A Short Trip Into The Country

                He watched us go by from his perch, high in a tree. Behind him the trees were bathed in the golden light of morning, the sky was a deep, royal blue. Crows squawked and flew around him but the hawk just sat there, unconcerned. It looked as if it was going to be a great day!

                Ann Marie and I were going to take a short ride into the country. We were going to find Moonville, Ohio, a ghost town located in the southern part of the state. There wasn’t supposed to be much there, nothing more than some foundation stones but it had some interesting stories attached to it and it sounded like a fun drive.

                We crossed  30 or so miles of Pennsylvania before we entered the panhandle of West Virginia. Crossing this narrow section we came to the Ohio River where we turned south. We passed lots of old industry, some of it broken and forgotten and some repurposed and still being used. We crossed the river in Wheeling and entered Ohio.

                On the Ohio side of the river, the roads were wider with less traffic on them. The Ohio River is much wider here than it is in Pittsburgh. It appears to be only a few feet below the roads. We saw lots of tugboats pushing long lines of barges, some deep in the water filled with coal. Others, empty, sat high on the surface. Long ripples streamed out behind them. The water was mostly nice and still and the river constantly changed directions as it carved its way south.

                Entering the town of Marietta a little after 1, we decided it was time for a food stop and a stretch. We weren’t sure where we’d stop but figured we’d know it when we saw it! We passed some fast food joints and some chain restaurants but they didn’t pull us in. Driving through a residential section we saw our spot. A couple tables outside a store on a street lined with trees grabbed our eyes. Located near a traffic light, with cross streets paved with bricks, a couple people sat at one of the tables, the others were empty. We pulled over, we had found our spot!

                The establishment was called The 3^rd Street Deli. I got a Ruben and Ann Marie got a grain bowl. We both had a cookie and a cup of fresh brewed coffee to go along with our meals. We sat at a table on the sidewalk and watched traffic go by as we enjoyed what was served us. The traffic was infrequent and was hardly ever intrusive. We watched painters work on a building across the street and soaked in the fresh air. It was a day meant for eating outside!

                Our appetites sated and happy with our pick, we returned to the car and headed away from the river. We followed well paved roads bending and twisting around the hills and swells. We passed through communities that often were nothing more than an intersection and a few houses.

                Coming into Vinton County, Ohio’s least populated county, we turned south and drove into The Lake Hope State Park. A few miles further, the road got smaller and eventually the pavement ended.  A small gravel pull off was our end point.  From here we progressed by foot. The path followed alongside Raccoon Creek.  A short walk brought us to where the railroad used to be, now a bike trail. The town of Moonville used to sit below the tracks.

                The town was built in the middle of the 1800’s. At its peak there were about 100 miners and their families living here. When it was first built, the only way in or out of town was by the railroad. The last person living here left in 1947. By the 60’s everything was gone except some foundations stones, a graveyard and the near-by RR tunnel.

                The stories dealing with this “town” involve ghosts. The first and best known tale involves a train engineer who was killed when he ran his train into another one coming in the opposite direction. He didn’t see the light of the approaching train. Ever since the accident, people have seen him walking the tracks near the tunnel carrying a large bright light!

                Another story involves a brakeman who had a bit too much to drink and fell off the last car of a train. He supposedly died a horrible death on the tracks and his ghost is often seen in the tunnel, carrying a lantern. People claim to have his image appear in photos they took there!

                One more is of an old, thin lady who appears walking along the trail into the town. She falls and then disappears before she hits the ground. No one knows who this woman might be but there is often a strong smell of lavender after she disappears, hence her name, The Lavender Lady!

                Rummaging around in the weeds we found some of the foundation stones and a shallow well but not much more. Since it was in the afternoon, we didn’t see any ghosts.

                A few miles away in Lake Hope State Park are the remains of the Hope Iron Furnace. This spot is also a ghost town. The stone stack of the furnace and a few stone walls are all that is left of this community. All the houses, schools, stores and support buildings are gone now. There were 300 or so people who lived and worked here from 1854 to 1874, twenty years. This area has a ghost also!

                A night watchman was making his rounds on a stormy night and he slipped and fell into a vat of molten iron. To this day, should you want to believe it, he can be seen walking around the furnace on stormy nights. 

                After visiting the furnace we headed back towards home. The sun was getting low in the sky, the trees were all crowned with golden light and the bottoms were in the shadows of the coming night. Eventually we left Ohio’s back roads and got onto Rt.70 and sped towards Pittsburgh.  We arrived back at my house around 9:30, a little more than 12 hours after we left.

                What a nice day! A good deal of it was spent with the windows down and the fresh air blowing through our hair. The scenery we passed was great, colored with the hues of fall. Both of us slept well after our “short” trip!