Ohio is well known for its ghost towns. Most of them were situated around the railroad or mining industry. After the company built the houses for its employees, they suddenly let the mines run dry and the railroad was not necessary anymore. Sometimes the company left the little towns with nothing behind. This is the reason some little towns from Ohio turned into ghost towns. Some of them have a special history, such as Mt. Nebo.
The town of Mt. Nebo was mainly known for the Spiritualists who used to live in the area. The area that surrounded Ohio was full of wild animals and lightly populated by humans. Even if in the early 1800s the region was not highly inhabited, some people interested in mysticism lived there. Spiritualism was a mainstream and raising in popularity during this period of the American History.
The most known man in Mt. Nebo was Jonathon Koons, a devout atheist. He moved in the district in order to draw attention to the fake spiritualists that were living in the area but he soon found out that he believed in the words of a young girl that claimed to be connected to the other world. She pretended that she would ask questions and that she received some answers by tapping on the table. History has demonstrated since then that all these claims of numerous persons were definitely works of charlatans.
Jonathon Koons remained a believer and soon he began to claim that spirits were appearing in his home as well and he ordered the members of his family to strictly follow his actions. The alleged spirits asked him and his family to build a table in order to use it in communication with them through ghostly writing. Koons soon discovered that his oldest son and wife poses the same powers he had. The man pretended that he was holding a pen in his hand and the spirits would work through his hand to write their own words.
The spirits also convinced the family to build the Spirit Room, a cabin for their own private use. Koons had said that all the details of the room were inspired by the words dictated by the spirits. They would remain there after the family went to sleep and continued their ghostly work through the night.
Soon enough, the Koons family was famous all over the country. People were coming in pilgrimage and the locals become upset by the flocks of persons that were wandering into the town. The Koons family farm was burnt down and their children were attacked eventually by others in the are tired of the supernatural occurneces. After a period of prosecution, they decided to leave Mt. Nebo and went away to spread the word about the spirits in other places.
The legend of this family is still remember these days. when the cabin was still standing visitors would come from all over the world in order to experience their talents. When in Mt. Nebo, many people claimed that they felt ghostly hands on their skin, whispers in their ears and some instruments floating over their heads that were being played by the spirits. Some of them reported translucent hands that were writing messages at an extreme fast speed as well.
Not sure if I am related to this family but I have many relatives that come from Ohio and my grandmother was from Pennsylvania. My father was Ron Koons and his twin brother’s name was Donald Koons. My grandmother had 9 children. Her oldest Marcus Koons would die in a accident when he was thrown from his truck and a safety bar that held in his motorbike came loose and pierced his chest (this is the story us children were told) Marcus Koons was named after his father, my grandfather. My uncle had a son called Marcus as well.
The next child my grandmother would loose was her youngest by her second husband, my uncle William, but everyone called him Billy Boy. At 17 while hunting on his motorbike his gun would accidentally go off and shoot him in the head. Again, this is what us younger children were told years later when we questioned this tragic death.He lived for a few days afterwards I believe but died in the end.
A few years later when I was a teen the next death would be my dad’ s twin brother my uncle Donny who would die in a car accident when another construction vehicle went through the windshield and killed him and his passenger. That one my father woke up screaming early one morning the day his twin died.
The next ones my grandmother would loose would be her favorite son, my uncle Joe…Joseph Koons and her youngest daughter my aunt who was in her 30’s I believe. My half aunt, his half sister from my grandmother’s second marriage would walk down to my uncle’s home from my grandmother’s home where my aunt lived and would get one of my grandmother’s guns and walk to her brother’s home and into his room where he was sleeping and murder him then herself. That home was torn down after the murder/suicide happened and no one leaves on that land now.
The last tragic death was my father. He would always come to me as a child and tell me he had nightmares of falling off a building and seeing himself dead, never waking before the fall. My father died a few years ago when he fell off a roof and broke his neck.
For years people would go to my grandma because she “Knew things” and there were other people in my family that had that special intuition. My father as well as my grandmother always warned the younger generation to never go to places of darkness. They became very religious, most of us did, including me. I don’t know if my family is related to the Koons from Ohio but it is the area they are from.
Most of us younger children in our family (I have over twenty cousins) believe our family is cursed, there are many more details to our family history but we all stay quiet and hide those ugly things. I listened to my dad as a little girl and I don’t mess around with stuff like that. There are scary stories like this all over the world.
Hello. My name is Donna Allison, born and raised in the old house at Mt. Nebo. Heard lots of tales in my 74 years, but never seen any ghosts. The only Spirit I’ve ever felt was the Holy Spirit of the Almighty God. He still watches over the property today.
Is there anywhere I can camp here? Or does anyone know anywhere haunted in Ohio I can set up a tent for 1 night?
My family owns this property. I remember staying here as a kid sleeping under the stars
Hi Joy, Thank you so much for your nice comments. I had a wonderful time researching the story of Jonathan and Abigail Koons. It’s always a pleasure to meet one of their descendants! If you have any family stories about them that I might have missed, I would love to hear about them.
Hi Joy, Thank you so much for your nice comments. I had a wonderful time researching the story of Jonathan and Abigail Koons. It’s always a pleasure to meet one of their descendants! If you have any family stories about them that I have missed, I would love to hear about them.
I just wanted to thank Sharon Hatfield for writing this book. Jonathan Koons was my 3rd great grandfather. His daughter Quintilla Almira Koons married Alvis Rude Taylor and they had a daughter by the Nancy Abigail Taylor. Their daughter Nancy married Charles Wyrick who were my grandmother’s parents. I found this book very interesting and it also confirmed some of the family stories that I had heard from a few family members. It was such a pleasure reading the book with all the stories not only about Jonathan but also about the family. Also the book was very helpful in filling in some gaps within my family tree. Thank you so much Sharon for your years of research and gathering all this information into a book. It was truly a pleasure reading your book.
Hi Joy, Thank you so much for your nice comments. I had a wonderful time researching the story of Jonathan and Abigail Koons. It’s always a pleasure to meet one of their descendants! If you have any family stories about them that I have missed, I would love to hear about them.
No. There is no direct relationship between your Dora Koons and Melvyn Koons to Jonathan Koons and his son Nahum Koons.
My name is Mark. My grandfather Clyde Rutter bought the area known as Mt Nebo around 1930 and my relatives still live there. I do believe that a lot of Sand Ridge probably was known as Mt Nebo back in the day. The old house where my grandparents raised a over a dozen kids but has been empty for years. There is a lot of folklore surrounding Nebo for many years. There was a lot of activity going on up there in the late 70’s and 80’s because I was there. I think most was due to the numerous family graveyards in the area. Ie,see W E Peters and an English professor from OU. Professor E was a devout follower of the poet William Blake. I’ve seen the remains of ritual fires up on the hill but nothing supernatural. But my Grandpa was killed on Halloween night!
Just wanted to let everyone know that I have finished Enchanted Ground, a nonfiction book about Jonathan Koons, which will be published in late October. I will be reading from the book at the Southeast Ohio History Center in Athens (the former church building at 24 West State Street) on October 31, 2018, at 5 p.m. This event is free, so if you would like to discuss the fascinating story of Koons and his family, as well as that of the Tippies, I hope to see you there! Here is a link that tells more about the book.
https://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Enchanted+Ground
My husband is a Koons from Athens County , his mother is still living his father passed away 4 years ago, Melvyn Gregory Koons. His family lived in Millfield while growing up and in his teen years moved to Jacksonville Ohio. I am wondering if he is realated to this original Koons family? His father was Melvyn Koons, he and is wife had 3 sons, my late father in law, and then William Koons and John Koons, whom both are still living and still in the area.
I have recently read a great book called “Chauncey’s Blood” that mentions Mt. Nebo and the instruments. Very interesting how many of these family names are still right here in our area. And our local war heroes.
My family owns the property that the Koons family cemetery is on. It has Filenia and George S Koons graves in a small cemetery along with some smaller grave markers with only initials on them. All of the stones have since fallen but they are still here. I believe that the place now known as Mount Nebo (pictured in this article) was much larger in the mid 1800s and is what all of Sand Ridge was known as. The graves could be seen from the Koons’ home and the Spirit Room was built between the grave of Filenia and the house that the Koons lived in so it had to be on my families property and not the place pictured above. That place is about a half mile up the road. There is still an old house on the property but the cabin (Spirit Room) was burned down by the angry neighbors. I don’t know if the house was the original home of the Koons family but if it isn’t I’d almost bet that the old stones that the house is built on is the original foundation of the home. There is a book that was written about the Spirit Room and the Koons family and here is a link to it… http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16007coll17/id/4 I’ve done a lot of research on the family and the Spirit Room, I find it very interesting that the property that I grew up on was such a spiritual place. I have searched for years for a map of where the spirit room may have been but can’t find one. Where the house is now (and I believe the Spirit Room was) used to be the main road up on the ridge from Chauncey but is no more than a cow path now and the main road up here is McDougal Rd. I have also added a link to the pictures that I took of the headstones in the Koons Family Cemetery.
I am a direct descendant of Jonathan Koons. He is my Great, Great Grandfather. I have always heard rumors of this stuff but never really saw any proof until now.
I hope my neighbors don’t hear of this and burn me out. I’m not a warlock or witch.
🙂
Jonathan Koons wasn’t a witch or warlock either. He was a spiritualist.
Other family members say we are related to this family but for some reason they will no longer talk about things that happened there.
I am looking for more info on my family. My name is Dave Kuhn. Our family name was changed in 1935 by Dora Koon because she did not like what our name was associated with. This is all the info I have. Our family history goes back to my great grand-father William Koon which was born in 1858 and died in 1930. I can’t help but think he was one of the children. All my family knows about him is that he came from some place out west.
Dave,
Jonathan Koons had a younger brother named William, born around 1818. Perhaps your great grandfather is William’s son or nephew. Many members of the Koons family moved to Athens County from Bedford, Pennsylvania, in the 1830s. There is a beautiful old cemetery beside the Concord Church in Ames Township where William Koons is buried. Hope this helps.
I need to correct my post above. After studying this further I think William Koons was Jonathan’s nephew not his brother. The William Koon that died in 1930 was a later one.
Mt. Nebo is the tallest point in Athens county
I know sombody that lived down the road from here her Names Morgan Sorrell And Kroy Sorrell My 2 step sisters
its off mcdougle rd near millfield. I grew up in millfield and it is a very old town. theres many haunted places in millfield. the property of my parents has been in the family for 7 generations.
It’s on private property and the spirit room is not longer there. It’s simply just a wooded area now. However if you search for it on Google maps you can get a good idea of the location. https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Mt.+Nebo+athens+ohio&ie=UTF-8&ei=ccsBUKnQI5TRqAHR-52xDA&ved=0CEMQ_AUoAg
Hi, I was wondering how to get to Mt. Nebo, the site where the old spirit room used to be?