THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The Cambria County Old Stone Jail is associated with apparitions, shadow figures, phantom footsteps, unexplained voices, cold spots and the legend of Michael "Smitty" Smith, the condemned prisoner who mysteriously vanished from his cell before he could be hanged. (Submission by Les Gaunt)
Built in 1872, the Gothic Revival Cambria County Old Stone Jail served Ebensburg and Cambria County for more than a century before closing as an operating jail in 1997. Eleven condemned men were executed by hanging on the property. One of its most enduring legends centers on Michael "Smitty" Smith, also known as Mickey or Peg-Leg Smith, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. In 1884, Smith mysteriously disappeared from his locked cell before his scheduled execution and was never recaptured. Later folklore developed an alternative story claiming Smith was secretly killed inside the jail and buried on the property, leading to stories that his spirit remains there. Visitors, staff and paranormal investigators have reported footsteps, unexplained voices and noises, shadow figures, apparitions, sudden cold areas, sensations of being touched or watched, and activity around the former cell blocks, dungeon and gallows area. The property now hosts organized historical tours, haunted tours and paranormal investigations and is actively being restored. Visitors should enter only through authorized tours, events or investigations.