Prospect Place Estate

Prospect Place Estate paranormal

Location submitted by: sdonley on 01/14/2011
DBA Approved: Y

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PANICd#: 1045

Prospect Place was a station on the Underground Railroad and was used to safely move escaped slaves to freedom. The property is listed on the National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places.

12150 Main Street
Trinway , OH 43842
Phone: 740-754-1814
Open to the public: Unknown

http://www.gwacenter.org/

Lat: 40.1377775
Lon: -82.0118227

Database Summary:

Demographic Rank: 6
History: 1
Stories: 7
Claims: 6
Evidence: 5
Resources: 2
Retrievals: 5871
Vistor Rating: 5.0
Votes: 1

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History

History information is some background and history about the location. This is meant to be a basic summary. Below the history records you will find sources in which you can click on to find out more information. There may be multiple history records per location.

Prospect Place was a station on the "Underground Railroad" and was used to safely move escaped slaves to freedom. The property is listed on the National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places.

African American refugees who had escaped slavery in the South would be kept in the basement of the mansion. They would be given food, lamps, blankets and whatever they lacked for their trip further north along the Underground Railroad. Prospect Place was one of the largest stations on the Underground Railroad in the state of Ohio. Bounty hunters from the south regularly roamed the Ohio countryside looking for runaway slaves, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made this legal, even though Ohio was a free state. It was a very risky business to be involved in liberating these people.

Added by: sdonley on 01/14/2011 DB#:48
Source(s):
http://www.gwacenter.org/page2.html

Stories

Stories are just that. Stories and personal accounts that have been reported about the location.

About Anna Adams-Cox

Anna Adams-Cox was the eldest daughter of G. W. Adams. She and her husband, William Cox, Jr., inherited the mansion when G. W. died in 1879. For many years the couple lived a happy and high lifestyle within the mansion. William was known for having lavish balls and parties and for spending lots of money. It seems that eventually the money ran out and that was that for William. He boarded a train to Columbus one morning and was never officially seen again. Anna was left heartbroken and alone with her child (the surviving George Cox) in the huge mansion.

As time went by many family heirlooms and even parts of the house itself (the copper of the roof) were sold off to make ends meet. Anna died in Prospect Place due to complications from a fall on the ice at the neighboring River Dale mansion. She died lonely and broken, never knowing the fate of her missing husband.

Anna still wanders the halls of the estate searching for the life and husband she once loved.

Added by: sdonley on 01/15/2011 DB#:1009
Source(s):
http://www.gwacenter.org/anna_cox.htm

About William Cox

William Cox, Jr., was the husband of Anna Adams-Cox, the eldest daughter of G. W. Adams. When G. W. died in 1879 ownership of the mansion passed to Anna and William. William had grown up in a privileged home and was used to the finer things in life. He spent lavishly on a renovation of the mansion in 1886. His parties and balls were the talk of the area (no pun intended). William seemed to know very well how to spend money, but his ability to make money is in question.

One morning in the late 1890's William decided to board a train for Columbus instead of taking care of some personal business in Zanesville. He arrived at a hotel in Columbus and checked into a room with a strange man. In the morning the two checked out and William was never officially seen again.

Anna was left with little money and a large mansion to take care of. For the rest of her days she pined for her lost William and died a lonely woman in Prospect Place.

Some psychics believe that the ghost of William still walks the halls of the mansion on a quest to make amends with Anna.

Added by: sdonley on 01/15/2011 DB#:1010
Source(s):
http://www.gwacenter.org/william_cox.htm

Former Slaves

Many refugees (former slaves) escaping on the Underground Railroad once stayed in the mansion basement. One woman seems to have been injured, likely in her attempt to escape from the south. She received a head wound and was in bad shape when she arrived here. Although the staff of the mansion tried everything to save this lady she eventually died of her wound.

Today many have seen or heard this woman in the basement. She is not an angry or resentful spirit, quite the contrary in fact. She was most pleased with the attention she received here and looks upon the mansion as her home. She is a watchful guardian spirit of the mansion and has only become angry with people who have been bent on doing the house harm. She is normally friendly to ghost investigators, however she has been known to play a prank or two now and again.

Added by: sdonley on 01/15/2011 DB#:1011
Source(s):
http://www.gwacenter.org/refugee.htm

The Servant in the Stairwell

A local psychic has determined that there is a former servant of Prospect Place that exists in ghostly form. He is normally seen or photographed on the stairwell landing between the second floor and the ballroom. His primary complaint in life seems to have been the need to climb the many flights of stairs in the mansion on a nearly daily basis.

Added by: sdonley on 01/15/2011 DB#:1012
Source(s):
http://www.gwacenter.org/servant_stairs.htm

Special Message from George J. Adams (July 2010)

I have lived in the mansion for many years as care-taker and have never really believed in any "paranormal" activities. This changed recently for me. Although I have, over the years, heard a lot of strange things here I have always attributed them to well intentioned people and staff hoaxing me in order to encourage me to believe. I don't fault these people and still believe that most of these incidents were a "little too convenient" to be real. However, I was recently working outside the front door of the house on a ladder. Coming down from the ladder, the the mansion steps directly below the ladder, I missed the last rung and nearly fell. If I had fallen it would have been onto the stone steps where I would have been severely injured or killed. This is where my "personal experience" comes in and has convinced me there is "something" here. Upon loosing balance and starting to fall from the ladder "something" seemed to "catch" me and pushed me back onto the ladder. I distinctly felt what seemed to be hands on my shoulders pushing me back onto the ladder. So for me the legacy of the estate has changed somewhat and I am a tad more open mined now about what might be happening here. For me this "activity" has been a benefit as it saved me from certain injury. Perhaps old G. W. was looking after me.

George.

Added by: sdonley on 01/15/2011 DB#:1013
Source(s):
http://www.gwacenter.org/testamonials.htm

The Barn and the story of the Bounty Hunter

The three story brick horse barn and carriage house standing on the estate property has a very interesting history of it's own. Built from the destroyed remains of the first Prospect Place (Prospect Place is the second house to stand on the foundation, the first and identical house was burned to the ground by an arsonist) the three story building has a colorful past. The first floor was used to stable the estate horses and the family carriage. The second floor was used for hay storage and the third floor was used as a bunk house for the ranch hands.

According to family history a true event occurred in the late 1850's. A Bounty Hunter from the South arrived at Prospect Place. He was met at the door to the mansion by G. W. Adams. The Bounty Hunter demanded George turn over any slaves he was hiding in the mansion. George proceeded to produce from his coat his Navy revolver and a stand-off with the heavily armed Bounty hunter ensued for several minutes. Seeing the predicament the ranch hands working in the barn quickly emerged with their rifles and the Bounty Hunter decided that the situation had become too dangerous. The man retreated to his camp for the night empty handed of slaves.

This is where the oral-tradition story ends. The story picks back up with modern psychics who have filled in the blanks from that point on....

The ranch hands, who felt themselves very well taken care of by George Adams and in his debt decided to execute a little vigilante justice on George's behalf. They tracked the bounty hunter back to his camp and abducted him. Returning to the barn they held a trial and convicted the bounty hunter of the high crime of slavery (under God's Law). The bounty hunter was executed by hanging from the third floor through the hay loft opening. The ranch hands then secretly buried the body.

Knowing George would never approve of their actions, nobody ever spoke of this incident again. Today, however, the restless spirit of the bounty hunter roams the barn where he died looking for revenge on the ranch hands who killed him. You may sometimes feel a touch on your arm in the barn, or if lucky capture an image of a ghostly dark clad man on film.

Added by: sdonley on 01/14/2011 DB#:1007
Source(s):
http://www.gwacenter.org/barn_stories.htm

The Story of the Little Girl

The story of a little girl who fell from the front portico balcony has existed in the Dresden area for more than a century. The young girl was afflicted with a fever and wandered onto the balcony one cold night in the winter. She lost her footing and fell over the low railing to the hard sandstone steps below.

The story continues that the girl's body was not buried immediately as the frozen ground would not allow for the digging of a grave. The body was placed on ice in the basement in a pit originally designed as a refrigeration system for the home. Here the child remained until the spring thaw when she could be given a proper burial. The mother grieved for her lost child and visited the body daily until the burial.

Today the ghost of the little girl can sometimes be seen on the second floor near the door to what once was the portico balcony. Other observations of her have been made in the basement, the ballroom and the Upstairs Parlor (the room in which she was kept while ill) which is today the guest bedroom. Her image has been seen standing near the fireplace mantle in that room.

Added by: sdonley on 01/14/2011 DB#:1008
Source(s):
http://www.gwacenter.org/LittleGirl.htm

Paranormal Claims

Here are the paranormal claims for this location. These have been found through Internet research, reports from members, or reports from personal interviews. To add a claim, please contact PANICd.com, and we will review and add your information.

Claim #	Added	Added By	Claim
1114	01/16/2011	sdonley	The spirit of a little girl who lived at the estate in the 19th century who fell to her death from a balcony is said to been seen looking inside the windows of the building.
1115	01/16/2011	sdonley	The spirit of a bounty hunter who was killed in the estate's barn is said to still be haunting the barn, and he is not a very happy entity.
1116	01/16/2011	sdonley	The spirits of several people, victims of a train wreck, who died in the basement from their injuries in 1912 as said to still be within the building.
1117	01/16/2011	sdonley	The spirit of Anna Adams-Cox who inherited the estate and died lonely and impoverished at teh house is said to still roam the halls.
1118	01/16/2011	sdonley	The spirit of an escaped slave who died in the basement from injuries sustained in their escape is said to still be present in the basement.
1119	01/16/2011	sdonley	There are several spirits said to be in the "ballroom" since there was some cultist activity in the 1980s when the building was abandoned.

Paranormal Evidence

Paranormal evidence is based on claims that have been reported for this location. There can be several types of evidence; however, we have grouped them based on media type for better organization. Here you will find evidence that are logs, audio, video, or photographic.

To add evidence for a claim, you must submit it to PANICd.com for approval to be entered into the database.

CLAIM #: 1114 - The spirit of a little girl who lived at the estate in the 19th century who fell to her death from a balcony is said to been seen looking inside the windows of the building.
	Evidence Type: Photograph Encounter Type: Apparition Hauting Type: Intelligent Investigation Status: More Investigation Needed	Photos of little girl apparition Submitted By: sdonley On: 01/16/2011 DBA Approved: Y

	Evidence Type: Video Encounter Type: EVP Hauting Type: Intelligent Investigation Status: More Investigation Needed	Video from Ghost Adventures Submitted By: sdonley On: 01/16/2011 DBA Approved: Y

CLAIM #: 1115 - The spirit of a bounty hunter who was killed in the estate's barn is said to still be haunting the barn, and he is not a very happy entity.
	Evidence Type: Video Encounter Type: EVP Hauting Type: Intelligent Investigation Status: More Investigation Needed	Ghost Adventure's Video Submitted By: sdonley On: 01/16/2011 DBA Approved: Y

Building Floor Plans Added: 01/15/2011 By: sdonley	Floor plans for the Prospect Place Estate
Waiver to investigate the location Added: 01/15/2011 By: sdonley	Here is the investigation waiver located on the website for the location. Please read it over if you plan on performing an investigation.