The afternoon of October 12, 1886, winds and waves began to hit the Texas-Louisiana coast. By the time darkness came, waves were rushing onto shore and the wind was howling.
Soon, bodies were being washed out into Sabine Lake. Rescue crews brought the bodies, along with the delirious living, to the docks along the Sabine River in downtown Orange.
The evening of October 12, 2019, people will be able to learn more about the terrible storm that killed dozens. They will also wonder if the storm’s lost still wonder in downtown.
Saturday will be the Heritage House Museum’s Fourth Annual Historic Ghost Walk through downtown Orange. People on the walk tour will be able to learn about local history and some of the strange stories.
More than 40 drama students from Orange County high schools will be in costume to tell the stories and present some spooky figures, directed by Adam Conrad, drama teacher at Vidor High School, who is also on the Heritage House board of directors.
“This is a fun way for the family to learn about our local history,” said Sue Denosowicz, president of the board. “The stories are based on facts, with a few legends thrown in.”
The Historic Ghost Walk will have tour groups leaving every 15 minutes from Heritage House. The tours will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday with the last group leaving at 7:30 p.m.
The Heritage House museum complex is at 905 West Division Avenue in downtown Orange, a block west of the Orange County Courthouse. Museum docents will have refreshments and games for people who are waiting for a tour group to leave.
“I think people last year had as much fun visiting as they did going on the walk,” Denosowicz said.
Heritage House Museum has a vast library of historic photographs of Orange. This year, the group has had enlargements of some photos made to be placed along the tour route. That way, guides will be able to point out where the Opera House and Holland Hotel once stood and what they looked like.
The walk will begin at Heritage House, which is a 1902 house moved to the site in 1976 as a local Bicentennial history project. One of Orange’s unusual bits of history began on the land where the house now stands.
The tour will then go east along Division Avenue to the Orange County Courthouse, then to the Riverfront Pavilion area, and along the boardwalk to Front Street. The Sabine River there was crucial to Orange’s development and many events took place in that area.
Then the tour will circle back to Heritage House. Denosowicz suggests that people wear comfortable walking shoes. Families are welcomed to bring wagons or strollerw for children. Benches along the boardwalk will allow people who need to rest a chance to sit. Heritage House will also have water at spots along the tour, plus mosquito repellent.
However, a fall cold front is forecast to blow through the area on Friday night. Denosowicz hopes the cold front blows the mosquitoes away.
The tour is $2 for children and $3 for adults, or $10 for a family. The money collected helps Heritage House save and share local history.
The main museum and two out buildings have been closed for regular tours since Hurricane Harvey two years ago. Denosowicz said the museum board recently completed all insurance and FEMA paperwork. Work on repairs will begin soon.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
photo by Kimberly Manning
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