The OES visited Edwin Shaw Hospital on July 7, 2004. Originally named Springfield Lake Sanitarium, the hospital was located in the town of Lakemore in Summit County. The oldest section of the hospital opened in 1915 as a five-county tuberculosis hospital. Summit County became the sole owner of the sanitarium in 1920 after all the other counties involved sold their interest. The Sunshine Cottage annex opened in 1922 to care for pediatric patients. The hospital was renamed Edwin Shaw Hospital in 1934 for Edwin Copeland Shaw, who was on the Board of Trustees in 1918. Sunshine Cottage was turned over to Children Services in 1947 and was expanded in the 1960s to include Sunshine Village. The Village housed orphans and/or abused children until it was closed in 1985. Legislation was passed in 1959 that allowed patients with conditions other than tuberculosis to be admitted. Edwin Shaw was expanded several times as more services were offered. The hospital shifted its focus to providing outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation in the mid-1970s. A new facility was opened in December 2009 at the former Fallsview Psychiatric Hospital in nearby Cuyahoga Falls and the Lakemore hospital was closed. County officials have also released records from the old sanitarium, publicly available on FamilySearch.org. County leaders listened to several proposals for the property, including a bid to turn the building into a year-round haunted tourist attraction. Sadly, all interested parties backed off and the hospital was completely demolished in 2017.
Of course with such a rich and diverse history, it is no surprise that Edwin Shaw was said to be haunted. The spirits of not only the tuberculosis victims (there are 246 buried in the hospital’s cemetery) but also of children who committed suicide and those who fell victim to ill-fates, were said to haunt the hospital and its grounds. Doors opened and closed by themselves and sounds of spectral footsteps were often heard in the halls. The sounds of a meal being served in the mess hall were heard quite frequently, but upon inspection, the mess hall would be empty. Ghostly humming and other odd sounds were heard in Sunshine Village, where the bulk of the paranormal activity was said to take place. We snapped a few photos of the hospital’s exterior during our visit, but did not attempt to enter the building since it was still in active use. We did not witness anything paranormal.
Location Information: Abandoned
Edwin Shaw Hospital was located at 1621 Flickinger Road in Lakemore; Summit County.
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