Prospect Place
This historic Ohio mansion may be haunted by a real-life paranormal Adams family
Paranormal Claims at
Prospect Place
- Disembodied voices are heard in empty rooms
- Cold spots are encountered in the house
- An apparition is seen around the stairs
- Disembodied laughter and whispers have been heard
- Phantom cigar smoke has been smelled in the parlor
- A young girl’s apparition has bene seen around the servants’ quarters
- Shadow figures have been spotted around the house
- Potential EVPs have been recorded by ghost hunters visiting the house
- Heavy footsteps are heard at times
- The apparition of a bounty hunter is reported in the barn
Prospect Place’s Storied Past
The small town of Trinway, Ohio, is surrounded on all sides by farmlands and historic homes. But on the southern side of town is one old farm that does well to stand out from the crowd. Far from your average rural Ohio property, Trinway’s Prospect Place is centered on an expansive, red brick mansion with a long, and at times mysterious, history.
The mansion and its old brick barn have been fixtures of the area since the late 1850s, and over time were home to some of the region’s most prominent and important people.
Though the barn has long since been disused and the home’s windows have long been dark, the property stays alive as the G.W. Adams Educational Center.
But more than just a local educational resource, Prospect Place has also built a reputation as Trinway’s most haunted place, and possibly one of the most haunted places in Ohio. Could ghosts of former residents still be residing in this stately Ohio mansion?
Timeline of Prospect Place's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Prospect Place through the years
1855
Before owning Prospect Place, the Adams family were southern plantation slavers. But that life, however wealthy, did not suit their morals. In the dying decades of slavery, the Adams family sold their Virginia plantation. They freed their enslaved workers, and moved to Ohio. There, the family built a successful mill business. By the 1850s the Adams’ patriarch, George W. Adams, sought to build his family a castle in the area. And in 1855, his wish came to fruition with the start of construction on Prospect Place.
1857
Despite its grand size and elegance, Prospect Place had a tumultuous early life. Early on in construction, an arsonist torched the mansion. The crime was originally thought to be committed by a Native American woman. However, the arsonist was later identified as George Blackburn. Blackburn was a petty criminal who worked as a bricklayer on the home. He purportedly burned it down so he would get more work to do on it. Despite the fire, George W. Adams resolved to rebuild quickly, and he did. The family finally moved into their house in 1857.
1879
George, like his ancestors before him, was an abolitionist. So as the 1850s ran their course, Adams opened Prospect Place to fleeing enslaved people and fellow abolitionists. Few details of George’s abolitionist actions in this time can be confirmed. However, it is believed he often harbored escaping enslaved people. He may have also held abolitionist meetings from his stately family mansion. After the Civil War banned slavery, George and his family maintained a quiet life on their Ohio property. He died on the property in 1879.
1924
After George’s death, Prospect Place fell to his daughter, Anna, and her husband, William Cox. The couple spent a lot of time in the house, and Cox spent a lot of money, both on renovations and lavish parties. But, what William Cox is best known for is his sudden disappearance. William simply vanished one day, apparently after burning through much of Anna’s inheritance. It is now believed he abandoned the family to move to San Francisco. Anna, in turn, struggled as a single mother at Prospect Place until her death in 1924.
1969
Anna and William’s son, George Cox, went on to inherit the Prospect Place property after his mother’s death. He kept it in the family until 1969, when he sold it to the (unrelated) Cox Gravel Company. Cox Gravel largely mothballed the mansion. That is, except for tours offered in 1976 during the American Bicentennial. Other than that, the house and barn both remained empty, and often became targets for vandals, thieves, and other criminals. By the mid-1980s, Prospect Place’s future seemed especially grim.
1988
In 1988, as Prospect Place faced the wrecking ball, it was bought by new owners who had new intentions for the historic property. Restoration work finally began on the dilapidated and collapsing mansion. It moved slowly at first, but by the turn of the 21st century, Prospect Place had at least been stabilized. Still, the home’s future remained uncertain. To support the ongoing restoration, George J. Adams and Felix Spector founded the G.W. Adams Educational Center. They focused on refurbishing Prospect Place and using it as an educational tool.
2006
The G.W. Adams Educational Center took ownership of Prospect Place in 2006 and continues to operate it today. While the center’s purpose is for education about 19th century life, ownership makes sure to keep time for the home’s other intrigues as well. A main attraction of Prospect Place today is its ghostly history and lore. After over a century of the Adams family living in the home, their ghosts are said to be common sights around the property. And as more visitors come and go, phantasmic encounters at Prospect Place only become more common.
Is Prospect Place Haunted?
Paranormal claims around Prospect Place are remarkably common today. Both attendees at educational programs as well as visiting ghost hunters have all reported hauntingly unexplainable encounters around the house.
But what ghostly events might you uncover on your visit to Prospect Place? Well, the activity within can be quite unpredictable. But one thing the home’s spirits seem to love to do is make noise.
Disembodied voices are one of the more well-known reports of ghostly happenings in the house. Often, visitors will hear overlapping conversations coming from empty rooms.
At some points, the conversations can purportedly be quite loud, almost loud enough to make out words or sentences. But, at other times, the voices may speak in only the quietest of whispers. Along with that, some people claim to hear ghostly laughter echoing through Prospect Place’s corridors.
Ghosts Caught on Tape
Visiting paranormal researchers often report recording strange voices as EVPs during their investigations. And going along with the voices and laughter, ghost hunters have recorded other potentially paranormal sounds as well.
Recordings around the mansion sometimes capture unexplainable loud thumping noises from higher floors. Other recordings have collected repeating sounds, like heavy footsteps or furniture moving upstairs. Could the phantoms of Prospect Place be redecorating their familial home?
George’s Ghost Lingers In His Home
Voices and thumps aren’t all the specters of Prospect Place are known for. They’ve also got quite the penchant for appearing as shadowy figures.
Unknown, translucent apparitions are sometimes seen lingering through the house. They often meander from room-to-room aimlessly. And while most of these spiritual figures are anonymous, Prospect Place has one identified apparition in the house: George W. Adams.
Adams’ apparition is one of the more vividly seen ghosts in the mansion. He is said to regularly appear on or near the main staircase, mostly whenever there’s construction or renovation work going on in the house.
George’s ghost also may make himself known around the home’s parlor, where he was known for smoking and drinking to relax. Now, visitors still report the smell of cigar smoke and the sound of clinking glasses in the old Prospect Place parlor.
The Mansion’s Ghostly Little Girl
Another rather vivid apparition around Prospect Place is that of a little girl. There’s some dispute about her identity, but most people agree on her story. It is said that the little girl was either playing or doing chores upstairs one day when she fell from an upper portico and died. Legend has it this event took place in the midst of winter. Because of this, the little girl could not be buried right away. So, she was kept cold in the mansion’s basement until arrangements could be made.
Now, cold spots and other unexplainable activity are reported around the basement. But the little girl’s phantom is known to explore far beyond that. Her figure is spotted frolicking through the servants’ quarters quite often. This leads some to figure she was either a young servant, or the daughter of a house maid when she died.
A Bounty Hunter Haunts The Barn
Though Prospect Place itself is the centerpiece of the purportedly paranormal property, it is not the only place you might find a ghost. Another popular ghost story focuses on the property’s barn. Local lore tells of a slave catcher in the 1850s who headed for Prospect Place in search of escaped enslaved people. What the bounty hunter found instead was an ambush. It is said the Adams clan hanged him in the barn to keep their role in the Underground Railroad a secret. There is no hard proof of this event occurring, but the legend around the Prospect Place barn remains.
Many call it the property’s most haunted area. Some report the bounty hunter’s apparition appearing inside, as well as the sounds of loud footsteps and unwelcoming feelings in the area. Those who have tried to communicate with his ghost note his anger and malevolence towards anyone invading his space.
Experience The Paranormal
at Prospect Place
Today, Prospect Place is on a long road towards recovery and restoration. And the mansion’s long line of ghost stories play a major role in supporting that. The owners of Prospect Place host numerous ghost tours and programs throughout the year to fundraise for the home’s restoration. Additionally, interested ghost hunters can also book private, night-long paranormal investigations.
And along with all the spooky stuff, Prospect Place often hosts other events as well, such as craft fairs and Civil War education programs.
Opening to the public has proven to be the saving grace for George W. Adams’ old house. Prospect Place is now well-known both locally as an educational resource, and nationally as a paranormal hotspot. And the more guests who attend programs and ghost tours, the more ghost stories come out about Trinway’s mysterious mansion.
So, if you’re looking for a place full of ghosts, it sure seems that this old Ohio mansion has some good prospects.
