1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:04,066 [narrator] A secret desert facility that prepared a team for 2 00:00:04,233 --> 00:00:06,667 America's most destructive mission. 3 00:00:08,066 --> 00:00:10,000 [Peterson] Nothing was the same after that. 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:11,634 It changed the world. 5 00:00:14,100 --> 00:00:18,266 [narrator] A downtown church that became a haven from hostility. 6 00:00:18,433 --> 00:00:23,767 These guys were just going crazy trying to get away from 7 00:00:23,934 --> 00:00:25,667 all of this mob violence. 8 00:00:25,834 --> 00:00:27,166 [distant siren wailing] 9 00:00:28,567 --> 00:00:32,500 [narrator] And the lair of a figure that tormented a town. 10 00:00:33,500 --> 00:00:36,300 I'm not claiming to know what this thing is. 11 00:00:36,467 --> 00:00:39,000 Only God knows. But we saw it. 12 00:00:40,767 --> 00:00:42,467 [suspenseful music playing] 13 00:00:51,567 --> 00:00:56,000 [narrator] In Northwest Utah sits a remote desert facility, 14 00:00:56,166 --> 00:00:59,600 forever entwined with the most destructive forces 15 00:00:59,767 --> 00:01:00,800 known to humanity. 16 00:01:06,266 --> 00:01:10,967 [Peterson] This area was so secret that you actually needed five levels 17 00:01:11,133 --> 00:01:14,100 of passes to be able to even step foot on 18 00:01:14,266 --> 00:01:15,867 this ground out here. 19 00:01:15,867 --> 00:01:18,567 [Dr. Davis-Hayes] We're in the northwest of Utah, 20 00:01:18,567 --> 00:01:22,200 right on the border with Nevada. 21 00:01:22,367 --> 00:01:24,800 [narrator] A vast, restricted area 22 00:01:24,967 --> 00:01:26,700 stretches across the landscape. 23 00:01:26,867 --> 00:01:29,767 [Morgan] You have a large number of wooden buildings. 24 00:01:29,767 --> 00:01:32,500 They look weather-worn. They look beat up. 25 00:01:32,667 --> 00:01:35,100 [Dr. Auerbach] A bit farther out, there's something curious. 26 00:01:35,100 --> 00:01:38,400 These deep, concrete-lined pits that seem to have 27 00:01:38,567 --> 00:01:39,800 no obvious purpose. 28 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:44,667 [narrator] But some remains offer clues to the site's past. 29 00:01:44,667 --> 00:01:47,400 Among the structures that are present here is one that looks 30 00:01:47,567 --> 00:01:48,900 distinctly like it's a control tower. 31 00:01:49,066 --> 00:01:51,467 [Dr. Auerbach] And those long concrete strips, 32 00:01:51,634 --> 00:01:52,800 those have got to be runways. 33 00:01:52,967 --> 00:01:55,967 All the indications are that this was a military 34 00:01:56,133 --> 00:01:59,166 installation, most likely an Air Force base. 35 00:01:59,166 --> 00:02:01,967 [narrator] For years, this place marched 36 00:02:02,133 --> 00:02:04,867 to the incessant drumbeat of war. 37 00:02:04,867 --> 00:02:06,700 [Peterson] I don't think these airmen 38 00:02:06,867 --> 00:02:09,166 really knew what awaited them. 39 00:02:09,333 --> 00:02:11,467 They were playing for the highest stakes imaginable. 40 00:02:11,467 --> 00:02:13,567 There would be a heavy price to pay. 41 00:02:17,767 --> 00:02:23,300 [narrator] This remote Utah location had a monumental impact on one of 42 00:02:23,467 --> 00:02:25,066 history's greatest conflicts. 43 00:02:26,367 --> 00:02:30,000 Jim Peterson has spent years unpacking its secrets. 44 00:02:31,100 --> 00:02:34,300 [Peterson] As we stand here, you can almost feel the history 45 00:02:34,467 --> 00:02:35,667 of this area. 46 00:02:35,667 --> 00:02:39,767 This is the very spot that our grandfathers were standing. 47 00:02:39,934 --> 00:02:43,567 [narrator] This desert area would be transformed by 48 00:02:43,734 --> 00:02:45,200 the call of duty. 49 00:02:45,367 --> 00:02:48,767 In the 1930s, there were few testing sites for 50 00:02:48,767 --> 00:02:50,467 America's air forces. 51 00:02:50,467 --> 00:02:53,767 But as World War II began to rage across Europe, 52 00:02:53,934 --> 00:02:55,500 that had to change. 53 00:02:55,667 --> 00:02:57,367 [cannon blasts] 54 00:02:57,367 --> 00:03:00,100 Congress apportioned money for the establishment 55 00:03:00,100 --> 00:03:02,467 of U.S. Air Corps bases across the nation. 56 00:03:02,634 --> 00:03:05,467 [Peterson] The property was purchased in 1939. 57 00:03:05,634 --> 00:03:07,567 The building of the base started 58 00:03:07,734 --> 00:03:10,066 in a very slow way in 1940. 59 00:03:11,166 --> 00:03:14,700 [narrator] This is Wendover Air Force Base. 60 00:03:14,867 --> 00:03:18,300 Initially, just a small airfield home to two dozen 61 00:03:18,467 --> 00:03:22,100 troops, a devastating strike on American soil would 62 00:03:22,100 --> 00:03:23,467 rewrite its destiny. 63 00:03:23,634 --> 00:03:25,066 [explosion rumbles] 64 00:03:25,233 --> 00:03:27,100 With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 65 00:03:27,266 --> 00:03:31,800 December 7, 1941, the nation awoke to the reality 66 00:03:31,967 --> 00:03:33,000 of foreign aggression. 67 00:03:34,100 --> 00:03:36,166 The attack galvanized the nation 68 00:03:36,166 --> 00:03:38,467 and the U.S. government during the war. 69 00:03:38,467 --> 00:03:42,400 Wendover rapidly expanded in a blitz of construction. 70 00:03:42,567 --> 00:03:47,500 It quickly transformed from a base with a dozen buildings 71 00:03:47,667 --> 00:03:51,600 to 668 buildings. 72 00:03:51,767 --> 00:03:55,367 [Peterson] As the base was expanding, we needed a lot of people here. 73 00:03:55,533 --> 00:03:58,667 At its very peak, it was just under 20,000. 74 00:03:58,667 --> 00:04:01,600 If you were an officer, you could bring your family. 75 00:04:01,767 --> 00:04:04,166 [narrator] Here, the men received what was known 76 00:04:04,333 --> 00:04:07,200 as Phase II training. 77 00:04:07,367 --> 00:04:11,000 Phase I training, a pilot would be trained maybe in 78 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,266 Kansas City, a bombardier in New York, a radioman in Texas. 79 00:04:15,266 --> 00:04:19,100 Wendover is where they actually came together and formed up 80 00:04:19,266 --> 00:04:20,266 as a group. 81 00:04:20,266 --> 00:04:23,667 The site's main purpose was bombing training, 82 00:04:23,834 --> 00:04:25,367 but they learned other things, 83 00:04:25,533 --> 00:04:28,667 like flight formation and navigation. 84 00:04:28,667 --> 00:04:31,166 [narrator] Some of World War II's greatest heroes heroes 85 00:04:31,333 --> 00:04:33,300 would train at Wendover. 86 00:04:33,467 --> 00:04:35,567 We had some of the famous groups like 87 00:04:35,734 --> 00:04:38,200 the Bloody Hundredth, the 306 bomb group 88 00:04:38,367 --> 00:04:39,667 that was the first bomb group 89 00:04:39,667 --> 00:04:43,967 to actually drop bombs on Germany itself. 90 00:04:44,133 --> 00:04:47,567 [narrator] On top of the hundreds of barracks, the sprawling site 91 00:04:47,734 --> 00:04:51,867 included a power plant, a rec center, a dining hall, 92 00:04:51,867 --> 00:04:53,567 and a hospital. 93 00:04:53,734 --> 00:04:56,700 [Peterson] The hospital here at Wendover is rather large, 94 00:04:56,867 --> 00:04:58,700 it's a 300-bed hospital. 95 00:04:58,867 --> 00:05:01,900 There were a number of babies that were born here to 96 00:05:02,066 --> 00:05:03,567 the officers' wives. 97 00:05:03,734 --> 00:05:09,367 [narrator] By 1944, about 50,000 airmen had passed through Wendover, 98 00:05:09,367 --> 00:05:12,967 but its mission was far from over. 99 00:05:13,133 --> 00:05:17,500 Soon a classified project would take over the base, and change 100 00:05:17,667 --> 00:05:20,200 the course of history. 101 00:05:20,367 --> 00:05:25,667 Ever since the 1930s and the discovery of fission, there was 102 00:05:25,667 --> 00:05:28,967 a great concern in American government circles that 103 00:05:29,133 --> 00:05:32,367 the Germans would develop a nuclear weapon first, and this 104 00:05:32,367 --> 00:05:35,967 prompted them during the war to start their own project. 105 00:05:36,133 --> 00:05:39,767 [narrator] The Manhattan Project was created to develop the world's 106 00:05:39,767 --> 00:05:44,767 first atomic bomb, and use it before the enemy could. 107 00:05:44,767 --> 00:05:48,867 What needed to happen next was to take that engineering design 108 00:05:48,867 --> 00:05:52,700 and turn it into an actual deliverable weapon, and Wendover 109 00:05:52,867 --> 00:05:57,000 was selected as the base where that would take place. 110 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,166 Overseeing the program was Colonel Paul Tibbetts. 111 00:06:00,333 --> 00:06:04,066 He was training pilots to fly modified B-29 bombers. 112 00:06:04,233 --> 00:06:07,567 The modified B-29s had to have all of the extra weight 113 00:06:07,734 --> 00:06:09,266 stripped out of them, because it was going to be 114 00:06:09,266 --> 00:06:12,467 carrying a bomb that was vastly heavier than anything that it 115 00:06:12,467 --> 00:06:13,667 had carried before. 116 00:06:13,667 --> 00:06:16,166 [narrator] An elite team was assembled, 117 00:06:16,333 --> 00:06:18,700 the 509th Composite Group. 118 00:06:18,867 --> 00:06:20,467 [Morgan] This was a super secret mission. 119 00:06:20,634 --> 00:06:23,400 Most of the men didn't know what this special group was 120 00:06:23,567 --> 00:06:25,867 about to do, and they didn't understand that they would be 121 00:06:26,033 --> 00:06:30,100 dropping a bomb that had harnessed the power of the sun. 122 00:06:30,266 --> 00:06:33,467 [Dr. Auerbach] Wendover was also absolutely crawling with G-men. 123 00:06:33,467 --> 00:06:36,800 Over 400 FBI agents worked in plainclothes, 124 00:06:36,967 --> 00:06:40,266 carefully listening for anyone who was blabbing. 125 00:06:40,266 --> 00:06:43,300 [narrator] Despite the secrecy, the men knew they were working 126 00:06:43,467 --> 00:06:46,100 with a whole new type of bomb. 127 00:06:46,100 --> 00:06:48,000 [Morgan] Two different bombs were developed -- 128 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,000 Little Boy and Fat Man. 129 00:06:50,166 --> 00:06:52,400 This was done to hedge our bets, just in the event 130 00:06:52,567 --> 00:06:53,800 that one didn't work out. 131 00:06:53,967 --> 00:06:57,300 The bombs that they were training with at Wendover were 132 00:06:57,467 --> 00:07:01,867 filled with the same electronic components, but with no 133 00:07:02,033 --> 00:07:04,100 nuclear materials. 134 00:07:04,100 --> 00:07:07,266 One of the challenges that they had was they developed 135 00:07:07,266 --> 00:07:12,000 this weapon, is that it was so big, it couldn't be rolled 136 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:13,100 under the airplane. 137 00:07:13,100 --> 00:07:17,567 So at Wendover, they designed this loading pit 138 00:07:17,734 --> 00:07:20,367 and it has a regular service station 139 00:07:20,533 --> 00:07:22,066 type hydraulic lift in it. 140 00:07:23,467 --> 00:07:28,467 [narrator] In late May 1945, the 509th Composite Group left 141 00:07:28,467 --> 00:07:32,567 for Tinian Island in the Pacific Ocean to launch their mission. 142 00:07:32,567 --> 00:07:36,667 It was one that would change the world forever. 143 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,166 [narrator] The 509th Composite Group that trained here at 144 00:07:43,166 --> 00:07:44,367 Wendover Airfield, 145 00:07:44,533 --> 00:07:46,767 was tasked with a terrifying responsibility, 146 00:07:47,867 --> 00:07:51,867 one that would usher in a new era for humanity. 147 00:07:52,033 --> 00:07:56,266 In late May 1945, the 509th Composite Group left 148 00:07:56,433 --> 00:07:57,667 for Tinian Island. 149 00:07:57,834 --> 00:08:01,266 It was there that you had the infrastructure and the 150 00:08:01,433 --> 00:08:04,900 proximity to Japan that made it such an appropriate spot to 151 00:08:05,066 --> 00:08:06,166 launch the mission. 152 00:08:06,333 --> 00:08:08,166 [Morgan] At 2:45 AM, 153 00:08:08,333 --> 00:08:13,700 on August 6th, a B-29 nicknamed Enola Gay, piloted by 154 00:08:13,867 --> 00:08:18,367 Group Commander Paul Tibbetts, took off from Northfield Tinian. 155 00:08:18,367 --> 00:08:23,000 [Dr. Auerbach] On 8-15, the world's first atomic bomb, 156 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,400 Little Boy, was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. 157 00:08:28,867 --> 00:08:31,800 Everything within the initial blast radius -- 158 00:08:31,967 --> 00:08:36,000 buildings, animals, people -- was simply vaporized. 159 00:08:36,166 --> 00:08:41,467 Beyond that, you had a heat wave that melted things. 160 00:08:41,634 --> 00:08:44,367 And beyond that, the blast wave that simply knocked 161 00:08:44,533 --> 00:08:45,800 everything down. 162 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:49,066 And meanwhile, a mushroom cloud that spread radioactive matter 163 00:08:49,233 --> 00:08:51,166 across a vast area. 164 00:08:51,333 --> 00:08:54,400 [narrator] Three days later, the men who trained at Wendover 165 00:08:54,567 --> 00:08:58,600 were called into action again, and the Fat Man bomb was 166 00:08:58,767 --> 00:09:00,200 dropped over Nagasaki. 167 00:09:01,900 --> 00:09:06,367 On August 15, 1945, the Japanese Emperor 168 00:09:06,533 --> 00:09:09,767 Hirohito announced the country's surrender. 169 00:09:11,867 --> 00:09:14,567 [narrator] The scale of death and destruction caused by 170 00:09:14,567 --> 00:09:17,100 the bombs was unprecedented. 171 00:09:17,266 --> 00:09:20,066 It was estimated by the U.S. military 172 00:09:20,233 --> 00:09:24,767 that 70,000 people died at Hiroshima and 40,000 173 00:09:24,767 --> 00:09:26,100 at Nagasaki. 174 00:09:27,567 --> 00:09:32,367 The true death toll is much larger and hard to estimate 175 00:09:32,533 --> 00:09:35,967 accurately, but it was certainly tens of thousands 176 00:09:36,133 --> 00:09:38,567 who would die long lingering deaths in subsequent 177 00:09:38,734 --> 00:09:42,100 days, months, and years because of radiation exposure. 178 00:09:42,100 --> 00:09:45,367 [Peterson] It's hard to evaluate without being there 179 00:09:45,367 --> 00:09:47,000 and being a part of it. 180 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,867 At the time, we didn't see alternatives. 181 00:09:49,867 --> 00:09:53,166 That was the alternative to end the war, and that's what 182 00:09:53,333 --> 00:09:54,967 they chose to do. 183 00:09:55,133 --> 00:09:58,100 [narrator] With its epic mission accomplished, activity at 184 00:09:58,266 --> 00:10:00,767 the base dwindled over the next few years. 185 00:10:01,767 --> 00:10:03,767 Basically, everybody went home. 186 00:10:03,934 --> 00:10:07,100 Wendover hadn't been a big town before, when it went back to 187 00:10:07,266 --> 00:10:08,567 a very small town. 188 00:10:08,734 --> 00:10:13,767 In 1976, Wendover Airfield was turned over to Wendover, 189 00:10:13,767 --> 00:10:15,767 Utah as a municipal airport. 190 00:10:20,900 --> 00:10:26,066 [narrator] Today, historic Wendover Airfield is open to the public. 191 00:10:26,233 --> 00:10:30,000 Jim and his team are working hard to preserve and showcase 192 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:31,800 its incredible history. 193 00:10:31,967 --> 00:10:34,900 This is the most original remaining base in the country. 194 00:10:35,066 --> 00:10:37,867 It's kind of been preserved in time. 195 00:10:37,867 --> 00:10:41,200 Wendover is where the atomic age began. 196 00:10:41,367 --> 00:10:43,567 It certainly had a major part of it. 197 00:10:43,734 --> 00:10:46,900 It's not something that we want to repeat, but it's not 198 00:10:47,066 --> 00:10:49,900 something that we want to forget either. 199 00:10:52,367 --> 00:10:57,467 [narrator] In downtown Jacksonville, lies an abandoned church that played 200 00:10:57,634 --> 00:11:01,600 an important role in an era-defining event that 201 00:11:01,767 --> 00:11:04,667 would change the city and the nation forever. 202 00:11:08,100 --> 00:11:10,467 [Yates] It was one of the bloodiest days 203 00:11:10,634 --> 00:11:12,667 in the history of the city of Jacksonville. 204 00:11:12,834 --> 00:11:15,300 [Meigs] From a distance, you might think, OK, this is 205 00:11:15,467 --> 00:11:18,000 just another downtown church, but as you get closer, 206 00:11:18,166 --> 00:11:20,467 you can see the windows are boarded up, 207 00:11:20,467 --> 00:11:23,000 the front door is bolted shut. 208 00:11:23,166 --> 00:11:28,967 [narrator] The church is an intriguing mix of preservation and neglect. 209 00:11:29,133 --> 00:11:31,266 [Rodriguez-McRobbie] The church's interior is stunning. 210 00:11:31,266 --> 00:11:33,767 You've got beautiful stained glass windows, 211 00:11:33,934 --> 00:11:35,100 impressive woodwork. 212 00:11:35,100 --> 00:11:37,567 There are a few still here, but they've been pushed off 213 00:11:37,567 --> 00:11:38,767 to the side. 214 00:11:38,767 --> 00:11:41,200 It's almost like they're patiently awaiting there to be 215 00:11:41,367 --> 00:11:43,000 services inside the church again. 216 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:45,266 [Meigs] There's a kitchen, there's meeting rooms, 217 00:11:45,433 --> 00:11:47,467 but it's dusty, it's neglected. 218 00:11:47,467 --> 00:11:50,166 Clearly no one's been using this space 219 00:11:50,333 --> 00:11:52,000 for many, many years. 220 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,700 [narrator] For some, this church's significance isn't related 221 00:11:55,867 --> 00:11:58,900 to religion, but to the life-saving shelter 222 00:11:59,066 --> 00:12:01,767 it gave during a desperate time. 223 00:12:01,767 --> 00:12:06,967 I remember it as being a place where children were able to 224 00:12:07,133 --> 00:12:10,867 escape the carnage, the bloodbath that was taking 225 00:12:11,033 --> 00:12:12,767 place outside its walls. 226 00:12:12,767 --> 00:12:15,000 -[siren wailing] -[indistinct crowd ruckus] 227 00:12:17,467 --> 00:12:20,467 [narrator] The church on this corner can trace its beginnings 228 00:12:20,634 --> 00:12:24,867 all the way back to the mid-19th century, just five years after 229 00:12:24,867 --> 00:12:26,166 the Civil War. 230 00:12:26,166 --> 00:12:28,400 A northern abolitionist named 231 00:12:28,567 --> 00:12:31,600 John Sanford Swain came down 232 00:12:31,767 --> 00:12:36,700 here to build a church that would be dedicated to his hope 233 00:12:36,867 --> 00:12:38,700 of racial equality. 234 00:12:38,867 --> 00:12:40,867 [narrator] The original church burned 235 00:12:40,867 --> 00:12:44,066 in the Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901. 236 00:12:44,233 --> 00:12:49,000 Swiftly rebuilt, the new church continued its tradition of 237 00:12:49,166 --> 00:12:53,867 inclusivity and was renamed the Snyder Memorial Methodist 238 00:12:54,033 --> 00:12:55,500 Episcopal Church. 239 00:12:55,667 --> 00:12:58,000 Throughout the first half of the 20th century, 240 00:12:58,166 --> 00:13:01,266 the church had an open door policy, helping anyone who was 241 00:13:01,433 --> 00:13:04,100 in need, whether that was spiritual counseling, 242 00:13:04,100 --> 00:13:06,100 or just a place to sleep. 243 00:13:06,266 --> 00:13:11,800 [narrator] In 1960, this welcoming reputation was put to the test 244 00:13:11,967 --> 00:13:14,767 in the most dramatic of circumstances. 245 00:13:14,767 --> 00:13:21,066 All of us, me and seven kids, were squeezed into this area 246 00:13:21,233 --> 00:13:24,266 trying to hide from what was going on out there. 247 00:13:24,433 --> 00:13:25,900 Didn't want anyone to see us. 248 00:13:26,066 --> 00:13:30,600 [narrator] Alton Yates, 24 years old at the time, was shepherding 249 00:13:30,767 --> 00:13:34,400 children away from a riot that would later become known as 250 00:13:34,567 --> 00:13:36,700 Axe Handle Saturday. 251 00:13:36,867 --> 00:13:40,800 His journey to this violent day began a few months earlier when 252 00:13:40,967 --> 00:13:44,900 he joined a group called the NAACP Youth Council. 253 00:13:45,066 --> 00:13:48,200 Established in 1909, the National Association for 254 00:13:48,367 --> 00:13:50,000 the Advancement of Colored People was 255 00:13:50,166 --> 00:13:51,467 an interracial organization. 256 00:13:51,634 --> 00:13:54,600 By the Great Depression, it was the most prominent civil rights 257 00:13:54,767 --> 00:13:55,900 organization in the U.S. 258 00:13:56,066 --> 00:13:59,367 To highlight the injustices of segregated America, 259 00:13:59,367 --> 00:14:02,100 The NAACP in Jacksonville decided to focus on 260 00:14:02,100 --> 00:14:04,767 the segregated lunch counters of the department stores that 261 00:14:04,934 --> 00:14:08,066 were once centered around the park outside the church. 262 00:14:08,233 --> 00:14:11,900 [narrator] These protests were called sit-ins. 263 00:14:12,066 --> 00:14:15,700 What this would entail would be Black people or a group that 264 00:14:15,867 --> 00:14:19,266 was integrated taking seats at whites-only lunch counters. 265 00:14:19,433 --> 00:14:22,000 They would be refused service, but they would remain there 266 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,000 sitting peacefully until closing. 267 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:30,600 [narrator] In Jacksonville, activists were often insulted and humiliated, 268 00:14:30,767 --> 00:14:34,100 but all-out violence was usually avoided. 269 00:14:34,100 --> 00:14:38,467 But one Saturday morning, that all changed. 270 00:14:39,867 --> 00:14:43,800 We could see a truck parked across the street at 271 00:14:43,967 --> 00:14:47,467 Henning Park, and there were men on the back of this truck 272 00:14:47,467 --> 00:14:50,600 passing out baseball bats and ax handles. 273 00:14:50,767 --> 00:14:52,333 -[glass breaking] -[indistinct ruckus] 274 00:14:54,767 --> 00:14:58,066 [narrator] On the morning of Saturday, August 27th, 1960, 275 00:14:58,233 --> 00:15:00,767 a number of activists were preparing 276 00:15:00,767 --> 00:15:02,467 for a sit-in protest at 277 00:15:02,467 --> 00:15:06,000 a department store in downtown Jacksonville. 278 00:15:06,166 --> 00:15:08,867 Around the corner, a truck parked outside 279 00:15:09,033 --> 00:15:13,467 the Snyder Memorial Church was offloading axe handles to a mob 280 00:15:13,467 --> 00:15:18,200 of white supremacists and KKK members, who were intent on 281 00:15:18,367 --> 00:15:19,634 stopping the protest. 282 00:15:20,867 --> 00:15:26,100 Alton Yates was leading a group of teenagers to the sit-in. 283 00:15:26,266 --> 00:15:29,600 We walked in and took our seats at the lunch counter, 284 00:15:29,767 --> 00:15:34,867 and just about time we were seated, the guys out here 285 00:15:34,867 --> 00:15:36,700 spotted us sitting at the counter. 286 00:15:36,867 --> 00:15:41,100 And when they did, they came in with their axe handles 287 00:15:41,100 --> 00:15:42,967 and they started beating us. 288 00:15:43,133 --> 00:15:46,567 [narrator] But they weren't the only ones targeted. 289 00:15:46,567 --> 00:15:50,467 I was 17 years old, and I was an employee of 290 00:15:50,634 --> 00:15:51,700 Marson Cafeteria. 291 00:15:51,867 --> 00:15:56,467 And that's the building here, and I worked 292 00:15:56,467 --> 00:15:59,500 in the dishroom, washing dishes. 293 00:15:59,667 --> 00:16:03,266 [narrator] After leaving his place of work, Nat Glover was one of 294 00:16:03,266 --> 00:16:06,467 the many African Americans who was unfortunately in 295 00:16:06,467 --> 00:16:09,266 the wrong place at the wrong time. 296 00:16:10,567 --> 00:16:13,967 They quickly confronted me right here 297 00:16:14,133 --> 00:16:15,400 in the middle of the street 298 00:16:16,700 --> 00:16:19,600 because they had the whole street blocked off. 299 00:16:19,767 --> 00:16:25,100 And they started to hit me with the ax handles. 300 00:16:25,266 --> 00:16:28,266 The victims of this violence appealed to the local police, 301 00:16:28,266 --> 00:16:31,166 but they pretty much just stood aside and let 302 00:16:31,166 --> 00:16:32,867 this thing play out. 303 00:16:33,033 --> 00:16:36,967 I ran over to the police officer and I said to him, 304 00:16:37,133 --> 00:16:38,700 "Officer, please help me." 305 00:16:38,867 --> 00:16:42,767 And this officer said, and I'll never forget it, 306 00:16:42,767 --> 00:16:47,200 those words ring in my ears right now -- 307 00:16:47,367 --> 00:16:52,800 he said, "You better get out of here before they kill you." 308 00:16:52,967 --> 00:16:57,266 [narrator] Back at the protest, Alton knew he had to get his group of 309 00:16:57,433 --> 00:16:59,467 teenagers away from the mob. 310 00:16:59,634 --> 00:17:04,367 But I was very careful asking them not to run, because if 311 00:17:04,533 --> 00:17:06,367 they ran, they would draw attention to us. 312 00:17:06,367 --> 00:17:09,900 So we walk as calmly as we possibly could. 313 00:17:10,066 --> 00:17:14,600 And we got to this door to the Snyder Memorial Church 314 00:17:14,767 --> 00:17:19,066 and I just, on a hunch, tried the door. 315 00:17:19,233 --> 00:17:22,867 To my amazement, it was unlocked, but it swung open 316 00:17:23,033 --> 00:17:25,700 and we rushed in. 317 00:17:28,166 --> 00:17:31,266 [narrator] Nat Glover took a different route to safety. 318 00:17:31,433 --> 00:17:38,266 I ran towards my home and they chased me, but I don't know to 319 00:17:38,433 --> 00:17:43,367 this day when they stopped chasing me, because I was so 320 00:17:43,367 --> 00:17:47,367 afraid, I did not look back. 321 00:17:47,533 --> 00:17:51,667 [narrator] On hearing about the mob, a local African-American gang 322 00:17:51,834 --> 00:17:55,166 called the Boomerangs rushed in to offer some sort 323 00:17:55,166 --> 00:17:56,266 of protection. 324 00:17:56,266 --> 00:18:00,300 Only then did the police finally intervene. 325 00:18:00,467 --> 00:18:04,667 Of the 62 arrests made that day, 48 were African-Americans. 326 00:18:04,834 --> 00:18:08,300 And one thing this underscores, is that when the police finally 327 00:18:08,467 --> 00:18:11,200 did spring into action, they apparently were targeting 328 00:18:11,367 --> 00:18:13,900 their efforts on containing Black people. 329 00:18:15,166 --> 00:18:18,266 [narrator] Life Magazine published a photo of one of 330 00:18:18,433 --> 00:18:21,900 the victims, sparking a national outcry. 331 00:18:22,066 --> 00:18:25,567 In Jacksonville, the response of many was to 332 00:18:25,567 --> 00:18:27,467 boycott downtown businesses. 333 00:18:27,634 --> 00:18:29,867 The African-American community had had enough. 334 00:18:30,033 --> 00:18:32,600 And now the businesses were even starting to question 335 00:18:32,767 --> 00:18:34,266 the need for segregation in their stores. 336 00:18:34,433 --> 00:18:36,767 It was all coming to a head. 337 00:18:36,934 --> 00:18:42,066 [narrator] During this tumultuous time, Snyder Memorial Church once 338 00:18:42,233 --> 00:18:45,467 again played an important role. 339 00:18:45,467 --> 00:18:51,600 This was the location of the first interracial meetings 340 00:18:51,767 --> 00:18:55,800 of the business community and the Black community to 341 00:18:55,967 --> 00:18:59,867 settle the problems of segregation and integration 342 00:18:59,867 --> 00:19:01,100 in Jacksonville. 343 00:19:01,100 --> 00:19:03,166 [narrator] Thanks to these meetings at the church, 344 00:19:03,333 --> 00:19:08,200 in April, 1961, Jacksonville lunch counters were desegregated. 345 00:19:08,367 --> 00:19:11,967 Three years later, the landmark Civil Rights Act 346 00:19:12,133 --> 00:19:13,500 was passed. 347 00:19:13,667 --> 00:19:18,767 For Snyder, though, its days of influence were on the wane. 348 00:19:18,767 --> 00:19:21,967 [Meigs] As people moved out to the suburbs, attendance at 349 00:19:22,133 --> 00:19:26,166 the Snyder Memorial Church services began to fall off, 350 00:19:26,166 --> 00:19:28,667 and eventually the church emptied out. 351 00:19:28,667 --> 00:19:32,100 By the 1990s, it had ended its weekly services 352 00:19:32,266 --> 00:19:34,967 and eventually shut down altogether. 353 00:19:35,133 --> 00:19:40,100 [narrator] Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013, 354 00:19:40,100 --> 00:19:42,266 the church is safe from demolition, 355 00:19:42,266 --> 00:19:46,667 but without a congregation, remains frozen in time. 356 00:19:51,266 --> 00:19:56,100 [narrator] In 2020, Jacksonville took steps to reappraise its past by 357 00:19:56,100 --> 00:19:59,667 renaming the park outside Snyder Memorial in honor of 358 00:19:59,834 --> 00:20:02,667 civil rights activist and Jacksonville native, 359 00:20:02,667 --> 00:20:04,800 James Weldon Johnson. 360 00:20:04,967 --> 00:20:07,767 And there have been recent talks of turning the church 361 00:20:07,767 --> 00:20:09,867 into a civil rights museum. 362 00:20:09,867 --> 00:20:11,867 [Dr. Mitchell] But for now, it sits empty, 363 00:20:11,867 --> 00:20:13,266 a place of reflection, 364 00:20:13,433 --> 00:20:16,900 especially for those who once desperately sought refuge here. 365 00:20:17,066 --> 00:20:19,867 [Yates] I've always been thankful for the fact that 366 00:20:20,033 --> 00:20:25,000 that side door was open. That, to me, was a miracle. 367 00:20:25,166 --> 00:20:28,667 [narrator] Although Snyder will be forever linked to Axe Handle Saturday, 368 00:20:28,667 --> 00:20:32,266 for some, this awful event served as a source 369 00:20:32,433 --> 00:20:33,600 of inspiration. 370 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:39,967 I was ashamed of having ran, and that in effect, changed 371 00:20:40,133 --> 00:20:45,100 my life, because it did leave on my mind and my heart 372 00:20:45,100 --> 00:20:49,000 that I would never run away from another fight. 373 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,967 [narrator] Nat Glover would use this newfound resilience 374 00:20:52,133 --> 00:20:55,800 and determination to make history, becoming the first 375 00:20:55,967 --> 00:21:00,767 Black sheriff in Florida since 1888, and the first ever 376 00:21:00,767 --> 00:21:02,266 in Jacksonville. 377 00:21:06,367 --> 00:21:10,367 In West Virginia, a set of abandoned structures is at 378 00:21:10,533 --> 00:21:13,500 the heart of one of America's strangest mysteries. 379 00:21:20,467 --> 00:21:22,967 [Wamsley] I don't think this thing was planned or plotted. 380 00:21:23,133 --> 00:21:26,266 There was a lot of people seeing it and it still hasn't 381 00:21:26,433 --> 00:21:28,367 been explained to this day. 382 00:21:28,367 --> 00:21:31,900 This is Point Pleasant, a small West Virginia town on 383 00:21:32,066 --> 00:21:33,200 the Ohio River. 384 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:37,700 This place really has a "Stranger Things" vibe to it. 385 00:21:37,867 --> 00:21:41,467 Point Pleasant is a cozy, quiet, sleepy little town. 386 00:21:41,467 --> 00:21:45,367 But just a few miles north, there's a whole ruinous 387 00:21:45,533 --> 00:21:48,100 concrete mess of structures. 388 00:21:48,100 --> 00:21:49,967 [Dr. Szulgit] This place is a mishmash. 389 00:21:50,133 --> 00:21:54,667 Some look like thick concrete domes, while others are pillars 390 00:21:54,834 --> 00:21:57,400 of some kind. What was this place? 391 00:21:57,567 --> 00:22:01,166 These tall, lanky concrete buildings have a real 392 00:22:01,333 --> 00:22:02,400 dystopian feel. 393 00:22:02,567 --> 00:22:06,667 It looks like a kind of postmodern Stonehenge. 394 00:22:06,667 --> 00:22:10,867 [narrator] What happened here turned nightmares into reality. 395 00:22:11,033 --> 00:22:14,266 [Leport] I know what I saw. I'm not crazy. 396 00:22:14,433 --> 00:22:18,500 Those eyes, when you looked at them, it was so red. 397 00:22:18,667 --> 00:22:22,100 [narrator] Whatever the truth, it culminated in a very 398 00:22:22,100 --> 00:22:24,967 real catastrophe. -People perished. 399 00:22:25,133 --> 00:22:28,367 It's deemed the worst bridge disaster in U.S. history. 400 00:22:32,467 --> 00:22:33,667 [narrator] On the surface, 401 00:22:33,834 --> 00:22:36,266 Point Pleasant looks like its name suggests, 402 00:22:36,266 --> 00:22:41,100 a welcoming, safe West Virginian town. 403 00:22:41,100 --> 00:22:45,000 But lifelong resident Jeff Wamsley knows there's more here 404 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,367 than meets the eye. 405 00:22:46,367 --> 00:22:49,767 I grew up here and I was real familiar with a lot of 406 00:22:49,934 --> 00:22:51,767 the stories about the abandoned buildings. 407 00:22:51,767 --> 00:22:55,567 My dad brought me and my mother up here looking for this thing, 408 00:22:55,734 --> 00:22:58,400 sort of like a hunt for Frankenstein. 409 00:22:58,567 --> 00:23:03,200 [narrator] Many claim what Jeff and his family came looking for lurked 410 00:23:03,367 --> 00:23:06,967 among these buildings several decades before he was born, 411 00:23:07,133 --> 00:23:12,567 when America was fighting the Axis powers on two fronts. 412 00:23:12,734 --> 00:23:16,967 During World War II, this was a top secret military facility. 413 00:23:17,133 --> 00:23:21,800 [narrator] This was the West Virginia Ordinance Works, but locals knew 414 00:23:21,967 --> 00:23:23,066 it by another name. 415 00:23:23,233 --> 00:23:26,667 This area was what we call the TNT area because 416 00:23:26,667 --> 00:23:28,567 they manufactured TNT. 417 00:23:28,567 --> 00:23:32,300 [narrator] Used in everything from landmines to artillery shells, 418 00:23:32,467 --> 00:23:36,867 Trinitrotoluene, or TNT, was a key weapon in 419 00:23:36,867 --> 00:23:38,500 America's arsenal. 420 00:23:38,667 --> 00:23:43,667 This site is over 8,000 acres and it employed about 3,500 421 00:23:43,834 --> 00:23:46,066 people working around the clock. 422 00:23:46,233 --> 00:23:50,967 This place was built to produce 720,000 pounds of TNT 423 00:23:51,133 --> 00:23:52,367 every single day. 424 00:23:52,533 --> 00:23:56,900 You have a lot of bunkers that still exist up here. 425 00:23:57,066 --> 00:23:58,467 There's over a hundred of these. 426 00:23:58,634 --> 00:24:04,066 They were made to store ammunition and live explosives. 427 00:24:04,233 --> 00:24:08,567 [narrator] Yet when the explosions of World War II ended, so did 428 00:24:08,567 --> 00:24:11,367 these buildings' glory days. 429 00:24:11,533 --> 00:24:16,467 In 1945, the world returned to peace, and this war factory was 430 00:24:16,634 --> 00:24:18,600 shut down and abandoned. 431 00:24:18,767 --> 00:24:23,367 It became a desolate military area left over from 432 00:24:23,367 --> 00:24:24,867 World War II. 433 00:24:24,867 --> 00:24:28,767 [narrator] These buildings quietly crumbled for over 20 years, 434 00:24:28,767 --> 00:24:33,100 but their demise was dramatically disturbed when 435 00:24:33,266 --> 00:24:37,100 an event here would change Point Pleasant forever. 436 00:24:39,567 --> 00:24:43,000 There were two young couples riding around about 11:00 PM. 437 00:24:43,166 --> 00:24:46,400 and they saw what they thought was just a person standing in 438 00:24:46,567 --> 00:24:47,567 the middle of the road. 439 00:24:47,567 --> 00:24:49,367 As they got closer in their vehicle, 440 00:24:49,367 --> 00:24:51,667 they realized that it was not a person. 441 00:24:51,834 --> 00:24:55,567 It looked like a large bird of some sort or some creature. 442 00:24:55,567 --> 00:24:58,100 [Meares] They panicked, and they turned around. 443 00:24:58,100 --> 00:25:01,400 And as they did, they realized that this 444 00:25:01,567 --> 00:25:04,667 creature started flying over their car, chasing them. 445 00:25:04,667 --> 00:25:08,266 [Wamsley] They sped up to about 90 to 95 miles an hour. 446 00:25:08,266 --> 00:25:11,767 And whatever this thing was stayed over top of their car. 447 00:25:11,767 --> 00:25:14,767 As they got to the lights of the city, this thing veered off 448 00:25:14,934 --> 00:25:16,266 into a cornfield. 449 00:25:16,266 --> 00:25:20,600 [narrator] The two young couples were so distressed, they turned 450 00:25:20,767 --> 00:25:22,066 to the authorities. 451 00:25:22,233 --> 00:25:25,000 Soon as they got back into town, they reported what 452 00:25:25,166 --> 00:25:27,467 they had encountered to the sheriff's department. 453 00:25:27,467 --> 00:25:30,767 [Thomas] Whatever they saw, it definitely scared them. 454 00:25:30,767 --> 00:25:34,166 The sheriff's office said that they were visibly shaken. 455 00:25:34,166 --> 00:25:38,000 [narrator] Wanting to see if the strange beast was fact or fiction, 456 00:25:38,166 --> 00:25:41,867 people like Faye Laport visited this desolate facility 457 00:25:41,867 --> 00:25:44,200 to try to catch a glimpse. 458 00:25:44,367 --> 00:25:49,200 What she encountered has stuck with her to this day. 459 00:25:49,367 --> 00:25:54,066 I saw the biggest pair of feathered wings, but it didn't 460 00:25:54,233 --> 00:25:56,567 have, like, a beak like a bird does. 461 00:25:56,567 --> 00:25:58,867 It just had those two holes in it. 462 00:25:59,033 --> 00:26:03,400 But the rest of it was in the shape of a man with legs. 463 00:26:03,567 --> 00:26:07,400 It just jumped on the hood of the car and crouched in like 464 00:26:07,567 --> 00:26:10,166 a gargoyle, and watched me and my brother. 465 00:26:10,333 --> 00:26:14,667 And then it kind of just stood up and jumped down off the car. 466 00:26:14,667 --> 00:26:18,567 This creature that was seen here in the TNT area became 467 00:26:18,734 --> 00:26:20,300 known as the Mothman. 468 00:26:20,467 --> 00:26:24,567 Was over 100 reported sightings in that first few months. 469 00:26:24,567 --> 00:26:28,600 [narrator] Along with wings and humanoid features, all the reports claim 470 00:26:28,767 --> 00:26:31,767 the Mothman had one striking feature. 471 00:26:31,767 --> 00:26:36,567 Those eyes were just really huge, but just red. 472 00:26:36,734 --> 00:26:41,100 All you saw when you first looked at it was those eyes. 473 00:26:41,100 --> 00:26:46,300 It was like it was illuminated, and it scared me. 474 00:26:46,467 --> 00:26:50,600 [narrator] To this day, experts still debate exactly what Faye 475 00:26:50,767 --> 00:26:52,300 and the other witnesses saw. 476 00:26:53,567 --> 00:26:56,367 [Thomas] This is the 1960s, the height of the Cold War, 477 00:26:56,367 --> 00:26:59,667 and Americans are constantly hearing whispers about what 478 00:26:59,834 --> 00:27:02,166 the military is involved with, what's going on 479 00:27:02,333 --> 00:27:03,500 behind the scenes. 480 00:27:03,500 --> 00:27:06,567 This all fed into a paranoia that maybe there were things 481 00:27:06,567 --> 00:27:09,100 out there that the government wasn't telling us about. 482 00:27:09,266 --> 00:27:12,567 With this in their heads, perhaps the witnesses mistook 483 00:27:12,734 --> 00:27:15,500 a large bird that lived in these old buildings 484 00:27:15,667 --> 00:27:16,834 for the Mothman. 485 00:27:16,834 --> 00:27:20,100 There are some creatures that live in the TNT area which 486 00:27:20,266 --> 00:27:24,100 might explain the sightings. One is the sandhill crane. 487 00:27:24,266 --> 00:27:27,800 There are also some owls, and perhaps their eyes, 488 00:27:27,967 --> 00:27:30,867 which can turn red, freaked the people out. 489 00:27:31,033 --> 00:27:34,967 And the American entertainment industry was feeding off 490 00:27:35,133 --> 00:27:36,233 American anxiety. 491 00:27:36,233 --> 00:27:39,266 The comic book superhero Batman had a nemesis named 492 00:27:39,266 --> 00:27:40,567 Killer Moth. 493 00:27:40,567 --> 00:27:44,000 [narrator] But if the Mothman was a creature of the imagination, 494 00:27:44,166 --> 00:27:48,200 it doesn't explain what happened next. 495 00:27:48,367 --> 00:27:51,767 [Meares] During the time of the Mothman sightings, there were also 496 00:27:51,767 --> 00:27:55,667 reportedly visits to Point Pleasant from the infamous 497 00:27:55,834 --> 00:27:59,166 Men in Black, who would come around and kind of observe 498 00:27:59,333 --> 00:28:02,567 the population in dark black suits. 499 00:28:02,567 --> 00:28:05,567 [Wamsley] A lot of the witnesses claimed that these Men in Black would 500 00:28:05,567 --> 00:28:08,667 approach them and ask them not to talk about what they had 501 00:28:08,667 --> 00:28:11,166 been seeing, just kind of keep quiet. 502 00:28:11,166 --> 00:28:15,367 [narrator] But just a year after the Mothman was first seen, 503 00:28:15,367 --> 00:28:19,467 something hit this town that was firmly rooted in reality. 504 00:28:19,467 --> 00:28:22,767 People claimed that they saw this Mothman creature going 505 00:28:22,767 --> 00:28:26,100 back and forth across the river before that disaster. 506 00:28:32,500 --> 00:28:35,166 [narrator] In the late 1960s, many townsfolk of 507 00:28:35,166 --> 00:28:38,467 Point Pleasant, West Virginia, reported encounters with 508 00:28:38,634 --> 00:28:41,800 a strange creature nicknamed the Mothman. 509 00:28:41,967 --> 00:28:45,900 No matter if it was fact or fiction, a dramatic event 510 00:28:46,066 --> 00:28:49,667 was about to rock this sleepy place to its core. 511 00:28:51,266 --> 00:28:53,166 [Wamsley] It was at 5:00 PM, 512 00:28:53,333 --> 00:28:57,000 on December 15th, 1967, a Friday evening, 513 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:58,700 about a week and a half before Christmas. 514 00:28:58,867 --> 00:29:02,867 [Meares] The Silver Bridge was part of Route 35 and it transported 515 00:29:03,033 --> 00:29:04,800 folks across the Ohio River. 516 00:29:04,967 --> 00:29:08,300 It was packed with traffic of people trying to get home. 517 00:29:08,467 --> 00:29:12,867 And suddenly, it lurched to one side, went back to the middle, 518 00:29:12,867 --> 00:29:14,400 and then completely collapsed. 519 00:29:14,567 --> 00:29:15,967 [rumbling] 520 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:21,400 [narrator] 46 people died, making it the deadliest road bridge 521 00:29:21,567 --> 00:29:24,000 collapse in American history. 522 00:29:24,166 --> 00:29:28,100 It hurt a lot of people's lives there where they lost so many 523 00:29:28,100 --> 00:29:30,567 and their family members. 524 00:29:30,734 --> 00:29:34,200 [narrator] Officials claim the collapse was due to a broken link in 525 00:29:34,367 --> 00:29:36,300 the chain suspending the bridge. 526 00:29:36,467 --> 00:29:40,367 Yet some believe a more sinister force connecting 527 00:29:40,533 --> 00:29:44,367 the disaster to these buildings might have been at work. 528 00:29:44,533 --> 00:29:49,567 Everybody said that that Mothman thing was on the bridge 529 00:29:49,567 --> 00:29:52,400 two days or something like that before. 530 00:29:52,567 --> 00:29:55,700 [narrator] Whether or not the Mothman was involved in the bridge 531 00:29:55,867 --> 00:29:59,266 collapse, sightings of the creature diminished. 532 00:29:59,433 --> 00:30:02,600 The Mothman sightings kind of waned because everybody's 533 00:30:02,767 --> 00:30:06,166 attention went towards the rescue effort. 534 00:30:06,166 --> 00:30:09,767 [narrator] In the following years and decades, these buildings 535 00:30:09,934 --> 00:30:12,767 continued to crumble and the Mothman became 536 00:30:12,767 --> 00:30:15,100 a creature of legend. 537 00:30:17,567 --> 00:30:22,600 Today, nearly 60 years later, the Mothman has not returned. 538 00:30:22,767 --> 00:30:27,166 While the TNT area has become a wildlife reserve, the town of 539 00:30:27,166 --> 00:30:30,867 Point Pleasant celebrates its mysterious past. 540 00:30:31,033 --> 00:30:33,800 [Wamsley] We have the Mothman Museum here in Point Pleasant, 541 00:30:33,967 --> 00:30:35,166 a Mothman festival. 542 00:30:35,166 --> 00:30:39,000 So the town has basically embraced Mothman as part 543 00:30:39,166 --> 00:30:40,300 of their history. 544 00:30:40,300 --> 00:30:44,166 Yet, despite many seeing the Mothman as a fun Cold War 545 00:30:44,166 --> 00:30:48,100 story, others are still adamant that it lived in 546 00:30:48,266 --> 00:30:49,500 the buildings here. 547 00:30:49,667 --> 00:30:52,800 I haven't forgotten it, because it's burned in my mind. 548 00:30:52,967 --> 00:30:58,133 So far, my mind is still good, and I thank God for that. 549 00:31:00,667 --> 00:31:04,400 [narrator] In upstate New York, there's a strange building that 550 00:31:04,567 --> 00:31:08,567 traveled halfway across the world to become the prize 551 00:31:08,567 --> 00:31:10,266 of a medical pioneer. 552 00:31:15,266 --> 00:31:17,667 It's absolutely magical here. 553 00:31:17,834 --> 00:31:21,800 It's just hard not to feel almost the spirit of how 554 00:31:21,967 --> 00:31:24,500 the place was in the early 1900s. 555 00:31:24,667 --> 00:31:27,567 [Alcock] We are on the edge of the Catskill Mountain Range, 556 00:31:27,567 --> 00:31:29,600 a haven for New York City. 557 00:31:29,767 --> 00:31:31,567 [Prof. Zarsadiaz] It's picturesque, it's beautiful. 558 00:31:31,734 --> 00:31:35,166 A lot of people escape to the Catskills for rest, 559 00:31:35,333 --> 00:31:38,467 relaxation, to find some sense of balance. 560 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,100 [narrator] Through the trees, a distinctive derelict 561 00:31:43,266 --> 00:31:45,300 structure appears. 562 00:31:45,467 --> 00:31:48,200 [Dr. Szulgit] It's clearly got Asian influences with this 563 00:31:48,367 --> 00:31:52,800 peaked green, possibly copper roof -- it's a real anomaly. 564 00:31:52,967 --> 00:31:55,800 When you look closer, you can see a number of ornate 565 00:31:55,967 --> 00:31:59,500 stone carvings and statues, which make this place seem like 566 00:31:59,667 --> 00:32:01,767 a temple or a place of reflection. 567 00:32:03,166 --> 00:32:05,867 [Prof. Zarsadiaz] There's these stickers in the basement that say 568 00:32:06,033 --> 00:32:09,500 "St. Louis 1904," what does that have to do with this building? 569 00:32:09,667 --> 00:32:14,367 [narrator] The couple who lived here was celebrated by high society, 570 00:32:14,533 --> 00:32:18,066 yet would be embroiled in a deadly scandal. 571 00:32:18,233 --> 00:32:21,100 When her calling card fell out of the suspect's pocket, 572 00:32:21,100 --> 00:32:24,100 the police must have thought they'd unearthed a major 573 00:32:24,100 --> 00:32:25,367 terrorist conspiracy. 574 00:32:31,767 --> 00:32:35,400 Author and current owner, Katrin Schumann, has known 575 00:32:35,567 --> 00:32:38,600 about this unique building since she was a young girl. 576 00:32:38,767 --> 00:32:45,100 I grew up in the area and so it was always this kind of hidden, 577 00:32:45,100 --> 00:32:47,567 slightly scary place for me. 578 00:32:47,567 --> 00:32:50,000 There were a lot of "no trespassing" signs around it 579 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:51,567 on the trees. 580 00:32:51,567 --> 00:32:55,367 [narrator] This structure was originally constructed in Japan, 581 00:32:55,533 --> 00:32:58,567 but then it was transported to Missouri 582 00:32:58,734 --> 00:33:02,100 for one of America's great international expositions. 583 00:33:04,567 --> 00:33:07,767 [Prof. Zarsadiaz] The 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis occurred at a time 584 00:33:07,934 --> 00:33:11,600 when America was growing, and a lot of countries also want to 585 00:33:11,767 --> 00:33:16,000 showcase and highlight all the technologies and cultural 586 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:18,000 innovations that were occurring. 587 00:33:18,166 --> 00:33:20,266 An x-ray machine, wireless 588 00:33:20,433 --> 00:33:23,467 telephone communication, even the precursor to 589 00:33:23,467 --> 00:33:25,667 the fax machine was here. 590 00:33:25,667 --> 00:33:28,667 Over 60 countries were in attendance and their exhibition 591 00:33:28,834 --> 00:33:33,600 spaces showed off each nation's unique architectural style. 592 00:33:33,767 --> 00:33:36,467 [narrator] Japan's contribution to the exhibition 593 00:33:36,467 --> 00:33:37,800 was greater than most. 594 00:33:37,967 --> 00:33:39,567 ♪♪ meet me at the fair ♪♪ 595 00:33:40,767 --> 00:33:44,867 [Dr. Szulgit] In the early 1900s, Japan was booming. 596 00:33:44,867 --> 00:33:47,800 It was trying to leave its isolationist feudal days 597 00:33:47,967 --> 00:33:51,600 behind and it was westernizing rapidly and it wanted 598 00:33:51,767 --> 00:33:53,200 the world to know. 599 00:33:53,367 --> 00:33:56,266 The Japanese government spent lavishly on their buildings 600 00:33:56,266 --> 00:34:00,567 with examples of gardens, temples and mansions, as well 601 00:34:00,734 --> 00:34:03,066 as this place which was modeled after an ancient 602 00:34:03,233 --> 00:34:05,367 Japanese imperial palace. 603 00:34:06,867 --> 00:34:10,000 [narrator] This is the Pine and Maple Palace, 604 00:34:10,166 --> 00:34:13,367 known in Japanese as Shofu-Den. 605 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:19,400 But its journey to New York from Missouri would be sparked 606 00:34:19,567 --> 00:34:21,166 by an unlikely visitor. 607 00:34:22,767 --> 00:34:26,867 Jokichi Takamine was born in Japan but learned his English 608 00:34:27,033 --> 00:34:30,967 from a Dutch family, so oddly spoke English with 609 00:34:31,133 --> 00:34:32,500 a Dutch accent. 610 00:34:32,500 --> 00:34:36,767 [Schumann] So he spent his teenage years and his young adult years 611 00:34:36,934 --> 00:34:40,000 learning how to communicate with the Western world. 612 00:34:40,166 --> 00:34:44,066 He was an accomplished scientist, but also had 613 00:34:44,233 --> 00:34:46,800 a business mind, so he ended up making a good amount of money 614 00:34:46,967 --> 00:34:48,867 and being a very successful businessman. 615 00:34:49,033 --> 00:34:51,700 [narrator] But it wasn't economic reasons that tied 616 00:34:51,867 --> 00:34:56,100 Takamine to the United States. It was love. 617 00:34:56,100 --> 00:35:00,100 Jokichi Takamine came to the United States and stayed in 618 00:35:00,266 --> 00:35:03,800 the guest house of a family called Hitch in New Orleans, 619 00:35:03,967 --> 00:35:07,767 and they had a young daughter named Caroline, and the two of 620 00:35:07,934 --> 00:35:08,867 them fell in love. 621 00:35:08,867 --> 00:35:11,100 Takamine and Caroline Hitch married. 622 00:35:11,100 --> 00:35:14,200 It was in many ways very controversial and scandalous 623 00:35:14,367 --> 00:35:19,166 for the time because dozens of states had some variations of 624 00:35:19,166 --> 00:35:22,967 laws that did not allow for interracial couples to 625 00:35:23,133 --> 00:35:24,166 get married. 626 00:35:24,166 --> 00:35:26,667 [Schumann] It was an extraordinary relationship. 627 00:35:26,834 --> 00:35:30,467 He was from a samurai family and he was very intelligent, 628 00:35:30,634 --> 00:35:35,166 so I'm sure he was quite exotic and felt like quite the catch. 629 00:35:35,333 --> 00:35:39,100 [narrator] With a strong marriage, Takamine's business interest 630 00:35:39,266 --> 00:35:43,100 began to flourish, and he took patents out on a number of 631 00:35:43,100 --> 00:35:46,000 medicines, making him a millionaire. 632 00:35:47,266 --> 00:35:51,100 But he was on the verge of a breakthrough which would 633 00:35:51,266 --> 00:35:52,700 change medicine forever. 634 00:35:57,266 --> 00:36:01,166 [narrator] Shofu-Den, on the edge of the Catskills in New York, 635 00:36:01,333 --> 00:36:05,767 was first constructed in Japan and shipped to St. Louis for 636 00:36:05,934 --> 00:36:09,000 the 1904 World's Fair. 637 00:36:09,166 --> 00:36:12,600 But Jokichi Takamine, the man responsible for 638 00:36:12,767 --> 00:36:16,367 bringing it to the Empire State, is one of medicine's 639 00:36:16,533 --> 00:36:18,667 great unsung heroes. 640 00:36:18,834 --> 00:36:22,467 In 1901, Takamine discovered how to artificially 641 00:36:22,634 --> 00:36:24,500 synthesize adrenaline. 642 00:36:24,667 --> 00:36:28,300 [Dr. Szulgit] This is a huge deal, so this became a really important thing 643 00:36:28,467 --> 00:36:31,200 to prevent people going into shock during surgery, to get 644 00:36:31,367 --> 00:36:33,867 their heart rate up, even to restart their hearts in 645 00:36:34,033 --> 00:36:35,433 certain conditions. 646 00:36:35,433 --> 00:36:38,166 [Alcock] It's impossible to estimate, but over the course of the past 647 00:36:38,333 --> 00:36:41,467 century, synthetic adrenaline must have saved tens of 648 00:36:41,467 --> 00:36:43,266 thousands of lives. 649 00:36:43,266 --> 00:36:46,166 You would think that Takamine would be showered with 650 00:36:46,166 --> 00:36:48,467 accolades, but he really didn't get that much recognition 651 00:36:48,634 --> 00:36:50,300 from the U.S. 652 00:36:50,467 --> 00:36:54,867 [narrator] However, Takamine would receive one unique award from 653 00:36:55,033 --> 00:36:57,800 the Emperor of Japan himself. 654 00:36:57,967 --> 00:37:01,600 In 1904, the Emperor Meiji decided to honor Takamine with 655 00:37:01,767 --> 00:37:02,900 an unusual gift. 656 00:37:03,066 --> 00:37:06,567 It was this building, the Pine and Maple Palace 657 00:37:06,734 --> 00:37:08,567 or Shofu-Den. 658 00:37:08,734 --> 00:37:12,867 [Schumann] The palace was disassembled in St. Louis and put into crates 659 00:37:13,033 --> 00:37:15,700 and loaded onto these trains and then made it 660 00:37:15,867 --> 00:37:17,033 across the country. 661 00:37:17,033 --> 00:37:21,567 The crates were brought here and unpacked and reassembled 662 00:37:21,567 --> 00:37:23,000 into this place. 663 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,100 [narrator] Once installed in New York, 664 00:37:25,266 --> 00:37:27,767 Shofu-Den was wildly popular 665 00:37:27,767 --> 00:37:31,667 and used by the Takamines as a lavish setting to 666 00:37:31,667 --> 00:37:33,166 entertain guests. 667 00:37:33,333 --> 00:37:36,367 [Schumann] They hosted the Princess and Prince of Japan in 668 00:37:36,367 --> 00:37:42,066 the early 1900s, and they put on a huge gala for them. 669 00:37:42,233 --> 00:37:47,166 [narrator] Jokichi Takamine also became something of an unofficial 670 00:37:47,333 --> 00:37:49,266 ambassador for Japan. 671 00:37:49,266 --> 00:37:51,900 Takamine was really interested in improving U.S.-Japan 672 00:37:52,066 --> 00:37:56,100 relations, and in fact he is responsible for the importation 673 00:37:56,266 --> 00:37:58,767 of thousands of cherry trees dotted across 674 00:37:58,934 --> 00:38:00,567 the United States. 675 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:07,567 [narrator] Jokichi and Caroline Takamine lived peacefully at Shofu-Den 676 00:38:07,734 --> 00:38:10,567 for almost 20 years. 677 00:38:10,734 --> 00:38:15,300 But one day, events in New York City threatened to turn 678 00:38:15,467 --> 00:38:18,100 their lives upside down. 679 00:38:18,266 --> 00:38:21,667 Anarchists associated with left-wing and pro-immigration 680 00:38:21,667 --> 00:38:24,767 groups began a series of bombings in 1919. 681 00:38:26,467 --> 00:38:28,967 But these were small-scale and mostly aimed at 682 00:38:29,133 --> 00:38:30,367 politicians and judges. 683 00:38:31,467 --> 00:38:36,567 On September 16th of 1920, a huge bomb was detonated just 684 00:38:36,567 --> 00:38:39,600 outside the headquarters of J.P. Morgan on Wall Street. 685 00:38:39,767 --> 00:38:41,000 [explosion blasts] 686 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:45,266 [narrator] 30 people were killed instantly, and nearly 150 687 00:38:45,433 --> 00:38:48,367 others were severely wounded. 688 00:38:48,533 --> 00:38:51,200 The police suspected anarchist involvement, 689 00:38:51,367 --> 00:38:53,300 but didn't have any leads. 690 00:38:54,700 --> 00:38:57,767 [Alcock] However, the precursor to the FBI, the Bureau of 691 00:38:57,934 --> 00:39:00,567 Investigation, got a lead on a tennis player, 692 00:39:00,734 --> 00:39:02,266 Edwin P. Fischer, 693 00:39:02,266 --> 00:39:05,100 who had sent warnings to friends to stay away from 694 00:39:05,100 --> 00:39:07,467 Wall Street that very day. 695 00:39:07,467 --> 00:39:09,166 [Dr. Szulgit] When he was arrested, 696 00:39:09,333 --> 00:39:13,300 Caroline Takamine's calling card fell out of his pocket. 697 00:39:13,467 --> 00:39:17,500 When questioned by the police who this Caroline was on 698 00:39:17,667 --> 00:39:21,200 the calling card, he said that she was the wife of a very 699 00:39:21,367 --> 00:39:24,867 important explosives manufacturer and that she would 700 00:39:25,033 --> 00:39:27,000 get him out of there. 701 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:30,800 [narrator] Fischer had met Caroline at a country club near Shofu-Den 702 00:39:30,967 --> 00:39:35,767 some years earlier, but it soon became clear that he was not 703 00:39:35,934 --> 00:39:39,767 capable of carrying out the bombing. 704 00:39:39,767 --> 00:39:44,166 [Dr. Szulgit] Oddly, Fischer was discovered to be wearing a complete tennis 705 00:39:44,333 --> 00:39:48,500 outfit below his suit, and when questioned as to why, 706 00:39:48,667 --> 00:39:52,600 he said, "Well, I always need to be ready for a match 707 00:39:52,767 --> 00:39:54,400 at any time." 708 00:39:54,567 --> 00:39:56,900 [Alcock] Fischer claimed to have known about the bombings because 709 00:39:57,066 --> 00:39:59,100 he had received a message from God. 710 00:39:59,266 --> 00:40:02,667 No charges were pressed on Fischer or the Takamines, 711 00:40:02,667 --> 00:40:07,000 and the Wall Street bombing remains unsolved to this day. 712 00:40:07,166 --> 00:40:10,967 [narrator] Fortunately, the Takamines would not be harmed by this 713 00:40:11,133 --> 00:40:15,100 scandal, although Jokichi died just two years later. 714 00:40:16,300 --> 00:40:20,200 Caroline moved away from New York and sold Shofu-Den, 715 00:40:20,367 --> 00:40:23,567 which would pass through a number of hands. 716 00:40:23,567 --> 00:40:25,600 [Alcock] It would become an inn and a restaurant 717 00:40:25,767 --> 00:40:27,500 for a short period before it was bought 718 00:40:27,667 --> 00:40:31,200 by a Japanese heritage group in the 1980s. 719 00:40:31,367 --> 00:40:35,200 [narrator] Yet the cost of maintaining a Japanese-built palace in 720 00:40:35,367 --> 00:40:39,100 the Catskills would prove too much for its owners. 721 00:40:39,266 --> 00:40:42,767 The buildings became dilapidated and the huge garden 722 00:40:42,934 --> 00:40:45,266 started to be reclaimed by the forest. 723 00:40:49,900 --> 00:40:54,100 Today, Katrin Schumann and her husband Kevin are in 724 00:40:54,266 --> 00:40:57,667 the process of restoring this palace to its former glory. 725 00:40:57,667 --> 00:41:03,000 Obviously, buying this was an enormous project. 726 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:07,967 [narrator] Yet the man who first used Shofu-Den as a home has left 727 00:41:08,133 --> 00:41:12,467 an astounding legacy, both in the medical field and on 728 00:41:12,634 --> 00:41:14,367 the nation's capital. 729 00:41:14,533 --> 00:41:18,967 But of course, this building is a testament to his success 730 00:41:19,133 --> 00:41:20,467 and his imaginations. 731 00:41:20,634 --> 00:41:24,066 My hope for it is really just to bring it back to life 732 00:41:24,233 --> 00:41:27,266 and have people come and enjoy it, and to continue telling 733 00:41:27,433 --> 00:41:28,867 the story of its history.