Prospect Place
Encyclopedia
Trinway, Ohio
Trinway is an unincorporated community in northern Cass Township, Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, in the east-central part of the state. The village is 52 miles east of the state capital of Columbus and near the town of Dresden...
, just north of Dresden
Dresden, Ohio
Dresden is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River at the mouth of Wakatomika Creek. It was incorporated on March 9, 1835...
in 1856. Today, it is the home of the non-profit G. W. Adams Educational Center, Inc. The mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and the Ohio Underground Railroad Association's list of Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
sites.
This home featured many new and, for the time, revolutionary innovations. It had indoor plumbing which included a copper tank cistern
Cistern
A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
on the second floor which pressurized water throughout the house. Two coal stoves had copper tanks (under pressure from the cistern system) which heated water and allowed the home to have both hot and cold running water service.
This is the second house to stand on the same foundation. The first house was destroyed by an arson-related fire shortly after its completion. The mansion was rebuilt after the fire, with modern fire stopping added to it. The interior walls of the current house are solid brick, and there is a two-inch layer of mortar between the first and second floors of the house to block fire.
Prospect Place also featured a unique refrigeration system to cool milk, cheese, butter, etc. A primitive form of "air conditioning" was created by bringing cool basement air into the living quarters during the summer months via ducts in the outside walls.
George Willison Adams
Born in Fauquier County, VirginiaFauquier County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 55,139 people, 19,842 households, and 15,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 21,046 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
, in 1799 to George Beal Adams and his wife Anna Turner, George Willison Adams (or G.W. as he was called) was one of thirteen children. His father was a plantation owner who gave up his land and home to move away from the slaveholding South. The family migrated to southeastern Ohio in 1808, freed their slaves and settled in Madison Township, Muskingum County near the town of Dresden, Ohio
Dresden, Ohio
Dresden is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River at the mouth of Wakatomika Creek. It was incorporated on March 9, 1835...
.
Like his father, G. W. Adams became a strong abolitionist. He and his brother, Edward, ran an Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
"station" from their mill at what later became known as Adams Mills, Ohio
Adams Mills, Ohio
Adams Mills is a small unincorporated community in northeastern Cass Township, Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located on State Route 16 four miles northeast of Dresden...
.
G. W. Adams was once a member of the Ohio General Assembly
Ohio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...
and worked with John Augustus Roebling to build a bridge across the Muskingum River
Muskingum River
The Muskingum River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 111 miles long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio...
near Dresden.
Later in life, Adams was the President of the Steubenville and Indiana Railroad. He directed construction of the Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley Railroad
Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley Railroad
Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley Railroad is a railway line which ran from Trinway, Ohio, to Cincinnati, Ohio, and connected with the Stuebenville and Indiana Railway at Trinway. Built in 1866 by George Willison Adams this railway was in operation until the 1970s. After the 1950s the line no...
. His land holdings totaled 14500 acres (59 km²) with the Prospect Place Mansion in the center of his plantation.
G. W. Adams was an important figure in Ohio politics, the Underground Railroad and regional development of the southeastern Ohio area. His importance in these areas was a criterion used to include the Prospect Place Mansion on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
G. W. Adams was married twice. He married Clarissa Hopkins Shaff (1824 - 1853) in 1845. They had four children together - Edward Adams, Anna T. Adams Cox, Mary Adams and Elizabeth Adams Endicott. After the death of his first wife, he married Mary Jane Robinson (1832 - 1915) in 1855. They had six children together - Sophia Adams, James R. Adams, John J. Adams, Charles W. Adams, Jessie Adams Huggins and Florence Adams. G. W. Adams died on August 31, 1879 at the age of 79. He is buried in Dresden Cemetery in Dresden, Muskingum County, Ohio.
Underground Railroad operation
The Underground RailroadUnderground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
operation conducted by G. W. Adams and his brother, Edward, was a huge undertaking. The brothers operated a flouring mill on the Ohio and Erie Canal
Ohio and Erie Canal
The Ohio Canal or Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed in the 1820s and early 1830s. It connected Akron, Summit County, with the Cuyahoga River near its mouth on Lake Erie in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Scioto County, and then...
and owned warehouses, a boat yard and cooper shops in Dresden, Ohio
Dresden, Ohio
Dresden is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River at the mouth of Wakatomika Creek. It was incorporated on March 9, 1835...
. When men from the Adams company would take flour to New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, they would return with refugees (runaway slaves) beneath the decks of their boats.
Recent history
The mansion passed through the Adams-Cox family to George Cox, a grandson of G. W. Adams, who owned the property until the 1960s. In 1969 the home was sold to a distant relative of George Cox, Eugene Cox. Eugene operated a gravel mining company, the Cox Gravel Company, which proceeded to mine the remaining 275 acres (1.1 km²) associated with the estate. Cox's wife Peggy convinced him to purchase the Edward Adams home in Adams Mills, OhioAdams Mills, Ohio
Adams Mills is a small unincorporated community in northeastern Cass Township, Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located on State Route 16 four miles northeast of Dresden...
, as well. The Cox family lived at the Adams Mills home until Eugene's death in the 1990s.
While the Cox Gravel Company owned the Prospect Place mansion, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The deterioration of the mansion increased due to lack of maintenance and vandalism. The interior of the building was all but gutted by thieves and vandals. The estate was scheduled to be demolished in 1988. Local businessman Dave Longaberger
Dave Longaberger
David H. "Dave" Longaberger was an American businessman who founded the Longaberger Company, makers of handcrafted maple wood baskets and accessories. Dave has two daughters, Tami Longaberger, who is CEO of the Longaberger Company, and Rachel Longaberger Stukey, President of the Longaberger...
purchased the house to prevent its destruction.
Dave Longaberger installed a new roof on the structure and increased security with the intention of restoring the home as a future Longaberger Company headquarters building. Upon choosing to construct the current headquarters of the Longaberger Basket Company in Newark, Ohio
Newark, Ohio
In addition, the remains of a road leading south from the Octagon have been documented and explored. It was first surveyed in the 19th century, when its walls were more apparent. Called the Great Hopewell Road, it may extend to the Hopewell complex at Chillicothe, Ohio...
, he placed the mansion restoration project on hold.
Dave Longaberger died of cancer in the 1990s. The Longaberger Company continued to maintain security on the property until 2001 when the great-great-grandson of G. W. Adams and Longaberger relative, George J. Adams, purchased the home with the goal of finishing the restoration.
George J. Adams had investors for the project, to include adaptive reuse with a restaurant in the building. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the investors backed out.
Adams created a non-profit, the G. W. Adams Education Center, Inc., which has owned the building since 2005. The educational center has continued the restoration.
The building is allegedly haunted and was featured in an episode of Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on October 6, 2004, on Syfy . The program features paranormal investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson who investigate places that are reported to be haunted. The two originally worked as plumbers for Roto-Rooter as...
on the SyFy Channel in April 2008. It was also featured on Ghost Adventures
Ghost Adventures
Ghost Adventures is a weekly American paranormal television series that premiered on October 17, 2008 on the Travel Channel. Currently produced by MY-Tupelo Entertainment , the program follows and stars ghost hunters Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, and Aaron Goodwin, as they investigate locations that are...
on the Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
on January 1st, 2010.
G. W. Adams Educational Center
Currently headquartered at Prospect Place Mansion, the G. W. Adams Educational Center, Inc., was founded in 2003 by George Jeffrey Adams, a descendant of G.W. Adams. The center operates as a historical and educational resource center for the southeastern OhioOhio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
area. The primary focus of the center is the history of the mansion, restoration of the estate, and providing educational activities and seminars which relate to the 19th century Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
and Civil Rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
in America.
See also
- George W. Adams HouseGeorge W. Adams HouseGeorge W. Adams House is a registered historic building near Trinway, Ohio, listed in the National Register on 1979-11-29.- References :...
, built 1842, located south of Trinway on Bottom Road, also on the National Register