Though their results were far from conclusive, the quest - and similar ones by other groups - could help change the future of a historic yet nearly forgotten 210-year-old building on the banks of the Delaware River in Essington, Delaware County.
The Lazaretto is the oldest surviving quarantine facility in North America. Opened in 1801, its hospital was the first stop of ships carrying immigrants, who were checked for infectious diseases before they were allowed entry into the country.
Over the years, the site, which also includes three smaller structures, became a social club for Philadelphia's elite, a seaplane base, and a flight school for the Army. Now, the three-story red brick building that some call Philadelphia's Ellis Island awaits its next role.
"We're trying to reestablish its grandeur," said Edward Rubillo, a member of the Lazaretto Preservation Association of Tinicum Township. "But it's an uphill battle."
Part of the answer may lie upriver, at Fort Mifflin.
The base, where troops held off the British navy for two months during the Revolutionary War, was in dire financial straits until groups interested in paranormal activity began paying to visit.
Those groups now account for most of the funding that keeps Fort Mifflin solvent, said fort bookkeeper Lorraine Irby, who started bringing in paranormal groups in 2004.
"Even though it doesn't fit our [history-based] mission statement, it is considered a fund-raising program," Irby said. "The paranormal program is making the money so we can pay for our programs."
