iNVESTIGATION mARCH 2011
Punderson Manor
11755 Kinsman Road
Newbury, Ohio 44065
11755 Kinsman Road
Newbury, Ohio 44065
Punderson is named for Lemuel Punderson, who in 1802 settled here with his wife Sybal Hickox.
The lodge, originally built as a 29 room home sits on the shores of Punderson Lake in Punderson State Park.
The park’s namesake died under mysterious circumstances, with rumors of
Lemuel Punderson committing suicide by drifting into the lake in a bathtube,
pulling the plug and drowning; no one knows really what happened to Sybal. The property then transferred hands and ended up with Karl Long. Construction of what is now Punderson Manor began in 1929.
However, Long soon lost his fortune in the Great Depression and wasunable to finish the project.
Some say Long killed himself in the Manor.
Punderson had undergone a couple of renovations, in which a new wing was added, and wasopened to the public in 1982. During the late 70’s talk of haunting and other strange occurrences started to surface. There are not clear answers as to who the identities of the apparitions may be.
Research has turned up some facts that tent to lend credibility to some accounts. Nearby the estate was
the Josh Burnett Tavern, which was a popular drinking hole until it burned mysteriously in 1885. Some saychildren died in the fire. In1977, a teenage African American girl drowned in Lake Punderson.
Some have seen a young black women, emerge from the dark waters of
Punderson Lake, walk a few yards and disappear. There are reports of a bearded man in
shabby clothes standing at the foot of guest’s beds before disappearing. An apparition of a woman in a long
dress blue-grey dress with a bonnet was seen and heard laughing on the staircase. Some witnessed an
apparition of a man in lumberjack clothing hung by his neck from a rope in the
rafters, slowly rotating in the dining room. Many believe this was the spirit of
Karl Long.
The lodge, originally built as a 29 room home sits on the shores of Punderson Lake in Punderson State Park.
The park’s namesake died under mysterious circumstances, with rumors of
Lemuel Punderson committing suicide by drifting into the lake in a bathtube,
pulling the plug and drowning; no one knows really what happened to Sybal. The property then transferred hands and ended up with Karl Long. Construction of what is now Punderson Manor began in 1929.
However, Long soon lost his fortune in the Great Depression and wasunable to finish the project.
Some say Long killed himself in the Manor.
Punderson had undergone a couple of renovations, in which a new wing was added, and wasopened to the public in 1982. During the late 70’s talk of haunting and other strange occurrences started to surface. There are not clear answers as to who the identities of the apparitions may be.
Research has turned up some facts that tent to lend credibility to some accounts. Nearby the estate was
the Josh Burnett Tavern, which was a popular drinking hole until it burned mysteriously in 1885. Some saychildren died in the fire. In1977, a teenage African American girl drowned in Lake Punderson.
Some have seen a young black women, emerge from the dark waters of
Punderson Lake, walk a few yards and disappear. There are reports of a bearded man in
shabby clothes standing at the foot of guest’s beds before disappearing. An apparition of a woman in a long
dress blue-grey dress with a bonnet was seen and heard laughing on the staircase. Some witnessed an
apparition of a man in lumberjack clothing hung by his neck from a rope in the
rafters, slowly rotating in the dining room. Many believe this was the spirit of
Karl Long.
NOPSS Team personal experiences: two team members reported seeing an un explained light move across the room ( we caught it on tape but it is recorded on Hi8 and we don't have the ability to post it at this time), someone we know reported an icy hand awakening him from sleep, another aquaintence reported that he felt his arm being held down while he was in bed.