Post by Brad-LaSpirits on Jan 5, 2008 11:21:07 GMT -5
MOTHMAN: Alien Creature in West Virginia? "MOTHMAN" is the name given a
creature allegedly sighted in the Point Pleasant, West Virginia area.
The sightings occured from mid-November 1966 to mid-December 1967,
making 1996 the 30th anniversary of the creature's arrival. Was it alien,
delivered by UFO? Was it a freak of nature? Was it some sort of
misidentified bird? Or was it simply a well-crafted hoax?
MOTHMAN: Eyewitness Descriptions Unfortunately, no photographs exist of
the creature -- just like a bad monster movie where the camera jams or
the film is not exposed properly. According to eyewitness accounts,
Mothman stood taller than a man, at 6 or 7 feet, perhaps taller. Its most
prominent features were the huge, featherless wings spanning 10 feet
across; even more unusual were the huge, red, glowing eyes on the
generally featureless face. Some eyewitnesses were unable to recall seeing a
head; these reports stated the eyes were actually in the shoulder area
where a neck and head "should" be. Few, if any, could remember details
about the presence or type of feet the creature possessed. Eyewitnesses
alleged that Mothman could fly without flapping its wings, and could
match the speed of an automobile trying to flee at 100 miles an hour.
The creature never seemed to flap its wings when rising from the ground
-- it evidently was able to rise and float above the earth's surface
with little or no effort, not making any sound or noise.
MOTHMAN: A Map and Description of the area where first sighted The
creature was allegedly first sighted at the West Virginia Ordnance Works
North Power Plant by a pair of "parkers" in mid-November, 1966. The West
Virginia Ordnance Works were created early during World War II to
supply TNT (tri-nitro-toluene) -- a highly dangerous explosive -- for the
United States war effort. Located about six miles north of Point
Pleasant, West Virginia the area now serves as a public hunting and fishing
area, and is known locally as the "TNT Area" or just "TNT." Constructed
during the buildup of the war, the plant was obstensibly laid out to
avoid a possible Japanese or German attack. Storage of the dangerous
explosives was accomplished through a series of concrete bunkers built above
ground. These bunkers, or "igloos," were huge dome-shaped concrete
structures, covered with a foot or more of earth and spaced in a grid
pattern to reduce the chances of all igloos being destroyed in a chain
reaction from an enemy bomb. Doors on the igloos are approximately a foot
thick and solid. The covering of earth also served as camoflouge, since
grass was allowed to grow over the entire complex, although from the air
the facility must have appeared odd. Twin coal-fired power plants were
constructed to supply power for the manufacturing facility. A series
of underground bunkers, tunnels and sewers also connected the entire
complex. Sometime after the war, the blueprints of the plant layout were
destroyed in an act of typical Washington, DC efficiency. The plant
suspended operations in 1945. The igloos were later used for storage of
commercial explosives (perhaps still are) and rumor had it that low-level
nuclear wastes were also periodically stored in the igloos. Virtually
all the igloos are locked and inaccessible, unless someone has
trespassed and tried to break in; this is not advisable and potentially very
dangerous, even life-treatening, because of snakes, rats, skunks, possible
nuclear waste, explosives (and later explosive residue more powerful
than TNT), plus industrial waste from the plant's heyday. In the early
1980s some folks were fishing in one of the designated fishing ponds
when they noticed a red liquid bubbling to the surface. It turned out to
be a toluene compound. Subsequent testing determined the area to be one
of the most polluted sites in the United States; it was granted "Top 10
Superfund Cleanup" status. During the plant's operation waste products
were allowed to settle into unlined holding "reservoirs" for
evaporation; these pits were plowed under and vegetation eventually grew back.
This action, coupled with possible sewers, led to the poisoning of the
area. The Army Corps is busy remediating the site; permanent, perpetual
monitoring of groundwater will be required from now until forever (!).
The ponds affected have been drained, "capped" with a clay liner and
monitoring wells installed. Because of the destruction of the plant
blueprints, the Army Corps has had to advertise publicly for information
from anyone with work experience at the plant. This was done to try and
recover some information about locations of sewers and tunnels. It is
unknown if all remaining facilities will be found.
MOTHMAN: More unusual occurrences around Point Pleasant, West Virginia
The Curse of Cornstalk Point Pleasant has seen its share of devastating
floods and fires; some attribute it to the dying curse of the great
Shawnee chieftain, Cornstalk. On October 10, 1774 a great battle took
place between Virginia militiamen led by Andrew Lewis, and a multi-tribal
confederation led by the Shawnee warrior, Cornstalk; this battle took
place at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, later
incorporated in 1794 as the town of Point Pleasant. The Native American tribesmen
were duped by the British-loyalist Governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore,
into believing the militiamen were coming to sign a peace treaty. The
confederation suffered a massive defeat, never to return to the area to
fight again; the militiamen suffered heavy casualties also. Dunmore's
intent was to divert the attention of the colonists away from
independence from Britain by stirring hatred between colonists and Native
Americans. Because of the British interests in the battle, some have declared
this battle to be the first of the American Revolution; detractors
label it the last battle of the border/Indian wars. Upon Cornstalk's
demise as the result of an ambush, he reportedly with his dying breath
cursed the area for 200 years. His words spurred many a discussion upon each
unfortunate occurrence in the town during that time span, including
floods and severe fires that seemed to plague the downtown through the
years, up through a cowardly, murderous hostage situation at the Mason
County Courthouse in 1976. (Photo is postcard image circa 1930 of the
Cornstalk monument in its former location on the Mason County Courthouse
lawn. In the early 1950s it was moved, along with the chief's remains,
six blocks south to Battle Monument State Park at the confluence of the
Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, scene of the battle described above.) The
Silver Bridge Disaster On December 15, 1967 at just after 5:00 pm the
Silver Bridge spanning the Ohio River between Point Pleasant and Kanauga,
Ohio collapsed; 46 people died in the tragedy. The rush hour travelers
had been going about their daily lives, preparing for the Christmas
holiday when the structure gave way beneath them. The bridge was constructed
in 1928 as an "eyebar" suspension bridge, meaning that in place of
wire cables such as those found on the Golden Gate Bridge, the bridge used
eyebars linked in a chain from which the bridge deck was suspended.
(An eyebar resembles, for all intents and purposes, a dogbone with a
hole, or "eye," in each end. These eyebars ran in pairs linked by massive
pins.) In the months following the collapse, the pieces of the bridge
were recovered and laid out like a massive jigsaw puzzle in a field just
south of Point Pleasant; all but the roadbed was recovered. Final
analysis conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation ruled that
failure of the number 13 eyebar pin, on the upriver (north) side of the
bridge and west of the Ohio tower, had failed, causing the eyebar chain to
drop below the roadway. The downriver (south) eyebar chain was unable
to support the weight of the entire structure, resulting in immediate,
complete failure of the span. Carrying U.S. Route 35 at the time, the
bridge had two twin structures: one just upriver in St. Marys, West
Virginia and one in Brazil. The St. Marys span was immediately closed,
destroyed and replaced. In 1969, a new bridge was completed just south of
Point Pleasant and Route 35 was relocated to the south side of the
Kanawha River, following the path of the former WV State Route 17. The former
Route 35 was renumbered as WV State Route 62. (The image above is
taken from an early postcard illustration. The view is from the Point
Pleasant ramp looking west towards Kanauga, Ohio. The photo is taken above
the former intersection of U.S. Route 35 and Main Street, adjacent to
the Mason County Courthouse. The railroad bridge in the background is
still standing and still in use by Conrail. It dates from early this
century, originally part of the Kanawha & Michigan Railroad and later used
by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. In 1914, a U.S. Government
anti-trust suit forced the C&O to divest the line; it then served the New York
Central Railway, later Penn Central and now Conrail.)
creature allegedly sighted in the Point Pleasant, West Virginia area.
The sightings occured from mid-November 1966 to mid-December 1967,
making 1996 the 30th anniversary of the creature's arrival. Was it alien,
delivered by UFO? Was it a freak of nature? Was it some sort of
misidentified bird? Or was it simply a well-crafted hoax?
MOTHMAN: Eyewitness Descriptions Unfortunately, no photographs exist of
the creature -- just like a bad monster movie where the camera jams or
the film is not exposed properly. According to eyewitness accounts,
Mothman stood taller than a man, at 6 or 7 feet, perhaps taller. Its most
prominent features were the huge, featherless wings spanning 10 feet
across; even more unusual were the huge, red, glowing eyes on the
generally featureless face. Some eyewitnesses were unable to recall seeing a
head; these reports stated the eyes were actually in the shoulder area
where a neck and head "should" be. Few, if any, could remember details
about the presence or type of feet the creature possessed. Eyewitnesses
alleged that Mothman could fly without flapping its wings, and could
match the speed of an automobile trying to flee at 100 miles an hour.
The creature never seemed to flap its wings when rising from the ground
-- it evidently was able to rise and float above the earth's surface
with little or no effort, not making any sound or noise.
MOTHMAN: A Map and Description of the area where first sighted The
creature was allegedly first sighted at the West Virginia Ordnance Works
North Power Plant by a pair of "parkers" in mid-November, 1966. The West
Virginia Ordnance Works were created early during World War II to
supply TNT (tri-nitro-toluene) -- a highly dangerous explosive -- for the
United States war effort. Located about six miles north of Point
Pleasant, West Virginia the area now serves as a public hunting and fishing
area, and is known locally as the "TNT Area" or just "TNT." Constructed
during the buildup of the war, the plant was obstensibly laid out to
avoid a possible Japanese or German attack. Storage of the dangerous
explosives was accomplished through a series of concrete bunkers built above
ground. These bunkers, or "igloos," were huge dome-shaped concrete
structures, covered with a foot or more of earth and spaced in a grid
pattern to reduce the chances of all igloos being destroyed in a chain
reaction from an enemy bomb. Doors on the igloos are approximately a foot
thick and solid. The covering of earth also served as camoflouge, since
grass was allowed to grow over the entire complex, although from the air
the facility must have appeared odd. Twin coal-fired power plants were
constructed to supply power for the manufacturing facility. A series
of underground bunkers, tunnels and sewers also connected the entire
complex. Sometime after the war, the blueprints of the plant layout were
destroyed in an act of typical Washington, DC efficiency. The plant
suspended operations in 1945. The igloos were later used for storage of
commercial explosives (perhaps still are) and rumor had it that low-level
nuclear wastes were also periodically stored in the igloos. Virtually
all the igloos are locked and inaccessible, unless someone has
trespassed and tried to break in; this is not advisable and potentially very
dangerous, even life-treatening, because of snakes, rats, skunks, possible
nuclear waste, explosives (and later explosive residue more powerful
than TNT), plus industrial waste from the plant's heyday. In the early
1980s some folks were fishing in one of the designated fishing ponds
when they noticed a red liquid bubbling to the surface. It turned out to
be a toluene compound. Subsequent testing determined the area to be one
of the most polluted sites in the United States; it was granted "Top 10
Superfund Cleanup" status. During the plant's operation waste products
were allowed to settle into unlined holding "reservoirs" for
evaporation; these pits were plowed under and vegetation eventually grew back.
This action, coupled with possible sewers, led to the poisoning of the
area. The Army Corps is busy remediating the site; permanent, perpetual
monitoring of groundwater will be required from now until forever (!).
The ponds affected have been drained, "capped" with a clay liner and
monitoring wells installed. Because of the destruction of the plant
blueprints, the Army Corps has had to advertise publicly for information
from anyone with work experience at the plant. This was done to try and
recover some information about locations of sewers and tunnels. It is
unknown if all remaining facilities will be found.
MOTHMAN: More unusual occurrences around Point Pleasant, West Virginia
The Curse of Cornstalk Point Pleasant has seen its share of devastating
floods and fires; some attribute it to the dying curse of the great
Shawnee chieftain, Cornstalk. On October 10, 1774 a great battle took
place between Virginia militiamen led by Andrew Lewis, and a multi-tribal
confederation led by the Shawnee warrior, Cornstalk; this battle took
place at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, later
incorporated in 1794 as the town of Point Pleasant. The Native American tribesmen
were duped by the British-loyalist Governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore,
into believing the militiamen were coming to sign a peace treaty. The
confederation suffered a massive defeat, never to return to the area to
fight again; the militiamen suffered heavy casualties also. Dunmore's
intent was to divert the attention of the colonists away from
independence from Britain by stirring hatred between colonists and Native
Americans. Because of the British interests in the battle, some have declared
this battle to be the first of the American Revolution; detractors
label it the last battle of the border/Indian wars. Upon Cornstalk's
demise as the result of an ambush, he reportedly with his dying breath
cursed the area for 200 years. His words spurred many a discussion upon each
unfortunate occurrence in the town during that time span, including
floods and severe fires that seemed to plague the downtown through the
years, up through a cowardly, murderous hostage situation at the Mason
County Courthouse in 1976. (Photo is postcard image circa 1930 of the
Cornstalk monument in its former location on the Mason County Courthouse
lawn. In the early 1950s it was moved, along with the chief's remains,
six blocks south to Battle Monument State Park at the confluence of the
Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, scene of the battle described above.) The
Silver Bridge Disaster On December 15, 1967 at just after 5:00 pm the
Silver Bridge spanning the Ohio River between Point Pleasant and Kanauga,
Ohio collapsed; 46 people died in the tragedy. The rush hour travelers
had been going about their daily lives, preparing for the Christmas
holiday when the structure gave way beneath them. The bridge was constructed
in 1928 as an "eyebar" suspension bridge, meaning that in place of
wire cables such as those found on the Golden Gate Bridge, the bridge used
eyebars linked in a chain from which the bridge deck was suspended.
(An eyebar resembles, for all intents and purposes, a dogbone with a
hole, or "eye," in each end. These eyebars ran in pairs linked by massive
pins.) In the months following the collapse, the pieces of the bridge
were recovered and laid out like a massive jigsaw puzzle in a field just
south of Point Pleasant; all but the roadbed was recovered. Final
analysis conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation ruled that
failure of the number 13 eyebar pin, on the upriver (north) side of the
bridge and west of the Ohio tower, had failed, causing the eyebar chain to
drop below the roadway. The downriver (south) eyebar chain was unable
to support the weight of the entire structure, resulting in immediate,
complete failure of the span. Carrying U.S. Route 35 at the time, the
bridge had two twin structures: one just upriver in St. Marys, West
Virginia and one in Brazil. The St. Marys span was immediately closed,
destroyed and replaced. In 1969, a new bridge was completed just south of
Point Pleasant and Route 35 was relocated to the south side of the
Kanawha River, following the path of the former WV State Route 17. The former
Route 35 was renumbered as WV State Route 62. (The image above is
taken from an early postcard illustration. The view is from the Point
Pleasant ramp looking west towards Kanauga, Ohio. The photo is taken above
the former intersection of U.S. Route 35 and Main Street, adjacent to
the Mason County Courthouse. The railroad bridge in the background is
still standing and still in use by Conrail. It dates from early this
century, originally part of the Kanawha & Michigan Railroad and later used
by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. In 1914, a U.S. Government
anti-trust suit forced the C&O to divest the line; it then served the New York
Central Railway, later Penn Central and now Conrail.)