History Knox
Mark Sebastian Jordan authors a column each Saturday reflecting on the community's history.
MOUNT VERNON — Those of you who keep up with my adventures in book writing will know that my latest historical true crime book, The Maplehurst Murder, will be coming out from The History Press in September.
The book details the horrifying murder of Maplehurst employee Miranda Bricker, who was attacked by an unknown assailant as she arrived on the grounds of the mansion the night before Easter, 1905.
I first wrote about it for this column, and have expanded that research for the new book.
Indeed, I was just talking with Gloria Parsisson about scheduling a time for me to speak at the Knox County Historical Society about the new book, a date which we will soon be able to announce.
Meanwhile, I’m in the home stretch on the book, tweaking photos, and writing captions. And as things always seem to go for me on these projects, I always make a remarkable last-minute discovery.
The thing I had been lacking in these closing phases was a period photograph of the mansion.
Though it was very well known and appears illustrated in period atlases, the only photos I had seen of it were from a handful of snapshots the KCHS has which were taken by a local resident just before the building was demolished in 1971.
Just last week, I stumbled upon a real photo postcard from 1903 for sale on eBay. It was one of a number of old postcards for sale that depicted the fountain which used to stand in the triangular island between the roads and the side alley where Division Street and East Gambier Street meet.
Most of the postcards showed the fountain from the point of view of the camera looking back toward the west, toward downtown Mount Vernon. A single card, however, was taken from a reverse angle, with the camera pointed away from downtown.
I realized as I looked at this particular card, that meant that it caught the Maplehurst mansion in the background of the shot, including the north lawn of the estate. Thus, in one accidental background, I had my first known image of the house and grounds from just two years before the murder took place.
Finally, it was possible to picture the grounds as they were at the time of the incident, and see the actual path where the struggle took place, making Miranda’s final plight much clearer.
We know from period news reports that she was attacked near the bottom of the gravel walkway that came down to Division Street, and that the struggle which followed ranged from there, beneath the trees seen, ending almost all the way to the line of hedges that stretch away on the right side of the lawn.
The photo also shows that there was a picket fence on the right side of the picture, meaning that it is possible the attacker came at Miranda from either the north or south, or from behind her.
The presence of the fountain means that he may even have hidden behind it as the woman approached Maplehurst.
I had previously doubted that he could have followed her down Division Street, because you would expect her to have cut across the yard toward the building where she both lived and worked if she sensed someone approaching her from behind as she walked south down the brick street toward Maplehurst.
But with that fence there, Miranda would have been forced to keep on Division Street until the fence ended at the gravel walkway before she turned toward Maplehurst and safety.
Since no period source can 100 percent confirm from which direction she approached the house, a Division Street approach is just as likely as the possibility she walked down East Gambier Street.
The fountain itself is obscure. Does anyone know more information about the structure? How long did it remain in that spot, and does it still exist today?
One would hope a fancy structure like a fountain might simply have been moved to another location, but I haven’t heard it referenced.
Let us know if you have any insights about the later history of the fountain.
I can be reached at mark at bardfood dot com. Substitute symbols for ‘at’ and ‘dot’ to complete the address.