Green County
Bellbrook
Little Sugar Creek
It is said that many years ago, the small, unassuming town of Bellbrook, which is located near Dayton, Ohio,
has more than its fair share of stories of ghostly haunting. In fact it is nicknamed “Ohio’s Sleepy Hollow” by some of
its local residents because of its ghostly activity. In particular, outside the town, along Little Sugar Creek Road and
near Magee Park is this usually small river called Little Sugar Creek. Along these banks that haunting by two
different ghosts, with two entirely different tales to tell, are seen.
A ghost of a girl who gave birth to an illegitimate baby by the town’s married mayor is the first haunted story. It
is said that because the mayor abandoned her, she jumped into Little Sugar Creek with her baby. For some reason,
in the month of June, on foggy nights, she wanders the banks with her baby in her arms, singing to it.
The weeping woman ghost or the La Lorna Mexican ghost story behind this goes something like this: In the
1880’s, the influential wealthy mayor of Bellbrook had an affair with a poor young servant girl whom he seduced.
When she found herself pregnant, he demanded that she terminate the pregnancy, and turned his back on her after
she decided to keep the child. Broken hearted, to survive, she was forced to get by as a prostitute to support
herself, until her baby was born. The woman was the main source of gossip for people in the town. They knew she
had gotten herself into trouble, but they didn’t know with whom.
After her baby was born, the woman fell into a deep depression, along with some paranoia. Adding to her misery,
she refuses to tell anyone who the father of her child was. She left the house only after dark, because she believed
that anyone would recognize the father if they looked at the baby’s face, so she kept the baby’s face covered at all
times.
With nowhere else to turn and in a last ditch effort for salvation, on a June night, she took the child to the politician’s
house and begged for help, hoping he might take pity on her. The politician said the child wasn’t his and had them
removed from the property.
Despondent and unable to care for her child, the young woman walked with her child to a bridge overlooking Little
Sugar Creek. It has been reported that she stood there for a while, softly singing to the bundle in her arms. She
wrapped the baby close to her and jumped off the bridge into the dark water below. The water carried the two
several miles downstream. A week later, two boys found her body washed onto the riverbank. Her arms were still
tightly gripping the old shawl but the baby was gone.
Many believed that the girl had lost her mind as they begun to see her walking along the banks of Little Sugar
Creek, singing softly and talking to a bundle of rags that clothed her baby that she carries in her arms. People have
reported seeing the servant girl’s ghostly apparition walking slowly along the banks of the creek on foggy nights in
June looking for her child. It is interesting that this story is quite common in the Dayton area, and yet no one is quite
sure regarding the details; for example, no one knows her name and it is debatable as to the identity of her baby’s
father, as well as the exact bridge where she jumped off. The only thing people seem to agree on is that it happened
in the early 1880’s and that the father was rumored to be the married mayor of Bellbrook.
The second spirit may be the one responsible for Bellbrook acquiring the “Sleep Hollow” name. This ghost is that of
one of the first settlers in this area, an Englishman named James Buckley who lived in a small cabin along the creek
and who built and operated a sawmill on property by the creek, which was then known as Possum Run Creek. Over
the course of time, he managed to transform his small operation into a successful enterprise. As his wealth grew, he
became reclusive, sometimes staying inside his cabin for days at a time. In fact, he became one of the wealthiest
men in Bellbrook, making him envied by many who lived in the area, and an easy target for thieves.
Early one morning, while still dark out, two men broke into Buckley’s home and his money disappeared. Some
sources indicate that when authorities arrived a few days later, they found the headless body of James Buckley lying
outside. Other sources indicate his body was not found. As well, some sources say his head was found a short
distance away, while others indicate his head was never found. Regardless, the murder was never solved.
While the cabin still stood and as time passed, locals avoided it as it was claimed to be haunted. The few people
who were brave enough to venture near the cabin reported being confronted by a headless ghost, his arms
outstretched to them as if pleading for help. One couple from Dayton, who rented the old cabin claimed to have
sighted him standing at the front door, with his ghostly head tucked under his arm.
Today, nothing remains of Buckley’s cabin or his sawmill. But there are those that allege his headless ghost still
wanders the property, imploring anyone who sees him for help.
Little Sugar Creek is an interesting study of how legends and ghost stories change; both have elements of other
legends. One has some verifiable facts, and the other appears to be just a rumor. Who can say for sure?
The town of Bellbrook is located just southeast of Dayton, Ohio on Highway 725. Magee Park is located north of the
highway along Little Sugar Creek Road.
Byron
Trebein Road
The spirit of a woman who died when her carriage hit a rock and flung her onto the ground and broke her neck on
her wedding day, so the story goes haunts Trebein Road, Byron, near Fairborn. Her grieving father and fiancée dug
the rock out and rolled it off the side of the road, where it still is today. Some say the lady in white is transparent, but
most concur that she appears just like a normal woman. It is hard to say when she will appear; some say it must be
on her birthday, or the anniversary of her death, or her funeral.
Xenia
Blue Jacket Amphitheater
The ghosts of Indians, who occasionally show up on stage during performances, supposedly haunt the woods
around Xenia’s Blue Jacket Amphitheater. The Blue Jacket Amphitheater is located at 520 south String Town Road,
Xenia, Ohio 45385. Their phone number is (937) 376-4318; for information call (937) 376-4358
Eden Hall
Eden Hall is one of Xenia’s grandest historical buildings, a huge, ornate home with 13-foot ceilings and over 750
paintings inside. John Hivling was a prominent early settler in this area who had 11 daughters and 2 sons. 8 of the
daughters married and as a wedding present Mr. Hivling gave each one a cameo pin, a gold watch and chain, and a
new house.
It is said when his son Abraham was married, his father refused to give him a house. John Hivling is said to have told
Abraham, that he would have to build his own house. “All right” said Abraham, “Then I will build a bigger house than
any of the girls have.”
With the design expertise of Mr. Hiram Brown the mansion was constructed in 1840. Abraham Hivling was a
prominent businessman in Xenia, and no expense was spared. Freed slaves made the brick for Eden Hall on the
premises. 3 feet thick brick surrounds the mansion’s massive 9,400 square feet of living space. A formidable
structure indeed; Iron fence surrounds the beautiful gardens and lawn. The original carriage house still remains on
the property invoking a nostalgic feeling.
Abraham and his family lived there until 1881. The house was then sold to his in-laws (Mr. & Mrs. John Allen) who
purchased it for their daughter Mary Catherine Kinney and Colonel Coates Kinney. The Kinney’s had three
daughters. Their daughter Clara married a doctor, Lawrence Sheilds. Dr. & Mrs. Shields lived in Eden Hall until
1972. The house was then purchased by Paul & Evelyn Cozatt in 1973, and remained in their possession until 2003
when Rick & Tracy Gerhardt purchased it. They have been restoring the home and grounds ever since.
Eden Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places and its architecture is Greek revival. The mansion was Sally
Cochran Rouch’s home in “And the Ladies of the Club”, Helen Hooven Santmyer’s novel. Guests here include
President William McKinley and the 37th U.S. Secretary of State John Milton Hay.
It is rumored that Eden Hall was part of the Underground Railroad. It is said that this Mansion is home to “other”
entities. Weird lights move inside Eden House. Doors open and close by themselves. Cold spots travel at will.
Children’s footsteps are found in the dust, and on occasion mysterious music wakes guests up – old-fashioned
dance music and waltzes – music accompanied by voices. It is believed that members of the family haunt the
building, especially an ill-tempered woman who was a character in Santmeyer’s book who lived on the third floor. I
believe that this building is available for tours. It is located at 235 east Second Street, Xenia, Ohio 45485. Their
phone number is (937) 372-8750. Their website is www.edenhallmansionbedandbreakfast.com
Spring Hill Elementary
Xenia’s Spring Hill Elementary School is said to be haunted by the ghost of a teacher brutally murdered over 100
years ago. She roams the grounds looking for her murderer.
It is located at 860 Ormsby Drive, Xenia, Ohio 45385. Their phone number is (937) 372-6461; Fax (937) 374-4230
Yellow Springs
Antioch College
Antioch College is a small liberal arts college located at 795 Livermore Street, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387 in
northern Greene County, near Springfield. It has been around since 1853 that means it has had a century and a
half to accumulate ghost stories. The ones I know anything about are listed below:
This building was once part of Antioch College, but now it is vacant and boarded up. It stands at the corner of Corry
and Allen Streets, near the elementary school.
According to reports I have gotten, ghosts who take the form of optical distortions and floating mists haunt this
1860s mansion. They drifted through the halls when the building was still in use, scaring the occasional student, and
may still roam the unoccupied G. Stanley Hall.
Glen Helen Nature Preserve
The Glen Helen Nature Preserve, located at 405 Carry Street, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387-1895 (www.glenhelen.
org), (937) 769-1902 glenhelen@antioch.edu , and which is administrated by Antioch College, is said to be haunted
by the ghosts of Indians who once inhabited the area, as well as the Helen after whom the preserve was named.
Helen Bartlett, 1923, with rich husband
Helen Birch Bartlett died relatively young from cancer in 1925, but few people have been memorialized more
thoroughly; in addition to this massive nature preserve, you will find a prestigious exhibit at the Art Institute of
Chicago called the Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection; it includes paintings as famous as Georges Seurat’s ‘A
Sunday on La Grande Jatte’ and Van Gogh’s ‘The Bedroom’. Her equally rich husband, Frederic Clay Bartlett,
dedicated the art exhibit to her; it was her father, Hugh Taylor Birch, who left the thousand acres surrounding the
famous yellow spring to the college in her memory four years after she died.
John Bryan State Park
In 1896, John Bryan, an ambitious businessman, purchased 335 acres along the Clifton gorge area and called
these acres “Riverside Farm”.
Some of the first people to experience the area’s beauty were the Mound builders, and later, the Shawnee
Indians. Just five miles south of Yellow Springs, and about where the town of Oldtown is now, was the site of Old
Chillicothe, one of the leading Shawnee settlements in Ohio. The great Shawnee warrior, Tecumseh, was a frequent
visitor here and to the nearby James Galloway House, which has been kept intact by the Greene County Historical
Society.
This portion of the Little Miami River was a vital, economical source of power for the early settlers in the 1800s.
The town of Clifton prospered from the textile mill, gristmills and sawmills located there.
By the late 1800s, most of the industrial activity in the area ceased. Water was no longer an economical source
of power and many mills were abandoned. One of the gristmills built in 1869 is still in operation today. Located in the
village of Clifton, the Clifton Mill is open to visitors.
John Bryan had a great respect for the natural world and in 1918; he bequeathed Riverside Farm to the state
of Ohio to be cultivated by the state as a forestry, botanic and wildlife reserve park. In May of 1925, this land
became one of the state’s first forest parks. In 1949, John Bryan State Park was transferred to the newly ODNR
Division of Parks and Recreation. This park and the adjoining Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve overlook the
beautiful Little Miami River gorge that has been designated as a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department
of the Interior.
There are at least three accounts of possible paranormal activity in this area. In the first account, in 1794, a
woman named Rosalie went into the woods near her home in Gallipolis with her young son to pick berries. Hours
late, when they failed to return, Rosalie’s husband went looking for them. He found only the little boy, who was tire,
hungry, lost and scared half to death. The boy told his father that a small party of Shawnee surprised him and his
mother. His mother and the child managed to escape. Rosalie’s husband quickly organized a search party to rescue
his wife. They tracked the Shawnee party for days before they caught sight of them at the Clifton gorge. Three
Shawnee braves were camped on the cliff with Rosalie tied to a tree. The rescuers fired at the kidnappers, killing two
of them. Before they could fire again, the third Shawnee killed Rosalie with a tomahawk. Her husband screamed in
anguish and rushed to tackle the Shawnee, intent on murdering him with his bare hands. Instead, the two men
tumbled over the 130-foot drop into the gorge to their deaths. Their bodies were never found. Rosalie was buried
under a mound of stones on the cliff where she died. Over the years, people have occasionally reported a strange
occurrence there. They claim to see a man and a woman strolling arm in arm that, at first, doesn’t seem strange. As
they realize the couple is dressed in clothing from the early 1800s, and turn back for another look, the couple is
gone.
The second account tells of Wiley the hermit, who officially lived near Clifton with his wife and her family, but
most of the year he stayed in a hut he made of driftwood and stones near the river at Clifton Gorge. Wiley was quite
a character and dressed in bib overalls and wore a bandana around his neck. One of his sources of income was
selling nuts, berries, and produce from his horse-drawn cart. Folks always knew when he was coming, because he
was always whistling. One rainy day in 1912 as he was returning to his cut in his cart, the horse lost its footing on a
muddy path and the cart, the horse and Wiley were washed down the swollen river. Since shortly after this tragedy,
and to this day, people have reported seeing a ghost walking out the west gate at dusk, disappearing before he
reaches Meredith Road. The say he wears denim overalls, a blue shirt, and a red bandana or handkerchief around
his neck and walks with his left hand in his pocket and whistling a happy tune. He is sometimes referred to as “the
Twilight Man”.
The last account is about an unfortunate young woman who gave birth to a baby girl she named Rose, on a
cold November night in 1809 on a farm outside of Clifton. She wasn’t married to nor even in love with the baby’s
father, in fact he was her sister’s husband. The man was a brute who had repeatedly forced himself on her,
eventually resulting in the unwanted pregnancy. As soon as Rose was born, this horrid man took her from her
mother’s arms and threw her into the hog pens at the west end of the farm, threatening his entire family with a
similar or worse fate should they go near the wailing baby. A horrible night was spent in that house, the mother
nearly out of her mind with grief. Her brother-in-law stayed up all night to make sure no one rescued the baby; no
amount of pleading would change his plan. Just as the sun was coming up, the crying ceased and he went to bed.
The family waited in agony until they were certain he was asleep, then snuck out to find the poor little child dead.
They quickly and quietly buried her near the rose bushes. They all knew without saying it out loud that they would
be expected to behave as if nothing had happened. Aghast at what she had witnessed and concerned for her soul,
one of the family’s young daughters finally told their preacher what had happened. The preacher had suspected
both the abuse and the pregnancy so he had no doubt the girl were telling the truth. He alerted the authorities and
the man and the baby’s mother were arrested. The man was found guilty at the trial the following spring. The mother
was acquitted owing to the man’s reputation as a bully and the testimony of her niece who insisted that her aunt, the
mother of the murdered child, was devastated by what had happened that night, but was completely helpless in the
situation. Since then, and for nearly two hundred years, visitors and residents of the farm have occasionally
reported hearing a baby crying outside. The mournful sound appears to be coming from the west, yet no one has
ever been found. This last account is based on an actual event; the court case was in 1811.
John Bryan State Park is located at 3790 State Route 370, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387 The park can be
reached at (937) 767-1274 or john.bryan.parks@dnr.state.oh.us
Old Trail Tavern
The Old Trail Tavern was built in Yellow Springs in 1827. It is said that a sinister woman in blue, and who has
never been seen by a woman, creates a dark atmosphere in the Tavern whenever she makes herself known. She
knocks things off walls and makes strange noises. The only murder in the house’s history was that of a baker in the
front room, which used to be a bakery. The Old Trail Tavern is located at 228 Xenia Avenue, Yellow Springs, Ohio
45387 and can be reached at (937) 767-7448 or info@cliftonohiohistory.org
Bellbrook
Little Sugar Creek
It is said that many years ago, the small, unassuming town of Bellbrook, which is located near Dayton, Ohio,
has more than its fair share of stories of ghostly haunting. In fact it is nicknamed “Ohio’s Sleepy Hollow” by some of
its local residents because of its ghostly activity. In particular, outside the town, along Little Sugar Creek Road and
near Magee Park is this usually small river called Little Sugar Creek. Along these banks that haunting by two
different ghosts, with two entirely different tales to tell, are seen.
A ghost of a girl who gave birth to an illegitimate baby by the town’s married mayor is the first haunted story. It
is said that because the mayor abandoned her, she jumped into Little Sugar Creek with her baby. For some reason,
in the month of June, on foggy nights, she wanders the banks with her baby in her arms, singing to it.
The weeping woman ghost or the La Lorna Mexican ghost story behind this goes something like this: In the
1880’s, the influential wealthy mayor of Bellbrook had an affair with a poor young servant girl whom he seduced.
When she found herself pregnant, he demanded that she terminate the pregnancy, and turned his back on her after
she decided to keep the child. Broken hearted, to survive, she was forced to get by as a prostitute to support
herself, until her baby was born. The woman was the main source of gossip for people in the town. They knew she
had gotten herself into trouble, but they didn’t know with whom.
After her baby was born, the woman fell into a deep depression, along with some paranoia. Adding to her misery,
she refuses to tell anyone who the father of her child was. She left the house only after dark, because she believed
that anyone would recognize the father if they looked at the baby’s face, so she kept the baby’s face covered at all
times.
With nowhere else to turn and in a last ditch effort for salvation, on a June night, she took the child to the politician’s
house and begged for help, hoping he might take pity on her. The politician said the child wasn’t his and had them
removed from the property.
Despondent and unable to care for her child, the young woman walked with her child to a bridge overlooking Little
Sugar Creek. It has been reported that she stood there for a while, softly singing to the bundle in her arms. She
wrapped the baby close to her and jumped off the bridge into the dark water below. The water carried the two
several miles downstream. A week later, two boys found her body washed onto the riverbank. Her arms were still
tightly gripping the old shawl but the baby was gone.
Many believed that the girl had lost her mind as they begun to see her walking along the banks of Little Sugar
Creek, singing softly and talking to a bundle of rags that clothed her baby that she carries in her arms. People have
reported seeing the servant girl’s ghostly apparition walking slowly along the banks of the creek on foggy nights in
June looking for her child. It is interesting that this story is quite common in the Dayton area, and yet no one is quite
sure regarding the details; for example, no one knows her name and it is debatable as to the identity of her baby’s
father, as well as the exact bridge where she jumped off. The only thing people seem to agree on is that it happened
in the early 1880’s and that the father was rumored to be the married mayor of Bellbrook.
The second spirit may be the one responsible for Bellbrook acquiring the “Sleep Hollow” name. This ghost is that of
one of the first settlers in this area, an Englishman named James Buckley who lived in a small cabin along the creek
and who built and operated a sawmill on property by the creek, which was then known as Possum Run Creek. Over
the course of time, he managed to transform his small operation into a successful enterprise. As his wealth grew, he
became reclusive, sometimes staying inside his cabin for days at a time. In fact, he became one of the wealthiest
men in Bellbrook, making him envied by many who lived in the area, and an easy target for thieves.
Early one morning, while still dark out, two men broke into Buckley’s home and his money disappeared. Some
sources indicate that when authorities arrived a few days later, they found the headless body of James Buckley lying
outside. Other sources indicate his body was not found. As well, some sources say his head was found a short
distance away, while others indicate his head was never found. Regardless, the murder was never solved.
While the cabin still stood and as time passed, locals avoided it as it was claimed to be haunted. The few people
who were brave enough to venture near the cabin reported being confronted by a headless ghost, his arms
outstretched to them as if pleading for help. One couple from Dayton, who rented the old cabin claimed to have
sighted him standing at the front door, with his ghostly head tucked under his arm.
Today, nothing remains of Buckley’s cabin or his sawmill. But there are those that allege his headless ghost still
wanders the property, imploring anyone who sees him for help.
Little Sugar Creek is an interesting study of how legends and ghost stories change; both have elements of other
legends. One has some verifiable facts, and the other appears to be just a rumor. Who can say for sure?
The town of Bellbrook is located just southeast of Dayton, Ohio on Highway 725. Magee Park is located north of the
highway along Little Sugar Creek Road.
Byron
Trebein Road
The spirit of a woman who died when her carriage hit a rock and flung her onto the ground and broke her neck on
her wedding day, so the story goes haunts Trebein Road, Byron, near Fairborn. Her grieving father and fiancée dug
the rock out and rolled it off the side of the road, where it still is today. Some say the lady in white is transparent, but
most concur that she appears just like a normal woman. It is hard to say when she will appear; some say it must be
on her birthday, or the anniversary of her death, or her funeral.
Xenia
Blue Jacket Amphitheater
The ghosts of Indians, who occasionally show up on stage during performances, supposedly haunt the woods
around Xenia’s Blue Jacket Amphitheater. The Blue Jacket Amphitheater is located at 520 south String Town Road,
Xenia, Ohio 45385. Their phone number is (937) 376-4318; for information call (937) 376-4358
Eden Hall
Eden Hall is one of Xenia’s grandest historical buildings, a huge, ornate home with 13-foot ceilings and over 750
paintings inside. John Hivling was a prominent early settler in this area who had 11 daughters and 2 sons. 8 of the
daughters married and as a wedding present Mr. Hivling gave each one a cameo pin, a gold watch and chain, and a
new house.
It is said when his son Abraham was married, his father refused to give him a house. John Hivling is said to have told
Abraham, that he would have to build his own house. “All right” said Abraham, “Then I will build a bigger house than
any of the girls have.”
With the design expertise of Mr. Hiram Brown the mansion was constructed in 1840. Abraham Hivling was a
prominent businessman in Xenia, and no expense was spared. Freed slaves made the brick for Eden Hall on the
premises. 3 feet thick brick surrounds the mansion’s massive 9,400 square feet of living space. A formidable
structure indeed; Iron fence surrounds the beautiful gardens and lawn. The original carriage house still remains on
the property invoking a nostalgic feeling.
Abraham and his family lived there until 1881. The house was then sold to his in-laws (Mr. & Mrs. John Allen) who
purchased it for their daughter Mary Catherine Kinney and Colonel Coates Kinney. The Kinney’s had three
daughters. Their daughter Clara married a doctor, Lawrence Sheilds. Dr. & Mrs. Shields lived in Eden Hall until
1972. The house was then purchased by Paul & Evelyn Cozatt in 1973, and remained in their possession until 2003
when Rick & Tracy Gerhardt purchased it. They have been restoring the home and grounds ever since.
Eden Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places and its architecture is Greek revival. The mansion was Sally
Cochran Rouch’s home in “And the Ladies of the Club”, Helen Hooven Santmyer’s novel. Guests here include
President William McKinley and the 37th U.S. Secretary of State John Milton Hay.
It is rumored that Eden Hall was part of the Underground Railroad. It is said that this Mansion is home to “other”
entities. Weird lights move inside Eden House. Doors open and close by themselves. Cold spots travel at will.
Children’s footsteps are found in the dust, and on occasion mysterious music wakes guests up – old-fashioned
dance music and waltzes – music accompanied by voices. It is believed that members of the family haunt the
building, especially an ill-tempered woman who was a character in Santmeyer’s book who lived on the third floor. I
believe that this building is available for tours. It is located at 235 east Second Street, Xenia, Ohio 45485. Their
phone number is (937) 372-8750. Their website is www.edenhallmansionbedandbreakfast.com
Spring Hill Elementary
Xenia’s Spring Hill Elementary School is said to be haunted by the ghost of a teacher brutally murdered over 100
years ago. She roams the grounds looking for her murderer.
It is located at 860 Ormsby Drive, Xenia, Ohio 45385. Their phone number is (937) 372-6461; Fax (937) 374-4230
Yellow Springs
Antioch College
Antioch College is a small liberal arts college located at 795 Livermore Street, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387 in
northern Greene County, near Springfield. It has been around since 1853 that means it has had a century and a
half to accumulate ghost stories. The ones I know anything about are listed below:
This building was once part of Antioch College, but now it is vacant and boarded up. It stands at the corner of Corry
and Allen Streets, near the elementary school.
According to reports I have gotten, ghosts who take the form of optical distortions and floating mists haunt this
1860s mansion. They drifted through the halls when the building was still in use, scaring the occasional student, and
may still roam the unoccupied G. Stanley Hall.
Glen Helen Nature Preserve
The Glen Helen Nature Preserve, located at 405 Carry Street, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387-1895 (www.glenhelen.
org), (937) 769-1902 glenhelen@antioch.edu , and which is administrated by Antioch College, is said to be haunted
by the ghosts of Indians who once inhabited the area, as well as the Helen after whom the preserve was named.
Helen Bartlett, 1923, with rich husband
Helen Birch Bartlett died relatively young from cancer in 1925, but few people have been memorialized more
thoroughly; in addition to this massive nature preserve, you will find a prestigious exhibit at the Art Institute of
Chicago called the Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection; it includes paintings as famous as Georges Seurat’s ‘A
Sunday on La Grande Jatte’ and Van Gogh’s ‘The Bedroom’. Her equally rich husband, Frederic Clay Bartlett,
dedicated the art exhibit to her; it was her father, Hugh Taylor Birch, who left the thousand acres surrounding the
famous yellow spring to the college in her memory four years after she died.
John Bryan State Park
In 1896, John Bryan, an ambitious businessman, purchased 335 acres along the Clifton gorge area and called
these acres “Riverside Farm”.
Some of the first people to experience the area’s beauty were the Mound builders, and later, the Shawnee
Indians. Just five miles south of Yellow Springs, and about where the town of Oldtown is now, was the site of Old
Chillicothe, one of the leading Shawnee settlements in Ohio. The great Shawnee warrior, Tecumseh, was a frequent
visitor here and to the nearby James Galloway House, which has been kept intact by the Greene County Historical
Society.
This portion of the Little Miami River was a vital, economical source of power for the early settlers in the 1800s.
The town of Clifton prospered from the textile mill, gristmills and sawmills located there.
By the late 1800s, most of the industrial activity in the area ceased. Water was no longer an economical source
of power and many mills were abandoned. One of the gristmills built in 1869 is still in operation today. Located in the
village of Clifton, the Clifton Mill is open to visitors.
John Bryan had a great respect for the natural world and in 1918; he bequeathed Riverside Farm to the state
of Ohio to be cultivated by the state as a forestry, botanic and wildlife reserve park. In May of 1925, this land
became one of the state’s first forest parks. In 1949, John Bryan State Park was transferred to the newly ODNR
Division of Parks and Recreation. This park and the adjoining Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve overlook the
beautiful Little Miami River gorge that has been designated as a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department
of the Interior.
There are at least three accounts of possible paranormal activity in this area. In the first account, in 1794, a
woman named Rosalie went into the woods near her home in Gallipolis with her young son to pick berries. Hours
late, when they failed to return, Rosalie’s husband went looking for them. He found only the little boy, who was tire,
hungry, lost and scared half to death. The boy told his father that a small party of Shawnee surprised him and his
mother. His mother and the child managed to escape. Rosalie’s husband quickly organized a search party to rescue
his wife. They tracked the Shawnee party for days before they caught sight of them at the Clifton gorge. Three
Shawnee braves were camped on the cliff with Rosalie tied to a tree. The rescuers fired at the kidnappers, killing two
of them. Before they could fire again, the third Shawnee killed Rosalie with a tomahawk. Her husband screamed in
anguish and rushed to tackle the Shawnee, intent on murdering him with his bare hands. Instead, the two men
tumbled over the 130-foot drop into the gorge to their deaths. Their bodies were never found. Rosalie was buried
under a mound of stones on the cliff where she died. Over the years, people have occasionally reported a strange
occurrence there. They claim to see a man and a woman strolling arm in arm that, at first, doesn’t seem strange. As
they realize the couple is dressed in clothing from the early 1800s, and turn back for another look, the couple is
gone.
The second account tells of Wiley the hermit, who officially lived near Clifton with his wife and her family, but
most of the year he stayed in a hut he made of driftwood and stones near the river at Clifton Gorge. Wiley was quite
a character and dressed in bib overalls and wore a bandana around his neck. One of his sources of income was
selling nuts, berries, and produce from his horse-drawn cart. Folks always knew when he was coming, because he
was always whistling. One rainy day in 1912 as he was returning to his cut in his cart, the horse lost its footing on a
muddy path and the cart, the horse and Wiley were washed down the swollen river. Since shortly after this tragedy,
and to this day, people have reported seeing a ghost walking out the west gate at dusk, disappearing before he
reaches Meredith Road. The say he wears denim overalls, a blue shirt, and a red bandana or handkerchief around
his neck and walks with his left hand in his pocket and whistling a happy tune. He is sometimes referred to as “the
Twilight Man”.
The last account is about an unfortunate young woman who gave birth to a baby girl she named Rose, on a
cold November night in 1809 on a farm outside of Clifton. She wasn’t married to nor even in love with the baby’s
father, in fact he was her sister’s husband. The man was a brute who had repeatedly forced himself on her,
eventually resulting in the unwanted pregnancy. As soon as Rose was born, this horrid man took her from her
mother’s arms and threw her into the hog pens at the west end of the farm, threatening his entire family with a
similar or worse fate should they go near the wailing baby. A horrible night was spent in that house, the mother
nearly out of her mind with grief. Her brother-in-law stayed up all night to make sure no one rescued the baby; no
amount of pleading would change his plan. Just as the sun was coming up, the crying ceased and he went to bed.
The family waited in agony until they were certain he was asleep, then snuck out to find the poor little child dead.
They quickly and quietly buried her near the rose bushes. They all knew without saying it out loud that they would
be expected to behave as if nothing had happened. Aghast at what she had witnessed and concerned for her soul,
one of the family’s young daughters finally told their preacher what had happened. The preacher had suspected
both the abuse and the pregnancy so he had no doubt the girl were telling the truth. He alerted the authorities and
the man and the baby’s mother were arrested. The man was found guilty at the trial the following spring. The mother
was acquitted owing to the man’s reputation as a bully and the testimony of her niece who insisted that her aunt, the
mother of the murdered child, was devastated by what had happened that night, but was completely helpless in the
situation. Since then, and for nearly two hundred years, visitors and residents of the farm have occasionally
reported hearing a baby crying outside. The mournful sound appears to be coming from the west, yet no one has
ever been found. This last account is based on an actual event; the court case was in 1811.
John Bryan State Park is located at 3790 State Route 370, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387 The park can be
reached at (937) 767-1274 or john.bryan.parks@dnr.state.oh.us
Old Trail Tavern
The Old Trail Tavern was built in Yellow Springs in 1827. It is said that a sinister woman in blue, and who has
never been seen by a woman, creates a dark atmosphere in the Tavern whenever she makes herself known. She
knocks things off walls and makes strange noises. The only murder in the house’s history was that of a baker in the
front room, which used to be a bakery. The Old Trail Tavern is located at 228 Xenia Avenue, Yellow Springs, Ohio
45387 and can be reached at (937) 767-7448 or info@cliftonohiohistory.org
