Madison Seminary

Madison Seminary is a historic building in Madison, Ohio. Currently in private ownership, it previously functioned as a school, hospital, and as housing for the families of those killed in the American Civil War.[2] It currently has notoriety as one of the most supposedly haunted places in Ohio.[3]

Madison Seminary
Picture of Madison Seminary and Home
Former namesHome of the Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Their Wives, Mothers, Widows, and Army Nurses
Opportunity Village
General information
StatusOperating
ClassificationSchool (1847 - 1851)
Charitable Housing (1851 - June 30, 1962)
Hospital
Prison[1]
Address6769 Middle Ridge Road
Town or cityMadison, Ohio
CountryUSA
Coordinates41.7904657°N 81.0477669°W / 41.7904657; -81.0477669
Current tenantsThe Mad Project LLC
Completed1847
Known forHauntings
Website
www.madisonseminary.com
Madison Seminary and Home
NRHP reference No.79001871
Added to NRHPFebruary 22, 1979

In 1891, the building was purchased by the women's branch of the Grand Army of the Republic, and housed veteran nurses and female family members of fallen soldiers, for whom no provisions had been made following the defeat of the confederacy.[1][2] The Women's Relief Corps, as they were known, built the western section of the building.[1] The building was then donated to the state of Ohio when they could no longer afford its upkeep.[2]

On June 30, 1962, the Ohio Department of Mental Hygiene and Corrections took over ownership of the building and evicted the civil war widows still living at the property.[1][2] The now prison was called Opportunity Village, wherae female prisoners helped care for developmentally disabled or senile women from nearby hospitals. This project was shelved in 1975 when the county bought the property.[1]

The property passed into private ownership in 1993, and remains on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]

Supposed Hauntings

After the building fell into disuse, rumors began to spread that the property was haunted.[2] The initial ad placed by the city when they sold Madison Seminary read: May Be Haunted.[1] Since then the building has been the sight of numerous ghost hunts and has featured on Destination Fear[4] and Most Terrifying Places in America.[5]

Ghost hunters have reported receiving mysterious wounds from apparitions.[6] Two frequently named ghosts are 'Steven', supposedly a child who went to live at the home with his mother after the civil war, and Elizabeth Stiles, a spy for the north who died at the home in 1898.[2][6]

References
  1. Terry, Shelley (October 15, 2014). "'One of Ohio's Most Haunted Places'". Star Beacon. Ashtabula, Ohio.
  2. Michaels, Stephanie (April 13, 2018), The Madison Home: From a Grand Army to Ghosts, Ohio Memory, retrieved November 6, 2020CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. "Madison Seminary might not be open for Halloween season". Star Beacon. Ashtabula, Ohio. September 19, 2017.
  4. "Madison Seminary" at IMDb
  5. "Restless Dead" at IMDb
  6. Terry, Shelley (October 21, 2014). "Ghost hunters say they heard voices in Madison Seminary". Star Beacon. Ashtabula, Ohio.
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