Conover Square is located in Oregon Illinois, and the building itself was built over 100 years ago. From 1890 to 1971 this building served as the Shiller Piano Factory. In 1978 the building was purchased and renovated, being converted into the shopping village that it is today. The Building itself hosts over 20 various businesses, including several shops from antique stores to gift shops, as well as food, wellness and beauty.
The Schiller Piano Company was once an American Manufacturer of pianos. It was independently operated from 1890 to 1936 producing around 80,000 pianos. In 1936 The Shiller Piano Company merged with the Cable Piano company and rebranded, changing its name to Cable and Conover. In 1943 the factory was sold to Winter and Company of New York, and its name changed once again to the Aeolian Company. The factory produced many different products including talking machines, player pianos and baby grand pianos, among others. The factory produced around 6,000 pianos a year until its closing in 1971.
It was in 1975, when a local man named Dean Dye purchased the property, converting it into the Conover Square Shopping Mall. While it has changed owners a few times since its conversion, it has held its use as Conover Square.
With over 100 years of life, its no surprise that this location is considered to be haunted. While this historic building serves as a shopping mall, there are tales of haunted happenings. It has been reported that a girl’s spirit giggles in the hallways and museum. Loud crashes boom from an unoccupied third floor, and some say there is a presence of a man in the south hallway. There have been sightings of a "Lady in White" by shopkeepers. She is often seen entering the shops, but never leaving. There are also reports of a man who wanders the shops as well. Other claims report unexplained sounds like shop gates opening when no one else is in the building, knocks, crying and occasional piano notes. Other reports claim visitors and shop keepers being touched, tugs on clothing and cold spots and also feelings of uneasiness are also reported.
The building sits only a few feet away from the Rock River which is reported to be a conduit for paranormal activity.
The building sits only a few feet away from the Rock River, which is known to be a conduit for paranormal activity. The land is also said to be former Indian territory. There have been at least a few Indian mounds that have been washed out by spring flooding. In the article that I have included to the left, is a little blurry and may be hard for some of you to read, but it states that "Another Indian mound had been washed out between the bluff south of the Oregon railroad bridge and the mouth of the Kyte River, on the east bank of the Rock River. Due to erosion it is thought that the Indian mound had been slowly washing away for years. It has been found that at least 20 bodies have been unearthed from this location due to erosion and excavation. Shortly after this it was discovered by a man named John Rutledge, found that there was another lot of bodies that washed out that was buried around 6 feet below the surface. It was discovered that the burial mound appeared to be dug parallel with the river, one body buried with its head to the north and another with its head to the south. The remaining bodies were placed in the center, overlapping. The number of bodies indicate that at one point these Indians were the victims of a battle that was not documented in history. The regularity of their postures indicate a form of respect and that they were buried by their comrades. Due to the lack of pottery it is thought that they were not the original mound builders of the location. Some of the bodies indicate the existence of giants during those days. It is reported that one of the skeletons which was perfectly preserved, the jaw bone itself was twice the size of the jaw of Mr. Rutledge.
Through excavations of the area it is reported that that somewhere between 40 and 50 Indian mounds have been located within the area, some of which include pottery and other evidence that points to a prehistoric race.
A couple years ago, I was able to investigate this location with my former team. We had encountered several things, including an elemental spirit. There was a heaviness in this place, we heard disembodied laughter and voices. There was unexplained banging. There was at one point we heard crying of a baby. Surrounding the building there were elemental energies that lingered on the property. Shadows were also seen moving though the location. Unfortunately, during this investigation some technical issues were experienced with my equipment. As of right now I am unable to locate any photographic evidence. When going through some of the audio, you can hear the sound of my digital camera taking pictures, so I am at a loss as to where the photographic evidence is, as I am very meticulous and every investigation has their own SD Cards, with a master back up of everything on an external hard drive. I will be going back through my audio from this location to isolate any EVPs that were captured during the investigation. I will post them here, so check back to stay updated on this posting.
Author: Kenny
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