Prospect Place Estate

Just outside Trinway, Ohio, stands Prospect Place, one of the most impressive historic mansions in Muskingum County.

The home was built in 1856 for George Willison Adams, a wealthy businessman, railroad president, landowner, and former member of the Ohio General Assembly. Adams was also a dedicated abolitionist who assisted freedom seekers traveling through Ohio on the Underground Railroad.

Shortly after the original mansion was completed, it was destroyed by a suspicious fire believed to have been deliberately set. Adams rebuilt Prospect Place on the same foundation, adding several protective features to prevent another disaster. Solid brick interior walls and thick layers of mortar between the floors were designed to slow the spread of fire.

The reconstructed mansion contained twenty-nine rooms and combined elements of Italianate and Greek Revival architecture. It was remarkably advanced for its time. Prospect Place had indoor plumbing, hot and cold running water, a cooling system that circulated basement air through the house, and a primitive refrigeration system used to preserve food.

The Adams family controlled thousands of acres surrounding the mansion. Their businesses included mills, warehouses, boats, railroads, and agricultural operations. These transportation connections reportedly helped Adams and his associates secretly move freedom seekers northward toward safety.

Prospect Place remained in the extended Adams family for generations, but during the twentieth century, the mansion fell into neglect. Vandals and thieves stripped much of its interior, and by 1988, the deteriorating building faced demolition.

Businessman Dave Longaberger purchased Prospect Place and saved it from destruction. Restoration efforts continued under later owners and preservation groups. Today, the mansion is operated as a historical and educational site dedicated to preserving the legacy of George Willison Adams, the Underground Railroad, and one of Ohio’s most remarkable surviving homes.

Paranormal Claims

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• There are several spirits said to be in the "ballroom" since there was some cultist activity in the 1980s when the building was abandoned.

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