As you travel along US 30 Thru East Liverpool Ohio you will see a sign for Beaver Creek State Park It a great place to learn history and also learn about the Sandy and Beaver Lock & Canal System which ran thru the park . While the main part of the park is fascinating to see with its Recreated and Original Structures there is a smaller less known part of the park known as Gretchen Lock. just down the road from where Pretty Boy Floyd was captured and killed by law enforcement .
This lock part of which still remains in Spruceville Ohio on Echo dell Road has a very sad and haunting story to it.
Named after Gretchen Gill whose father was one of the engineers who helped design the system of locks and canals
https://www.carnegie.lib.oh.us/gretchen
The story goes that Mr Gill his wife and daughter traveled from Europe to America and along the way he lost his wife who was buried at sea .
While the lock was being built Gretchen would soon pass from Malaria and was buried in coffin inside the lock stone walls .
In 1837 Mr. Gill resigned from the project due to financial panic going on in the states and returned to Europe accompanied by his daughters corpse after removing it from the lock.
Unfortunately a severe storm took the voyage of him and his daughter the the deep depths of the sea
when the boat they where sailing on floundered. It was after this happened it was said that on Gretchen's Birthday she would come back to haunt the lock and area .
Those who have seen her report a young girl in a white dress some times crying.
After hiking back to the lock a little over a mile from parking lot it is in deed beautiful as it is haunting
Supposedly work crews in the park have been scared to work around the lock itself and in the summer time there is a annual Gretchen Lock Fest open to the public. where you can hike back tour the lock and hear the ghostly stories
This years Gretchen Fest will be Saturday August 9th 2 to 10 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment