Okie Pinokie-Haunted ?????

Ghosts are often depicted as human size and shape but it supposedly is like looking through a sheer curtain --nothing solid. They seem to float in mid air. Some people believe ghosts wander aimlessly because they were not able to rest or see the light.
All those people that are fascinated by ghostly things will probably be going out to Okie Pinokie within the next two weeks since it is getting close to Halloween.It is quite interesting to read of people's experiences of going to this place at night.According to the urban legend eight bodies
have been found there. At one time Indians roamed those woods and probably lived in that vicinity. Where do you think they were buried? It is a long narrow lane to get there and yes, it would be very scary at night because it would be very dark with the trees overhanging on the road. If you are brave enough to go there take plenty of flashlights and good luck.

Elbert Shirk

Elbert Hamilton Shirk was born in Franklin Co., Indiana in 1818. Mr. Shirk arrived in Peru the summer of 1844 and formed a business with John Harlan in the mercantile business. He married Mary Wright, of Franklin County, in 1845. She was a lady of English descent, who returned with her young husband to the new and strange home in Peru. They brought all their goods in a two-horse wagon. A year later the firm of Harlan & Shirk was dissoved and Mr. Shirk continued the business alone. He was very successful as a merchant and accumulated wealth very rapidly. From 1850 to 1855 he invested largely in Mexican war land warrants, which he laid judiciously in Iowa and other western States, which in turn were exchanged for improved farms in Miami County. This was the beginning of operations in real estate which laid the foundation for a colossal fortune. Under the national banking act Mr. Shirk procured a charter and proceeded to organize the First National Bank of Peru. Mr. Shirk was of medium height, erect and quite slender. His life was clean and free from vicious habits. He was therefore clear headed; able to utilize all his tremendous energy, and accomplished the purpose of his will. He was a true example of a successful self-made man. He was the wealthiest man in northern Indiana, and one of the wealthiest in Indiana.

Joseph Holman

Joseph Holman was a name familiar to all the early residents of Peru. He was a native of Kentucky. Mr. Holman purchased a tract of 640 acres of land on the Wabash, upon the eastern half of which the original plat of Peru was subsequently laid out by William Hood. Mr. Holman traded extensively in lands and all kinds of real estate and was prominently associated with the early growth of Peru and Miami County. In about the year 1839 he disposed of his interests in Miami County and returned to Wayne County, where his death occurred in 1872. He was instrumental in founding Miamisport. Eventually, Miamisport became Peru.