Haunted Marietta: History and Mystery in Ohio's Oldest City explores the supernatural side of the state's first settlement. Visit a crumbling 1855 mansion whose original owner still roams the halls, sit in the plush red seats of an abandoned theatre and climb an ancient Indian burial mound. Encounter river pirates, fugitive slaves, an axe murderer, jealous lovers and inept morticians. Haunted Marietta delves into various types of otherworldly phenomena, examines the difference between ghost stories and reports of supernatural activity and discusses why certain people become spirits. From an 1815 goblin sighting to a bartender's brush with the unexplained, local author Lynne Sturtevant covers it all. Lynne Sturtevant has been collecting local legends, superstitions and odd tales-especially those that involve paranormal elements-since childhood. A Marietta resident and certified ghost hunter, she is the creator and lead guide of Ghost Trek, a popular walking tour of historic and haunted downtown Marietta. She also conducts tours of the area's ancient earthworks and offers special programs and events throughout the year. Ms. Sturtevant is a frequent guest on WMOA radio and is an active member of Marietta's Convention and Visitors' Bureau. For more information, visit www.hiddenmarietta.com. Haunted Marietta History and Mystery in Ohio's Oldest City By Lynne Sturtevant The History Press Copyright © 2010 Lynne Sturtevant All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-59629-948-1 Contents The Most Haunted Town in Ohio, Waiting in the Wings, A Place of Happy Revelry, Full House, A Trio of Front Street Hauntings, See Us for Your Embalming Needs, Dynamic Personalities, Active Buildings, Patriots, Goblins and Ancient Magic, Gothic Mysteries, River Phantoms, Haunted Harmar, The Palace Beautiful, Engineering the Paranormal, The F Word, About the Author, CHAPTER 1 THE MOST HAUNTED TOWN IN OHIO Intelligent spirits, residual vibrations, emotionally charged objects — the supernatural meanders through our lives largely unnoticed. The paranormal is part of our environment, but in most places the din of traffic, construction equipment, car alarms, jackhammers and sirens renders the more subtle vibrations of the unseen world undetectable. Add the energetic interference of microwaves, GPS satellites, cellphones and radio and TV signals and it's a wonder anyone can sense the supernatural at all. But things are different in Marietta. The echoes of the past are strong here, and the spirits of those who lived long ago remain. They inhabit a dimension beyond time — the realm of dreams and memory, of history and imagination — and their stories are as close as a whisper for those who are willing to listen. In the Beginning It all started over tankards of ale. The year was 1786, and March was roaring into Boston like an angry lion. Sleet pelted the windows of the Bunch-of-Grapes Tavern as the soaked Revolutionary War veterans took their places around the table. General Rufus Putnam called the meeting to order, and the boisterous group quickly quieted down. Putnam still commanded respect. Five years had passed since the British surrender at Yorktown, and the war was fresh in the soldiers' minds. For some, its images would never fade. But the former comrades in arms had not gathered on this wild and windy night to rehash skirmishes with the redcoats, toast acts of American patriotism or remember their fallen brothers. They had come to the Bunch-of-Grapes to talk business. Before the night was over, the veterans had created the Ohio Company of Associates and formulated a plan to migrate as a group and to establish a settlement in the western wilderness. There was much to do. They needed to issue stock, raise money, recruit new members and obtain legal titles and authorizations from the Continental Congress. The list of tasks seemed almost endless. Undaunted, they ordered another round of ale, elected Rufus Putnam as superintendent of their new organization and got to work. Less than two years later, forty-eight members of the Ohio Company boarded oxcarts in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and headed west. When the group reached Pittsburgh, they transferred to a flat-bottomed boat appropriately named the Adventure Galley and sailed down the Ohio River. In April 1788, they arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum River. With Putnam in the lead, the men climbed ashore and founded the first settlement in the Northwest Territory. They named it Marietta to honor French queen Marie Antoinette's support of the colonists during the American Revolution. Putnam and his associates assumed that Marietta would be the first choice for capital of the Northwest Territory. But they did not plan to accept that honor. The men of the Ohio Company had a more ambitious goal. They wanted Marietta to become the capital of the United States, and they planned the city accordingly. They laid out the town in a grid pattern, like a New England v