The 1896 Pleasant Valley Rose Family Tragedy
4050 Bromfield Road (Malabar Farm State Park), Lucas, OH 44843
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Malabar Farm State Park grounds are free; some interpretive programs and farm tours have fees.
Access
Limited Access
Rural state park; the Rose House is a short walk along a farm road
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1880 · Ohio True Crime History · Louis Bromfield's Malabar Farm · Ohio State Park
In the spring of 1896, 23-year-old Celia 'Ceely' Rose was living with her family in Pleasant Valley, Ohio, near present-day Lucas in Richland County. Contemporary accounts and modern historians, including Mark Sebastian Jordan in The Ceely Rose Murders at Malabar Farm, describe Ceely as having significant intellectual and developmental disabilities and an attachment to a young man named Guy Berry that her family discouraged.
Using the household pesticide Rough-on-Rats, Ceely poisoned her father and brother, both of whom died. An initial inquest produced no charges. She subsequently administered a second dose to her mother Rebecca, which proved fatal. Ceely confessed to a friend on the steps of Pleasant Valley Lutheran Church, and the case proceeded to trial. The court found her not guilty by reason of insanity, and she was committed to a state hospital where she remained until her death at age 61.
The Rose family house survives. The surrounding land eventually became Malabar Farm, the estate of Louis Bromfield, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and conservationist. Malabar Farm is now a 920-acre Ohio state park administered by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and the Malabar Farm Foundation presents an annual outdoor drama based on the Ceely Rose case.
Sources
Visitor reports at Malabar Farm State Park describe phenomena particularly associated with the Rose House and the path to Pleasant Valley Cemetery. The Rose family graves are within sight of the house, and walkers along the connecting path have reported a strong sense of presence. Inside the Rose House itself, staff and visitors have described cold spots and the figure of a young woman seen near windows.
The Malabar Farm Foundation's annual outdoor drama based on the case has framed Ceely Rose's story as a community memory rather than as a sensational haunting. The combination of state park interpretation, published historical research, and the surviving physical structure makes this one of Ohio's most contextually documented true-crime ghost sites.
Notable Entities
Walk the state park trail to the surviving Rose family house. Pair with the Malabar Farm Big House (Louis Bromfield's residence), Pleasant Valley Cemetery, and the seasonal Ceely Rose outdoor drama on the state park calendar.
Each summer, the Malabar Farm Foundation presents an outdoor dramatization of the Ceely Rose story on the property. Check the foundation calendar for current dates and tickets.
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