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3.0
1 votes

The Emmitt House (Burned down)

123 North Market Street, Waverly City, Ohio 45690 USA

  • Independent
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“A rich history, with a dark side”

UPDATE: This building was lost in a massive blaze on January 6, 2014. The Emmitt House was built as a hotel in 1861 by the prominent entrepreneur James Emmitt in anticipation of his greatest political achievement – the transfer of the county seat from Piketon to Waverly.  Waverly was located along the route of the Ohio Erie Canal, which was completed in 1832. Emmitt began building his new hotel, a structure he expected would be as fine as any along the canal.  Since Mr. Emmitt’s death in 1893, the Emmitt house has changed hands several times. In July of 2012, a routine paranormal investigation that occurred at the Emmitt House uncovered a cache of bones in the basement that resulted in a police investigation. Many have since attributed these remains to some of the common paranormal anomalies that occur in the spooky building, making it a prime location for ghost hunters to seek evidence of the afterlife. The City of Waverly was founded in 1829 along the Ohio-Erie Canal which ran for more than 300 miles connecting Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Originally called Union, a name claimed by several other Ohio communities, the name of Waverly was suggested by an engineer on the Ohio-Erie Canal, Francis Cleveland. Cleveland had been reading Sir Walter Scott’s Waverly Novels. ​ Waverly’s growth was closely tied to commerce on the canal, and James Emmitt, the town’s first entrepreneur, made most of his fortune from canal activities. He first hauled grain on the canal. Then he built a grain mill, followed by a distillery to make whiskey. Emmitt added other businesses as well as many acres of farmlands. In the 1850′s he claimed to be the Scioto Valley’s first millionaire, reportedly was Pike County’s largest taxpayer and was said to employ half the men in Waverly. Perhaps Emmitt’s most lasting achievement was a successful campaign from 1859 to 1861 to move the Pike County Court house from Piketon to Waverly. In later years, railroads destroyed canals in Ohio and the Federal Government taxed the smaller distilleries out of business. Emmitt’s influence remains today in several of the town’s historic buildings including his hotel the Emmitt House and Emmitt Avenue, the main street.

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Reviewed by
James Fisher

  • Road Warrior
  • 534 Reviews
  • 491 Helpful
June 20, 2014
Rated 3.0

What a huge bummer this place was lost! :(

1 person found this review helpful

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The Emmitt House (Burned down)

123 North Market Street
Waverly City, Ohio
45690 USA
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