
Celeste, Christina, & Kris in the main basement
Session 6:
Marianne and Kelly in the military room
Steve and Celeste in the quilting room
Andy and Dimitra in the toy room
Shaun and Daniela in the police room
Kris and Teresa in the west room
REVIEW FINDINGS:
Video:
Flashlight responding to questions by dimming and growing bright again. Batteries were new in the flashlight.
Audio:
EVP captured of what sounds like a girl humming or singing on two occasions.
EVP captured of a low grumbled voice on two occasions.
EVP captured of what appears to be a male voice saying, “die” while another investigator is speaking.
CONCLUSION:
After reviewing the evidence, West Coast GAPS has determined the location to have possible paranormal activity but is still inconclusive. We were unable to debunk most of claims and captured a small amount of evidence. We have concluded that Gilbert Historical Museum requires further investigation before making a determination on the location having paranormal activity.