English Tudor Mansion in Ohio's Haunted State Park
11755 Kinsman Rd, Newbury Township, OH 44065
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Overnight room rates vary; contact 440-564-9144 or book online. Call 1-800-282-7275 (1-800-ATAPARK) for state park reservations.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Formal manor with both accessible and staired areas; state park grounds accessible on paved paths
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1929 · Ohio State Parks · English Tudor Architecture · Ohio Pioneer History
Lemuel Punderson traveled from Connecticut to settle in what is now Newbury Township, Ohio, establishing himself on the land around 1806 — historical sources differ between 1802 and 1806 on the specific arrival year. He died in 1822 from complications that records list as malaria. Local oral tradition adds that Punderson may have drowned in the pond that now bears his name, though this account lacks documentary support.
The land changed hands repeatedly through the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1925, Karl Long began construction of a substantial 43-room English Tudor mansion on the property, completing it in 1929. The structure's stone construction, formal gardens, and lakeside setting were characteristic of the Gilded Age estate aesthetic applied to northern Ohio.
Ohio acquired the property and established Punderson State Park around the lake and surrounding woodlands. The manor operates today as a state park lodge managed by Xanterra Parks & Resorts, offering 31 guest rooms (all within the original structure), a golf course, hiking trails, and seasonal recreation including winter sledding and cross-country skiing.
The original wing of the manor, which dates to the 1929 construction, contains the seven rooms most associated with paranormal reports. Reports of strange phenomena began arriving from park employees in the 1970s and have continued consistently since.
Sources
Reports of strange phenomena at Punderson Manor began arriving in the 1970s, when park employees started experiencing incidents they could not explain within the building's normal operations.
The most striking documented account involves three employees who simultaneously observed an apparition in the dining room: a figure dressed in lumberjack clothing, hanging by the neck from a rope in the rafters, slowly rotating. The figure was visible for an extended period — accounts place it at three hours — before fading as the sun rose. All three witnesses gave consistent independent descriptions.
A park ranger, making rounds through the manor one winter night, encountered a drop of approximately 10 degrees as he climbed the circular staircase. Accompanying the temperature drop was the sound of a woman's voice and laughter, source unlocatable. When the sounds ceased, the temperature returned to normal.
The Windsor Suite — originally the Blue Room in the manor's tower — is the most frequently requested room for guests interested in the property's paranormal reputation. It is associated with a figure in a long blue-grey dress with a bonnet, seen on the staircase and heard laughing.
Near Punderson Lake, at the water's edge, guests and staff have reported an apparition of a young Black woman who emerges from the dark water, walks a short distance on the shore, and disappears. The account has appeared in multiple independent reports without clear historical grounding.
Lemuel Punderson — 'Pundy' to the manor staff — is described as the building's most active spirit, though the least dramatic: lights turned on and off in unoccupied guest rooms, bookshelves in the library with volumes pulled partially from their places, doors closed without apparent cause. Staff describe him as curious rather than threatening.
Notable Entities
Punderson Manor offers 31 guest rooms in a 43-room English Tudor mansion built in 1929 within Punderson State Park. Seven rooms in the original wing — where paranormal activity is most concentrated — are available for overnight stays. The Windsor Suite (formerly the Blue Room) is the most requested haunted accommodation.
Punderson Manor's Haunted History Tour covers the documented strange occurrences at the lodge since the 1970s, including the lumberjack apparition seen hanging in the rafters, the apparition of a young woman climbing the spiral staircase, and the figure of Lemuel Punderson — 'Pundy' — who turns lights on and off throughout the building. Tours are led by lodge staff and available by request.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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