HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
79-Acre Community Park in Racine, Wisconsin
2800 Ohio Street, Racine, WI 53405
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages (park closes at dusk)
Cost
Free
Free public park during posted hours.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved walking trails, grass picnic areas, and wooded sections.
Equipment
Photos OK
Racine County Veterans Memorial (1993) · Rev. J.W. Carhart 1873 Self-Propelled Vehicle Historical Marker · Restored Wetland Habitat
Pritchard Park is a Racine County community park on Ohio Street in Racine, Wisconsin. The 79-acre property includes a 9-acre woodlot, restored wetlands that serve as habitat for spring wildflowers, scenic walking trails, two covered picnic areas, multiple sports fields (soccer, baseball, football, pickleball), a fishing pond, a playground, and the SC Johnson Community Aquatic Center.
The Racine County Veterans Memorial Project was dedicated in 1993 in the section of the park south of the Ohio Street entrance. The park also holds a Wisconsin historical marker, "The Spark," which commemorates the 1873 design and operation of an early self-propelled vehicle by Rev. Dr. J.W. Carhart of Racine.
The park has undergone phased redevelopment in recent years, including additional parking and baseball-diamond reconfiguration.
Sources
Pritchard Park's paranormal lore is thin compared with sites that have layered oral tradition. The Shadowlands-era listing describes a 2008 amateur investigation in which a team set up an EVP recorder near a tree at the edge of the wooded section of the park. After multiple unanswered questions, the question "Would you mind if we came back?" was reportedly followed on the recording by a sustained growl and what investigators characterized as laughter. No Hi8 video recorded simultaneously captured any visible phenomenon.
The Shadowlands report claims a man in black with a pale face approaches visitors near the wooded area, lets out an audible vocal expression, and disappears. No independent newspaper, paranormal-society, or local-historian source corroborates this account, and Hauntbound presents it as anonymous community submission only.
The park itself is a working community park with families, sports activities, and the active Veterans Memorial. The reported phenomena are not part of any organized investigation program at the park, and the park is closed at dusk. Visitors interested in the lore should treat it as Wisconsin paranormal folklore at the thin-evidence end of the spectrum.
Walk Pritchard Park's 79 acres along Ohio Street, including the 1993 Racine County Veterans Memorial gardens, restored wetlands, fishing pond, and the historical marker commemorating Rev. J.W. Carhart's 1873 self-propelled vehicle.
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