Stull, Kansas
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Stull is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Douglas County, Kansas Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 118,785, making it the fifth-most populous county in Kansas. The county ...
, United States. Founded in 1857, the settlement was initially known as Deer Creek by Pennsylvania Dutch settlers until it was renamed after its only postmaster, Sylvester Stull. As of 2018, only a handful of structures remain in the area. Since the 1970s, the town has become infamous due to an apocryphal legend that claims the nearby Stull Cemetery is possessed by demonic forces. This legend has become a facet of American popular culture and has been referenced in numerous forms of media. This legend has also led to controversies with current residents of Stull.


Geography

Stull is located at (38.9711124, -95.4560872), at the corner of North 1600 Road () and East 250 Road () in Douglas County, which is west from the outskirts of Lawrence and east of the
Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...
city limit.


History


Founding

Stull first appeared on territorial maps in 1857.Stull Bicentennial Committee (1976). During this time, the settlement was called Deer Creek.Thomas (2017), p. 116. It is unclear where this name came from, although Martha Parker and Betty Laird speculate that it could either be a translation of an indigenous location name or that it could have arisen after a deer was seen by a body of water.Parker & Laird (1976), p. 93. The first European settlers in the area spoke German as their native language. Some had come from
Pennsylvania Dutch Country The Pennsylvania Dutch Country (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Pennsylvanie Deitschland,'' ''Deitscherei,'' or ''Pennsilfaanisch-Deitschland''), or Pennsylvania Dutchland, is a region of German Pennsylvania spanning the Delaware Valley and South Central ...
, whereas others had recently fled the
German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...
"for more freedom and to escape military duty."


19th century

During the late 1850s, the handful of families living in Deer Creek organized a church that met in the homes of its members until 1867, when a stone structure named the Evangelical Emmanuel and Deer Creek Mission was built; this church later became known simply as "Evangelical Emmanuel Church".Lecompton Historical Society (1990). Until 1908, the sermons at the small chapel were preached in German.Parker & Laird (1976), pp. 934. In 1867, a cemetery was chartered for the town next to the church. In 1922, those living in Stull raised $20,000 to construct a new, wooden-framed church across the road. The following year, the church changed its official name from "Deer Creek Church" to "Stull Evangelical Church". The old stone Evangelical Emmanuel Church was abandoned by the community in 1922, and over the 20th century, the church slowly fell into a greater and greater state of decrepitude, finally being demolished in 2002. Due to a growing congregation from Stull and Lecompton, a larger church was eventually needed, so in 1919, the community voted to build a new church. In 1922 a new church was built and eventually got the name “United Methodist Zion Church” in 1968. This new church holds services and meetings that continue today under the name Stull United Methodist Church. In the late 1890s, a
telephone switchboard A telephone switchboard is a device used to connect circuits of telephones to establish telephone calls between users or other switchboards. The switchboard is an essential component of a manual telephone exchange, and is operated by switchboard ...
was added to the house of a Stull resident named J. E. Louk, and soon thereafter, on April 27, 1899, a post office was established in the back of the very same building. The town's first and only postmaster was Sylvester Stull, from whom the town derived its name.Fitzgerald (2009), p. 103. According to Parker and Laird, the United States Post Office simply selected the name based on the name of the postmaster.Parker & Laird (1976), p. 98. The name stuck even after the post office was discontinued in 1903. Stull residents opened two schools before Kansas was admitted to the Union. The first school only lasted for about five years, the other school named “Deer Creek” experienced increasing enrollments and started being used for church services by the Lutheran congregation and the United Brethren on Sundays. Along with church services, the school held debates, voting for general elections, and competitions in baseball, horseshoes, sewing, and cooking. The school continued until 1962 when it closed; students thereafter went to Lecompton to continue their education. Farming brought the community new hope and continues to be the common livelihood of the remaining residents. Construction on the Clinton Reservoir led to changes in road routes and farming locations. While this did mean the loss of farms to
eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...
and county purchase, it helped Stull and its surrounding communities become more progressive.


20th century

In 1912, only 31 people lived in the Stull area, and at its maximum size, the settlement comprised about 50 individuals. Christ Kraft, an inhabitant of the settlement during the 20th century, recalls that life in the small town was "quiet and easy, sometimes even boring." Before automobiles were popular in the area, trips to Lecompton, Lawrence, and Topeka, took two, three, and four hours, respectively. In the early 20th century, organized baseball became popular in the area, and members of Stull played in a league with members from other Clinton Lake communities, like Clinton and Lone Star. Eventually, a baseball diamond was constructed in Stull. During this time, hunting rabbits was also a popular activity,Parker & Laird (1976), p. 102. and it was not uncommon for the Stull community to bring hauls of about 300 freshly killed rabbits to butchers in Topeka. During the early 20th century, a number of businesses were established in the area, but most were short-lived; the exception to this general trend was the Louk & Kraft grocery store, which was established in the early 1900s and lasted until 1955. The
Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western world, Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultura ...
brought preliminary discussion about constructing an
interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...
railroad line between
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
and Emporia that would have run through Stull. Anticipating that their city was about to grow, the residents of Stull began discussing the idea of establishing a "Farmers State Bank" in the area; the Lecompton-based banker J. W. Kreider even secured an official bank charter. However, neither the railway or the bank were ever built, possibly due to the advent of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
.Parker & Laird (1976), p. 101. During the 20th century, the settlement suffered two major tragedies. The first occurred when Oliver Bahnmaier, a young boy wandered into a field that his father was burning and died. Oliver's tragic death led to the rumor that if one stepped on Oliver's tombstone, they would go to Hell. The second occurred when a man was found hanging from a tree after going missing.Parker & Laird (1976), pp. 1023.


21st century

On July 25, 2022, the new Stull church mysteriously caught fire between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.. No injuries were reported but there was substantial damage to the building and fear that the bell may fall. According to WIBW, officials have hypothesized that the fire was caused by a lightning strike. Due to vandalism, the Stull Cemetery is locked at night and the area is patrolled by law enforcement personnel. Trespassing can result in six months of jail time or a fine of up to $1000.


Legend of Stull Cemetery

The Stull Cemetery has gained an ominous reputation due to
urban legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...
s involving Satan, the occult, and a purported "gateway to Hell". The rumors about the cemetery were popularized by a November 1974 issue of ''The University Daily Kansan'' (the student newspaper of the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
), which claimed that the Devil appeared in Stull twice a year: once on Halloween, and once on the spring equinox.Heitz (1997), pp. 10207. People soon said that the cemetery was the location of one of the seven gates to Hell and that the nearby Evangelical Emmanuel Church ruin was "possessed" by the Devil. Others claimed (erroneously) that the legend was engendered by the killing of Stull's mayor back in the 1850s (of note, Stull was never organized as a town, and so never had a mayor). It is also said that during a trip to Colorado in the 1990s,
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
redirected the flight path of his private plane to avoid flying over the unholy ground of Stull (although there is no evidence that this happened). However, most academics, historians, and local residents are in agreement that the legend has no basis in historical fact and was created and spread by students.Thomas (2017), pp. 11624. “Folks swear an old tree in the graveyard once served as gallows for condemned witches who return each year as Satan's army. ..But it is the cemetery that is most feared, for they say it is Beelzebub's gate. The voices of the dead will strangle you while evil spirits carve out your innards”. “They say that in the basement of the abandoned church in Stull, Kansas, there is a staircase. And if you follow that staircase, down, down, down, you will reach the entrance to hell, itself. And if you can crawl your way back up that ladder, escape from the bowels of hell to reach the surface, you will have to climb for weeks. That is... if the devil does not grab you first. ..They say on the night before Halloween, a woman in a white dress lures drivers to their death along the highway's edge, never to be seen again”. In the years that followed the publication of the ''University Daily Kansan'' article, the legend persuaded thrill seekers to visit the cemetery, and they would claim that weird and creepy events such as noises and memory lapses happened to them, leading to further speculation that the town was haunted by witches and the devil. It became a popular activity for young folks (especially high school and college students from Lawrence or Topeka) to journey to the cemetery on Halloween or the equinox to "see the Devil". Many would jump fences or otherwise sneak their way onto the property. Over the decades, as the number of people making excursions to the cemetery grew, the graveyard started to deteriorate; this was exacerbated by vandals. To combat this, the county's sheriff office patrols the area around the cemetery, especially on Halloween, and will arrest people for trespassing. Those caught inside the cemetery after it is closed could face a maximum fine of $1,000 and up to six months in jail.


In popular culture

Despite its dubious origins, the legend of Stull Cemetery has been referenced numerous times in culture. The band
Urge Overkill Urge Overkill is an American alternative rock band, formed in Chicago in 1986, consisting of Nathan Kaatrud, who took the stage name Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass). They are widely known for their song " ...
released '' Stull'' in 1992, which features the church and a tombstone from the cemetery on the cover. It has been argued that the British band
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
canceled their show in Kansas because of Stull's cemetery, although this, too, is false. Films whose plot is based on the legends include '' Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal'' (2001), '' Nothing Left to Fear'' (2013) and the unreleased film '' Sin-Jin Smyth''. The cemetery is also the site of the final confrontation between Lucifer and Michael in "
Swan Song The swan song (; ) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been ...
", the season five finale of the television series ''
Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
''. In-universe, Sam and
Dean Winchester Dean Winchester is one of the two protagonists from the American drama television series ''Supernatural'', along with his younger brother Sam. He is portrayed primarily by Jensen Ackles. Other versions of the character having been portrayed b ...
(the series' protagonists) are from Lawrence; in a 2006 interview,
Eric Kripke Eric Kripke (born 1974) is an American screenwriting, writer and television producer. Kripke came to prominence in the late 2000s for creating The WB/The CW, CW fantasy drama series ''Supernatural (American TV series), Supernatural'' (2005–2020) ...
(the creator of ''Supernatural'') revealed that he decided to have the two brothers be from Lawrence because of its closeness to Stull.


Gallery

File:Fire department .jpg, The Stull fire department. File:The United Methodist Church.jpg, The outside of the United Methodist Church. The church continues to hold services every Sunday. File:Stull Cemetery.jpg, The Stull cemetery in 2019. Image:Stull Cemetery 2014.jpg, Stull Cemetery (facing northeast) in 2014. Image:Stull ks cemetery.JPG, Stull Cemetery (facing northeast) in 2007. The remnants of the old church are visible in the background. Image:Stull ep uo.jpg, Cover of '' Stull'' by
Urge Overkill Urge Overkill is an American alternative rock band, formed in Chicago in 1986, consisting of Nathan Kaatrud, who took the stage name Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass). They are widely known for their song " ...
. The now-destroyed chapel is in the background. File:The Daily Kansas Warning.tif, A snippet from The Daily Kansan warning students not to vandalize Stull on Halloween.


See also

* Kanwaka Township, Douglas County, Kansas (location of Stull) * Clinton Lake, southeast of Stull * List of reportedly haunted locations in the United States


Explanatory notes


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading


External links

* Douglas County maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT {{Authority control 1850s establishments in Kansas Territory Cemeteries in Kansas Ghost towns in Kansas Unincorporated communities in Douglas County, Kansas Unincorporated communities in Kansas Reportedly haunted locations in Kansas