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500:, Elizabeth Polly, tirelessly tended to the ill and dying soldiers at the fort. She, too, caught cholera and before dying requested to be buried on sentinel hill, behind the fort. She could not be buried on top because it was bedrock. When the fort closed, soldier's bodies were moved to Fort Leavenworth and civilians were moved to Hays. Only the angel of mercy still lies on Sentinel Hill. Even today, people claim to see a lady in a blue dress, glowing with a blue light, walking Sentinel Hill. She is known to Hays residents as the Blue Light Lady.
457:"We are not here to state whether she's a ghost or she's not," Vincent said. "My team and I are not ghost hunters. However, the legend of Elizabeth Polly gives rise to a tremendous amount of history." Lacking definitive proof that Elizabeth Polly was at the fort in 1867, or even of her existence, Vincent detailed circumstantial evidence to make his case. Vincent showed copies of newspaper articles through the years that mentioned Polly, and he presented evidence of why those articles should be believed.
669:
buries on the foot of the hill was Mrs. Polly, wife of
Ephraim Polly. Her request was that she be buried upon the top of the hill, and the soldiers who were detailed to prepare the grave, actually commenced work on making her grave upon the summit of the hill. But owing to the fact that the soil was so shallow they soon struck rock and their work was abandoned, and they made the grave at the foot of the hill where the soil was deeper.
991:
limestone monument was erected there a century later by the
Saturday Afternoon Club, the Fort Hays Nurses Club, and the local chapter of the Kansas State Nurses. ... But, cautions Fr. Burkey, many of these early stories are garbled. Historical records concerning Miss Polly and the location of her grave are difficult to come by.
990:
The keepers of "the lonely grave" southwest of Hays, where the legendary
Elizabeth Polly is buried , have raised objections to the proposed construction of a high voltage power lin past the gravesite. ... She found solace by walking the mile and a half to the tallest hill southwest of the fort. ... A
428:
Elizabeth Decker was born around 1843. ... He was transferred to Fort Hays around 1867 where he served as hospital steward. ... The hospital steward's wife usually served as the hospital matron. In that capacity
Elizabeth worked in the ward helping patients during a cholera epidemic. She was exposed
668:
I now descended from the hill and as I did so I observed a long grave with a plain board at the head and one at the foot ... The inscription upon the board at the head of the grave had become illegible and was almost completely effaced by the ruthless hand of time ... The name of the woman who lies
332:
Some tales say that she walks the hills holding a blue lantern, which if you look into you become one of the spirits trapped inside. Many people have made attempts to witness her spirit firsthand. Some have claimed that she has appeared wearing a blue, prairie-style dress and bonnet, while others
297:
Multiple attempts to locate her gravesite have been made. While multiple bodies have been exhumed from the farms and ranch land surrounding the hill, none was conclusively shown to be that of
Elizabeth Polly. Some contend that a particular grave found at the base of the hill was not Polly's, being
277:
Another tradition holds that her gravesite was lost because it was marked by four limestone posts, supposedly stolen by a matching number of four thieves. The legend claims that tragedy found each of the thieves in the hours after the theft: one felled in a gunfight, two killed in a carriage
226:
Elizabeth sought to help the sick and dying soldiers deal with what were, for many, their final hours. Often in the evening she would walk to the high limestone bluff a mile and a half southwest of the fort, now known as
Sentinel Hill, where she is said to have found some comfort and solace.
1026:
According to anonymous members of the local historical society, her true resting place may be further down the hillside, possibly down under the weeds and muck near a stone barn. More than 50 years ago, this grave was surrounded by a neat picket fence, some older residents
298:
instead that of a
Mexican cattleman, based on the marker's Spanish inscription. In fact, the "Lonely Grave," as it is called, may not be an actual burial site at all, as no remains were found in attempts to fulfill Miss Polly's wishes by moving her to the top of the hill.
333:
claim that she is a misty blue light. Other people have claimed that while waiting at the top of the hill for
Elizabeth's spirit to arrive, footsteps have been heard walking up the hill and suddenly disappearing at the top, yet nobody was to be found around the hill.
336:
A particular event was reported in 1950 when a police officer radioed a report to dispatch saying that he had just hit a woman dressed in blue on the road between Big Creek and the old fort. He quickly exited his car and searched for a body, but found none.
235:. Unable to dig a grave on top of the hill, the sorrowful soldiers instead buried her on a lower slope nearer to the fort. Given a military funeral, her burial clothing was the uniform she wore while caring for the suffering, a blue dress and a white bonnet.
230:
When it was apparent that she had contracted the disease herself, she pleaded with her husband to bury her on top of that hill. Upon her death, soldiers were detailed to dig her grave on the crest of
Sentinel Hill; but only inches beneath the sod they struck
328:
Around the community of Hays, Elizabeth Polly is known as the "Blue Light Lady." Her spirit is said to still walk
Sentinel Hill, also called Elizabeth Polly Hill and Blue Light Lady Hill, looking for soldiers to comfort or to find her peace at the hilltop.
580:
The station was known in the early days as Polly Hotel, named after Ephraim E. Polly and his wife, who operated the stations from 1874 to 1884. Polly had been a pharmacist in the Army at Fort Hays and was considered competent physician by both whites and
285:
Regardless of how her grave may have been marked, the site would have been separate from the military reservation and not within the fort's military and civilian cemeteries. When the fort was closed 22 years later, the soldiers' remains were relocated to
515:
828:
All of the other cholera victims were later removed from the fort cemetery and reburied at Fort Leavenworth, but as Mrs. Polly's grave was not mentioned in the official order, her body still lies on the hill southwest of
265:
One tradition for her gravesite is that there was no tombstone, possibly only two wooden planks, barely readable years later, from which was reportedly read her name (Elizabeth), her birth date (1843), and her birthplace,
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The community placed a monument atop Sentinel Hill in her memory in 1967. In 1982 the city of Hays designated the Elizabeth Polly Park in her honor, at 26th and Indian Trail, featuring a statue by Peter
208:
With the maiden name Decker, Elizabeth is identified as Ephraim Polly's wife from a c. 1864 marriage. As would be common for wives of hospital stewards, Elizabeth served as a hospital matron.
278:
accident, and the other hit by a train. If the grave was indeed marked by posts made from the particular bedrock limestone from "Elizabeth's Hill", the soldiers would not have been aware that
1029:
The truth apparently went to the grave with the people involved in the relocation project, done by the WPA or NYA or whichever group was chared with moving her body and raising the monument.
215:
epidemic had broken out among the tents of over 1000 troops. The cholera soon spread to the 1200 railroad construction workers who were sheltering near the camp in the new village of
960:
Fritz Felten, Hays sculptor, has finished another historical stone memorial. ... The memorial is a stone pyramid .... The previous marker and an iron fence were destroyed by vandals.
923:
609:
Elizabeth Polly was a civilian nurse and used her nursing skills working long hours during the cholera epidemic which hit Fort Hays and the ill-fated town of Rome during 1867.
1024:
a high-voltage power line along the scenic rolling hills nearby. Is Mrs. Polly's body actually buried under the cairn of limestone blocks and a marble stone bearing her name?
270:). From the idea that Elizabeth came from Liberty, Missouri, comes a story that a decade after her death, her grave was inspected by an incognito visitor from Liberty,
166:, an "angel of mercy" during the cholera outbreak of 1867 who also died of the disease. Local legend has it that her ghost is still seen walking the area.
734:
In 1874 , Polly's Station was the military road between Fort Supply and Fort Elliott as well as the way station for buffalo hunters and other travelers.
613:
Note: The article was confused by alternate records for Ephraim Polly and Edward Polly. In fact, the two names were one person, Ephraim Edward Polly.
796:
Geology and Ground-water Resources of Southern Ellis County and Parts of Trego and Rush Counties, Kansas, Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 149
972:
274:, presumably on behalf of Elizabeth's surviving relatives. That the grave had no durable markers suggests a reason her grave was lost.
942:
346:
A pyramid monument of local stonepost limestone was erected atop the Sentinel Hill gravesite a century after her death (1967-1968) by
350:, sponsored by the Saturday Afternoon Club, the Fort Hays Nurses Club, and the local chapter of the Kansas State Nurses Association.
1003:
41:
Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed.
879:
She is known in the community as the "Blue Light Lady," an apparition that is said to walk the hill looking to comfort soldiers.
238:
Mr. Polly continued in Hays City as a pharmacist for a few years and remarried. Leaving Hays in 1873, Ephraim Polly purchased a
205:, or male nurse. He served in that position in the early months of the U.S. Army encampment at the newly established Fort Hays.
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The Fort Hays also tends to absorb water and thus to deteriorate through freeze-and-thaw action and from spalling.
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on Sept 11, 1861. Ephraim separated from the Army on Aug 23, 1865, and then, around age 24-25, reenlisted as a
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779:. University of Kansas Publications, State Geological Survey of Kansas. p. Economic Geology, continued.
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Elizabeth Polly Park was established by the city of Hays in 1982, featuring the Peter Felten, Jr., sculpture
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Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Trego County, Kansas, Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 174
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of hundreds of tents in the late summer of 1867 when it became the center of a war with the
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799:. University of Kansas Publications, State Geological Survey of Kansas. p. Geography.
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A long-standing mystery in the county is the location of Elizabeth's supposed lost grave.
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Ephraim E. Polly ... Sept 11, 1861 ... Aug 23, 1865 ... re-enlisted Hospital Steward
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shows the rows of tents on the far side of Big Creek where the month's old fort lay.
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An early wooden marker on the grave read: Elizabeth Polly, wife of Ephraim Polly,
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Jim Hoy, Professor Emeritus of English at Emporia State University (2020-10-15).
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Looking out toward what local college students called Blue Light Lady Hill, ...
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The Fort Hays Limestone member ... is not as weather-resistant as the
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ranch to operate as a trail station on the military road between
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Ephraim Edward Polly was a Civil War veteran who enlisted in the
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In 1867, Fort Hays was established on a low slope south of
1004:"Will lonely graves soon be responsibility of counties?"
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bed ... and spalls badly when used for foundation stone.
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And her rest is disturbed, for she walks without a word
928:. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas. p. 59.
443:"Former FHSU Football Coach Now History Researcher"
88:
portrayal of the walking spirit of Elizabeth Polly.
145:Treating dying soldiers and haunting Sentinel Hill
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182:. For the most part, the "fort" was still just a
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530:"Hemphill County, Texas 1890 Veterans Schedule"
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910:... in the shadow of Elizabeth Polly Hill ....
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282:crumble and rot away in a number of years.
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793:Alvin R. Leonard; Delmar W. Berry (1961).
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57:Learn how and when to remove this message
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658:"From the Hays Republican, July 6, 1901"
476:"A tale of two cities — Hays and Salina"
250:, and he was elected the first Judge of
154:is traditionally the name of a beloved
1021:Controversial because of plans to runs
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429:to cholera and became a victim herself.
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308:She's up there on that hill somewhere
474:C.E. 'Bud' Brann (August 17, 2005).
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747:"Cholera Victim Mrs. Ephraim Polly"
496:During a cholera epidemic in 1867,
372:"The Legend of the Blue Light Lady"
219:, fearing attack from the Cheyenne
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720:"Wolf Creek Heritage Museum Notes"
363:
301:
14:
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973:"Gravekeepers protest power line"
656:T. J. Bryant (February 6, 1972).
562:. Prairie Books. pp. 51–52.
310:'tho her grave has long been lost
20:
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925:Meditations on Place and Spirit
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625:"Ghost seeks solace near Hays?"
891:Mike Corn (February 8, 2008).
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314:Among us -- who count her cost
1:
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199:1st Colorado Cavalry Regiment
190:over the construction of the
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841:Tom Isern (Dec 17, 1992).
556:C. Robert Haywood (2006).
943:"Finishes Polly Memorial"
773:Warren G. Hodson (1965).
417:Kansas Historical Society
322:Ballad of Elizabeth Polly
280:Fort Hays Limestone posts
233:massive limestone bedrock
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1114:People from Hays, Kansas
847:Council Grove Republican
826:: 13. February 6, 1972.
755:: 13. February 6, 1972.
607:: 13. February 6, 1972.
922:Schlegel, Lisa (2011).
194:parallel to the trail.
29:Some of this article's
1064:"Elizabeth Polly Park"
534:Texas Genealogy Trails
326:
252:Hemphill County, Texas
192:Kansas Pacific Railway
90:Elizabeth Polly Park,
803:"Fencepost" Limestone
681:Susan Caudle (2009).
305:
724:High Plains Observer
1094:19th-century births
1012:: 18. July 10, 1979
981:: 9C. March 4, 1979
528:Vivki Bryan (ed.).
512:Alexander Gardner's
86:Peter Felten, Jr.'s
1009:The Salina Journal
948:The Salina Journal
689:Arcadia Publishing
633:: 13. Jan 11, 1979
630:The Salina Journal
258:"The Lonely Grave"
211:By August 1867, a
1042:"Elizabeth Polly"
951:: 9. May 17, 1968
871:"Elizabeth Polly"
759:Liberty, Missouri
698:978-0-7385-7113-3
514:late-summer 1867
498:an angel of mercy
409:"Elizabeth Polly"
376:Humanities Kansas
348:Peter Felten, Jr.
170:Service and death
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203:hospital steward
180:Smoky Hill Trail
126:Other names
104:Elizabeth Decker
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893:"Dumping Death"
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357:Elizabeth Polly
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302:Blue Light Lady
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156:hospital matron
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129:Blue Light Lady
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31:listed sources
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1071:. Retrieved
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559:Trails South
558:
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489:. Retrieved
486:Hays, Kansas
479:
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450:. Retrieved
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421:. Retrieved
419:. April 2015
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379:. Retrieved
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248:Fort Elliott
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221:Dog Soldiers
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92:Hays, Kansas
53:
44:
33:
1099:1867 deaths
1068:haysusa.com
272:Jesse James
244:Fort Supply
34:may not be
1088:Categories
1073:5 February
1046:Kansapedia
1016:2023-02-12
985:2023-02-12
955:2023-02-12
905:2023-02-02
875:Kansapedia
853:2023-02-02
729:2023-02-12
704:2023-02-07
637:2023-02-12
575:2023-02-07
539:2023-02-07
491:2023-02-04
452:2023-02-03
423:2023-01-30
413:Kansapedia
391:References
381:7 February
288:Fort Riley
134:Occupation
447:FHSU News
341:Memorials
176:Big Creek
160:Fort Hays
119:Fort Hays
581:Indians.
318:—
36:reliable
1051:Felten.
1027:recall.
268:Liberty
213:cholera
184:bivouac
107:c. 1843
695:
666:: 13.
566:
164:Kansas
829:town.
1075:2023
901:: B8
693:ISBN
564:ISBN
383:2023
246:and
217:Rome
115:1867
112:Died
100:Born
849:: 4
290:or
158:at
1090::
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1006:.
988:.
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945:.
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862:^
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749:.
732:.
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