Quick Links
Ohio is a never-ending source of American ghost towns. The state has a long and exciting history, including centuries of French fur trading, the French and Indian War in 1754, and eventually becoming a British colony. Throughout the state, where over 70 mining towns prospered in the early 20th century, some of them becoming abandoned, ghost town searching has become a popular activity.
Paranormal seekers will find a veritable feast in the state, with its 25 documented ghost towns perfect for their pursuits. Ohio is home to accidental and planned abandoned towns, where the brave and adventurous can experience a sense of isolation and mystery. The following are a few of Ohio's most intriguing abandoned settlements.
Boston Mills (Hell Town): The Site Of Local Urban Legends Concerning A Poisonous Leak And Satanism
An eerie, desolate town sits in Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley, with some structures retaining their early American charm while most look similar to those constructed in the twentieth century. Boston Mills, or "Hell Town," as it is popularly known, is Summit county's oldest settlement, first inhabited in 1806, full of rich history, and once a thriving community.
No one lives here anymore, but the abandoned school bus and houses remind visitors of the people who used to call this location home before the United States government evicted them in the early 1970s. Reports of paranormal activity in homes, buildings, and streets have surfaced since the town's abrupt evacuation due to the government's claim to the territory (to establish a National Park in the area).
Urban legends assert that the clearing of the area was for more sinister reasons, such as the presence of a church that functioned as a place of worship for Satanists who lived in Helltown and may still prowl the area's blocked-off roads in pursuit of hapless tourists.
Some say the government ordered everyone to leave the town because of a toxic chemical discharge that created weird mutations in the animals and people living there. The Peninsula Python, a species of snake previously common in the area but has since vanished, held the record for the highest documented fatality rate.
Since some residents maintain homes outside the park's boundaries, Helltown remains accessible to visitors. It doesn't cost a dime to check out this spot, and it is only around 20 miles from the Cleveland metropolitan area, so it is very accessible.
The Village Of Tadmor: Once A Thriving Community And Transportation Hub, Now A Deserted Ghost Town
Hikers on the Buckeye Trail in Taylorsville MetroPark in Dayton can see the ruins of a once significant community before the flood of 1913. During the early days of Ohio's development, the Village of Tadmor served as a central transportation hub. Freight was loaded and unloaded from keelboats poled up the river from Dayton as early as 1809. The Village of Tadmor is significant as being the location of one of the most important transportation centers in early Ohio history. As early as 1809, keelboats were poled up river from Dayton to load and unload freight in the village.
The Miami and Erie Canal had reached Tadmor by 1837, linking the town to the Ohio River and Lake Erie to the north. Through the 1830s, Tadmor was connected to the rest of the country by the National Road, built through the city. The Dayton & Michigan Railroad began serving the developing community of Dayton, Ohio, with freight and passenger service in 1851.
Residents of Tadmor had high hopes for the city's future because of its prime position. Later floods on the Great Miami River, however, stunted development. As a result of the Miami Conservancy District's dam, built in 1922, the area around Tadmor became untenable and eventually abandoned.
There were no notable deaths at Tadmor, but the stone pillars that supported the bridge are all that remain, along with a few other artifacts and, according to legend, spirits. Many people in the 1980s believed the town was haunted. They say that if one goes out looking for the village late at night, they'll notice smokey shadows and maybe even some shimmering buildings.
Curious travelers can get to Tadmor from the Ross Road parking lot of the Great Miami Recreational Trail (just west of Charleston Falls). Follow the trail south from the parking area to find the informational plaques.
Moonville: An Old Railroad Town That Now Harbors Four Ghosts
Moonville, an old coal mining and railroad town in the woods of Vinton County, Ohio's Brown Township, was established in 1856 when the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad was built through the area. About a hundred miners and their families lived there in its heyday.
Only the railroad could transport people to Moonville in the 1800s; as a result, many people hit by trains died as they tried to walk down the tunnel. There was a gradual decline in coal mining activity leading to the turn of the century. By 1947, just a few residents remained in the village, and by the 1960s, the entire town lay abandoned but for the cemetery, the tunnel, and a few foundation stones beside the railroad lines.
Several stories of ghosts that reportedly terrorize visitors even now can characterize Moonville. Four separate spirits are mentioned in the tales: The Engineer, a ghost of Theodore Lawhead, who worked for the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad Company, began haunting the tracks in the 1880s after his train collided with an approaching train.
While going alongside the track and into the tunnel, visitors claim to have seen a ghostly figure holding a lantern. The second ghost, the Brakeman, is the ghost of a drunken young man who worked as a brakeman on a railway and drank too much whiskey one night before falling asleep on the tracks.
The third ghost, claimed to be a slender, older woman, wanders along the trail and, after momentarily vanishing, leaves the scent of lavender in the air. The lady, believed to be Mary Shea, perished on the tracks at the other end of the tunnel. The Bully, the ghost of Baldie Keeton, a man who enjoyed fighting while intoxicated and bear hugging his opponent, has appeared.
Finally, the Bully, the spirit of Baldie Keeton, a man who enjoyed drunkenly fighting and bear-hugging his opponent, now hangs atop the tunnel, observing the approaching guests. Infrequently, he will throw pebbles.
The former train bed and tunnel are now the site of Midnight at Moonville, a Halloween and ghost-themed celebration.