The Black Ghost of Minnich Avenue
The story of a shadowy “black ghost” captivated the imagination of New Philadelphians. For about two weeks in March 1914, a neighborhood in the city of New Philadelphia found itself captivated by an unlikely visitor. A mysterious “black ghost” was said to be wandering the neighborhood around Minnich Avenue. Residents discussed the appearance of a…
The Churchyard Ghost
In November 1904 readers of the New Philadelphia, Ohio Daily Times were treated to a story about a haunted Tuscarawas County church and cemetery. While the newspaper story never mentioned the name of the community or the church itself, it did share some of the stories associated with the haunted location and the effort of…
Lights Over Oldtown Valley: The 1964 UFO Sightings
Mysterious lights over Oldtown Valley Road reignited 1960s flying saucer stories. The national obsession with “flying saucers” had quieted down somewhat by 1964. The frenzy of sightings and speculation that began in the late 1940s was replaced with Cold War concerns and cultural shifts. But in the quiet hills north of Port Washington, Ohio, the…
Mystery in the Woods: The “UFO” Incident of 1966
In the spring of 1966, as UFO sightings gripped Ohio with intrigue and fear, a strange light near a Tuscarawas County farm sparked an investigation. For several weeks in early 1966 there had been numerous reports in the local newspapers of unidentified flying objects (UFO), including one case in April 1966 where two sheriff deputies…
“Glowing with a White Light”: The Navarre UFO of 1954
While on leave from the United States Navy’s Air Forces in the summer of 1954 a Navarre, Ohio native saw something in the night sky even his knowledge of modern aircraft could not explain. William Sago (1870-?) and his wife Emma (1875-?) immigrated to Pennsylvania from Poland in 1900 and settled in Western Pennsylvania. The…
The “One Dollar Ghost”
I stumbled across a letter written in 1819 from a Tuscarawas County resident in a Canton, Ohio newspaper that told a fantastical ghost story that I simply had to investigate further. A letter from New Philadelphia, Ohio appeared on the front page of a July 1819 edition of the Canton Ohio Repository newspaper describing a…
“To Avoid Ridicule From Others”: 1961 Gnadenhutten UFO
Having gone through a number of the Project Blue Book files available online, I decided instead to look at local UFO sightings that have been reported to groups dedicated to documenting such occurrences. The following account of an encounter from 1961 was reported to one of these organizations by an anonymous individual I will call…
“Evaluated as Unknown”: A UFO Sighting in Carrollton
I thought I would pay another visit to the Project Blue Book files to see if any other local UFO sightings were investigated by the United States Air Force. The following is one such sighting from neighboring Carroll County in July 1956. The young doctor and his wife were entertaining their two young nieces at…
“Witches at their Old Tricks”: The Stone Creek Witch of 1870
When strange happenings occur within a community, the public’s perception of the validity of those happenings often hinge on the credibility of the witnesses. The family in this case was a well known and respected family and their unusual experience in the spring of 1870 was documented in the local newspaper. Henry Fisher (1795-1882) and…
The Goshen Road Ghost
Ghost stories capture the imagination of the reader perhaps more than most, and local ones even more so. A ghost story is more fun to read when you are familiar with an area, its history, its lore, and landmarks. During the spring of 1904, the south side of New Philadelphia made the papers when two…
“Everyone Thinks I Am Crazy”: A UFO Sighting in Tuscarawas County
Sometimes when you are doing research on a subject, you accidently stumble upon the unexpected. This is one of those cases. While researching a fallen hero, and unrelated to his story, I came across a document on a UFO sighting that occurred in New Philadelphia, Ohio in 1968. There was no way I was not…
Ghost of Hummel Valley: A Tuscarawas Haunting
Nothing captures the imagination more than a good ghost story, and newspapers are always willing to print them to sell papers. The 1922 case of the ghost haunting the Plotner family was covered in several editions of the New Philadelphia paper and carried by newspapers all over Ohio. John Emerson (1789-1838) immigrated with his family…
The Great Swiss Cheese Heist of 1931
A three-year-old mystery involving 800 pounds of stolen Swiss cheese finally cracked open in 1935. On a Saturday night in November 1931, a massive quantity of Swiss cheese was stolen from a cellar near Stone Creek at the dairy operated by Swiss immigrant Samuel Knutti (1873–1943). The heist was carried out by Kenneth Umstead (1894–1961),…
A Fatal Eviction: The 1954 Murder of Harvey Johnson
Kicked out of his apartment, a Dennison man took his rage out on the World War Two veteran who evicted him. Content warning: This post contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here…
A Most Mysterious Affair: The 1887 Death of Belle Merrick Albaugh
Four weeks after her wedding, young Belle Merrick Albaugh was fatally shot. Was it suicide or murder? Content warning: This post contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here for resources to find…
Tuscarawas County Stories 