Stage coaches ran over the old Hamburg Road and several of these had been held up.
A stranger who was traveling through disappeared, and legend has it that he was murdered and his remains were buried near the site of the old Clarksburg school house, although the body was never found.
As a result the old original school house was said to have been haunted and neighbors frequently heard strange sounds coming from the building resembling the tramp of horses on the floor. On numerous occasions the bell would toll lightly in the middle of the night and it was no secret that strange and unaccountable happenings were taking place.
A very highly respected gentlemen with his wife and son were walking home from Lancaster one night, and a large black dog said to be as large as a full grown steer followed them for some distance as they arrived in front of the school house.
So frightened was the family that they were afraid to speak. Suddenly the large dog disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. They then began talking, each wanting to know whether or not the others had seen the strange sight. All had seen it and to their dying day their story could not be shaken.
The writer, as a young chap, knew the old man who was the boy, along with the father and mother, who had seen the strange apparition. He told me the story a number of times and seemed much offended if anyone showed signs of not believing him.
This story was obtained by a manuscript given to me by a family member, and the source of the story is unknown. Hamburg Road runs Southwest out of Lancaster for around 10 to 12 miles until it intersects with State Route 159. I cannot find any reference to Clarksburg along its length. As a matter of fact the only Clarksburg I can find in the entire state is in Ross County just to the Southwest of Circleville. It's possible that the name of "Clarksburg" is a mistake, or that the story was transplanted from Ross to Fairfield County. Its still a great story, but if anyone can help with the actual location please e-mail me at
Several people have been kind enough to write and claim that they have elders that remember that there was a road or small group of homes somewhere off of Boving Road which intersects Hamburg Road called Clarksburg or Clarksburg Lane. One writer desrcibes her Grandparents as remebering the old school house which later became a someones home being haunted. Candles or lights would be seen in the windows when no one was home.
This post, including photos and commentary, originally appeared on on James A Sheets' site.
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