Hills and Dales MetroPark spans sixty-three acres in the community of Kettering, which is situated south of Dayton. It’s a beautiful natural oasis that was created when the founder of National Cash Register Company, John H. Patterson, donated the land to the city in 1907. He hired John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to design hiking trails and landscape the park. The two men were the nephew and son of Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York City’s Central Park. The park is home to pavilions, ponds and natural settings for visitors to enjoy. But it is a stone tower that stands on a hill in the south end of the park that captures many visitors’ attention.
The tower does not have an official name, but it is mostly known as the Witches Castle Stone Tower. It also has other names such as Frankenstein’s Castle, Kettering Tower, or simply The Stone Tower. Urban legend has it that the medieval looking structure is haunted and has several wild myths behind the strange hauntings. One such story is that a young woman, learning of her lover’s death in the Civil War, climbed to the top of the tower. She jumped off and committed suicide to end her grief. This story is not true because the tower is not that old. The 56 foot tall tower was constructed in 1940 by the National Youth Administration. It was part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, and stones from recently demolished buildings were used to construct the tower.
For decades, it stood on the hill and visitors could climb it and look out over the park until one tragic day in 1967. Teenager Peggy Ann Harmeson and her boyfriend took shelter in the tower during a storm. The tower was struck by lightning and Peggy was killed, and her boyfriend badly burned. Since that horrific event, the tower has been closed off. I am thinking that is when the rumors of it being cursed began. The tower stands as a reminder to enjoy the surrounding beauty and that life is a fragile thing, and we must enjoy it while we can.
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