Edward Leedskalnin
The Coral Castle
Edward LeedskalninThe Coral Castle |
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Edward Leedskalnin was born in Riga, Latvia on August 10th, 1887. When Ed was 26 years old, he became engaged to marry his one true love Agnes Scuffs. Agnes was ten years younger than Ed and he affectionately referred to her as his "Sweet Sixteen". Agnes canceled the wedding just one day before the ceremony. Heartbroken and deeply saddened by this tragic loss, Ed set out on a lifelong quest to create a monument to his lost love that has become one of the world's most remarkable accomplishments, originally called Rock Gate Park but now known as the Coral Castle. With no outside assistance or large machinery Ed single-handedly built the Coral Castle, carving and sculpting over 1,100 tons of coral rock, as a testimony to his lost love, Agnes. What makes Ed's work remarkable is the fact that he was just over 5 feet tall and weighed only 100 pounds. In this part of Florida, the coral in some areas can be up to 4,000 feet thick. Incredibly, he cut and moved huge coral blocks using only hand tools. He had acquired some skills working in lumber camps and came from a family of stonemasons in Latvia. He drew on this knowledge and strength to cut and move these blocks. Ed had lived in Canada, California, and Texas but when he developed a touch of tuberculosis, he decided to move to a better climate to help his condition. Ed moved to Florida in 1918 and lived in Florida City until about 1936. Ed was a very private person and when he heard about a planned subdivision being built near him he decided to move to Homestead and in 1936 bought 10 acres of land. Ed spent the next three years moving the Coral Castle structures he had already begun to build from Florida City to Homestead, a distance of 10 miles. How did Ed move all these carvings a distance of 10 miles? Ed had the chassis of an old Republic truck on which he laid two rails. He had a friend with a tractor move the loaded trailer from Florida City to Homestead. Many people saw the coral carvings being moved along the Dixie Highway, but no one actually ever saw Ed loading or unloading the trailer. Ed did much of his work at night by lantern light and to help protect his privacy, he built numerous "lookouts" along the Castle walls. In 1940, after the carvings were in place, Ed finished erecting the walls. The coral walls weigh 125 pounds per cubic foot. Each section of wall is 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide, 3 feet thick, and weighs more than 58 tons! When questioned about how he moved the blocks of coral, Ed would only reply that he understood the laws of weight and leverage well. This man with only a fourth grade education even built an AC current generator, the remains of which are on display today. Because there are no records from witnesses his methods continue to baffle engineers and scientists, and Ed's secrets of construction have often been compared to Stonehenge and the great pyramids. The only written records Ed left to are five pamphlets that he wrote. 'A Book in Every Home' which contains Ed's thoughts on 3 subjects; Sweet Sixteen, Domestic and Political Views. He wrote 3 pamphlets on 'Magnetic Current' and his 'Mineral, Vegetable and Animal Life' contains his beliefs on life's cycle. These pamphlets are available only in the Coral Castle's gift shop. In December of 1951 Ed became ill. He put a sign on the door of his Castle saying "going to the hospital", took a bus to Jackson Memorial in Miami and died three days later in his sleep at the age of 64. After his death, a nephew living in Michigan inherited the Castle. In 1953, shortly before his death, the nephew sold the Castle to a family from Illinois. During the switch in ownership, a box of Ed's personal effects was found containing a set of instructions that led to the discovery of thirty-five $100 bills, his life savings. Ed made a small living giving tours for ten and twenty-five cents, from the sale of his pamphlets, and from the sale of the land where U.S. Highway 1 passes the Castle. The above article was taken from Coral Castle's website. I have visited the Coral Castle and have the pamphlets that Ed wrote. I have not had time to truly study them, yet. But from a quick read of them, what I have found is that with Ed's limited education, he self taught himself electrical engineering and found the same mysteries of the workings of electricity that were of his time, that also stumped the educated electrical engineers of his day. Over the years since, these mysteries have been solved and are quite easily understood by the modern electrician. But there were things he knew about magnetism that I believe that we are just now learning. He said that if you knew how to move the massive blocks, it would be quite simple. And he told people who questioned him about it, to just think on it and the answer was obvious, as if it were a simple process and everyone should know about it. Ed Leedskalnin's story has been discussed, studied and been the subject of different broadcast shows. It is speculated that he had figured out how the Egyptians had built the pyramids, that he used some form of extra-sensory ability to move the blocks, that all this was a hoax or that he used the "black arts" to build the structure and it's adornments. I believe that he some how figured out magnetism and it's workings on objects. I also think, that he figured out using the Earth's polarization was another piece of the puzzle to make all this happen. Whatever he found out, it truly is a fascinating story and a really neat place to visit. There is so much more information and images about Coral Castle than I can give in this brief article. Here are a few links to learn more about the Coral castle. You can find more out there that claim to know the secrets of Ed Leedskalnin, I intentionally have left them out for reasons that I will not endorse them until their theories can be proven. Coral Castle, Official Website WikiPedia Crystal Links Road Side America Historic Mysteries 'Waiting For Agnes' by Joe Bullard Image Descriptions: Top Right; You Tube Video, Midwest Supernatural, "Ed Leedskalnin Coral Castle Mysteries". Top Left; Overhead image of The Coral Castle. Second Left; Ed Leedskalnin next to the Obelisk. Third Left; The Tower with Ed's workshop on the bottom and living quarters on the top. Fourth Left; The Polaris Sight, Ed was the one that figured out that the Earth wobbles on it's axis by this sight. Fifth Left; Ed demonstrating the Magnetic Generator. Sixth Left; A close-up of the Magnetic Generator. |
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