Back in the beginning of October 2016 we stopped by a place I wanted to photograph on what I thought was going to be a quiet Sunday morning. At about 11 am we rolled into an area of south/central Ohio once known as Moonville. Now if you are interested in history or fascinated by things that go bump in the night I am sure you have heard of the Moonville Tunnel. I was excited as we arrived in the area and hoping to grab some quick images and be on our way –that is not what happened.
I was sad to see as we pulled up quite a few people milling about- not exactly my expectations for this photography jaunt. We were here and I was bound and determined to still get my images so we casually walked up to see what was going on, much to our surprise it was a dedication of the Neal Shaw Memorial Bridge. The ceremony was a very nice one and it was great to see people so passionate about the Moonville Rail Trail. Apparently Mr. Shaw had worked diligently to see this project come to fruition only to pass away before the bridge was completed.
There is quite a bit of folklore that surrounds this tunnel, who the ghosts are, why they died –lots of rumors and stories. Some stories state the ghost is Frank Lawhead an engineer that was killed in a head on train vs. train collision in 1880. We did not see a ghostly figure carrying a lantern-just a few orbs and some unexplained glare and focusing problems. There were also a few odd unexplained noises in the tunnel itself, otherwise the trip was uneventful. The only thing left of the town we could see were some old telegraph poles. I look forward to heading back to Moonville to really explore this area, maybe find some old foundations and the cemetery. It is hard to believe that nestled in the middle of nowhere was a bustling little coal town. Maybe I can convince Mr. Trent to head back down in early Spring.
I was sad to see as we pulled up quite a few people milling about- not exactly my expectations for this photography jaunt. We were here and I was bound and determined to still get my images so we casually walked up to see what was going on, much to our surprise it was a dedication of the Neal Shaw Memorial Bridge. The ceremony was a very nice one and it was great to see people so passionate about the Moonville Rail Trail. Apparently Mr. Shaw had worked diligently to see this project come to fruition only to pass away before the bridge was completed.
There is quite a bit of folklore that surrounds this tunnel, who the ghosts are, why they died –lots of rumors and stories. Some stories state the ghost is Frank Lawhead an engineer that was killed in a head on train vs. train collision in 1880. We did not see a ghostly figure carrying a lantern-just a few orbs and some unexplained glare and focusing problems. There were also a few odd unexplained noises in the tunnel itself, otherwise the trip was uneventful. The only thing left of the town we could see were some old telegraph poles. I look forward to heading back to Moonville to really explore this area, maybe find some old foundations and the cemetery. It is hard to believe that nestled in the middle of nowhere was a bustling little coal town. Maybe I can convince Mr. Trent to head back down in early Spring.
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