TRAGIC HISTORY OF ABIGAIL MUELLER
In the 1800's, before drainage and excavation was common, many areas near Waseca would often flood during wet years. These areas were extremely dangerous, because the thick peat mud could trap a farmer or his horse, sucking them deeper the more they tried to get out. Even in the high ground, natural depressions would collect and hold water, creating dangerous bog
s. One of these areas existed just east of the small growing town of Waseca, on a hill overlooking Clear Lake. In October, 1839, nine year old Abigail Mueller, daughter of German immigrants who farmed land on the east edge of the lake, wandered off from the farm site. Abigail would frequently climb the hill that overlooked the lake and spend the day up there playing with her dolls, so the Muellers weren't really concerned about her whereabouts until that evening, when she didn't return home. When the Muellers realized that little Abby was missing, they began searching. They searched every inch of the hill she so frequently played on, but no to no avail. It wasn't until morning, that they found her muddy footprints going into the bog. They followed the tracks through the spanse of rotting vegetation until they disappeared beneath the surface of the water. For the next 24 hours they dug frantically, but thick wet peat can go deep down into the earth, and her body was never recovered. Local fishermen later told authorities that they heard a little girl screaming and a dog barking, but they just assumed that the Mueller children were playing games, as they often did. Several weeks later, authorities, doing a follow up, reported an odd structure up on that hill, decorated with multiple dolls. It was first assumed that other children had constructed this, but there were no other families living in this area at the time who had young girls. That low depression, along with many others in the area, has since been tiled and back-filled, to prevent these kinds of tragedies, and to make the land more useable . Several attempts have been made to develop this area, and all have ended under mysterious circumstances. In 1883 a three story hotel was built at the top of the hill, only to burn to the ground just sixteen years later in 1899. During its tenure, many police reports were filed by customers of someone breaking into their rooms and leaving dolls in the beds. Even in the winter, the caretaker claimed to hear a little girl running and giggling, even though he had no children and there were no guests staying there. This land has changed hands many times over the centuries, and is now the landmark known as Maplewood Park, and is where our haunted event is currently held. There have been many claims over the years of seeing a little girl carrying her doll, but none have been validated or proven. During one incident in 2005, a camper reported that a little girl in a nightgown had chased them. Upon investigation of the staff working that night, it was verified that nobody had come in or out resembling that description. Somewhere up on that hill still lie the remains of Abigail Mueller, encapsulated in the thick peat below the surface. The details of what really happened that day, have never been answered. So, for now, the story of little Abigail Mueller will continue to go unsolved.
