HAUNTED MICHIGAN: The Many Ghosts of Hatheway House

The town of New Baltimore lies on the borderline of Macomb and St. Clair counties. It became a village in 1867 and incorporated as a city in 1931.

One of New Baltimore's most prominent families were the Hatheways. Gilbert Hatheway was a state senator who lived on a huge farm on the land between 24 Mile & Washington Rd.

Across the street was (and still is) St. Mary's Cemetery; both the farm and cemetery were located in the highest point of land in the area. The farm land was so huge, and with no trees or other buildings to block their view, the Hatheway family could look out their cupola and see the ships arriving in Anchor Bay. The cemetery chose the location for safety's sake – the higher the ground, the less chance coffins would be washed away during heavy storms.

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Just west down the road is Oakwood Cemetery, which was once part of the Hatheway farmland. Oakwood was once used as private burial land, and it's where daughter Mabel Hatheway is buried.

Only 20 years old, Mabel died mysteriously and her body was found at the bottom of the staircase. Family members believed she was pushed down the stairs by her mentally disturbed cousin James. Years afterward, in the early 1900's, the impressive farm house was turned into a boarding house and later a mental hospital. Over the years other deaths occurred in the facility, from old age and sickness, and the rumors began. Talk of patient abuse, torture, insanity, different types of cruelty and neglect abounded throughout the town.

Many members of the Hatheway family are rumored to walk the grounds:
David Gilbert James Hatheway, lost overboard on Aug. 26, 1857 and drowned in the Pacific Ocean.
Franklin Leonard Hatheway, Gilbert's brother, died in late April 1868.
Senator Gilbert Hatheway, died in Oct. 1871 before his term was up.
Mabel Gilbert Hatheway, passed away on Mar. 24, 1881, after being married to Orin Dunham for only three months.
James Scott Hammond Pitcher Hatheway, died by accident on Jan. 15, 1887.
Rufus Claghorn Hatheway, died in Dec. 1896.

When the facility was closed down, the trespassers, vandals, and ghost hunters began to converge on the property and break in. Sightings of a lone woman looking out of the cupola spread through the area. All kinds of weird noises came from the house, heard by neighbors and trespassers alike. With the popularity of the rumored hauntings bringing constant trespassers, the building was torn down in 2005.

The huge lot still sits vacant, at 36240 24 Mile Rd. between Base Rd. and Washington Street. Vacant, yes. Empty, no. Sounds of activity still seem to come from out of nowhere on that patch of land, and apparitions have been seen wandering through the area at night, some even in the treetops.

It remains creepy at night, especially with St. Mary's Cemetery across the road and Oakwood Cemetery a few feet down 24 Mile. The investigators and the curious still come from miles around to do their own exploring. They hope to catch a glimpse of one of the Hatheways or the possible entity of a former mental patient, still wandering the ground, looking for their quarters that are no longer there.