Local Legend - Jacob's Church

There are quite a few local legends and ghost tales in the areas surrounding the town in which we live and one involves a church and cemetery on a back road.  I can recall hearing stories growing up of a hearse chasing people from the site, a body that can be seen hanging from an old oak tree, and the standard bump in the night sort of sounds and happenings.  A quick Google search of Jacob's Church or Miller's Church Road, Hagerstown brings up quite a few sites with the stories we all heard.  I remember riding by the site one night in one of my friend's little convertibles, a car full of giggly teenage girls acting silly and scared.  There were no hearses that night or bodies that I could see and I don't remember hearing anything at all.  I've never stopped at the site and I don't even recall driving past it as an adult, so I wanted to go check it out and see if it really was this spooky place.  I went during the day, of course, and I took Oscar with me, because he likes exploring! 

 

 The church no longer stands, after years of decay and vandalism, but there are still the remains of the cemetery.  It was sad to see many of the markers have been broken, defaced, and worn over the years.  It was quite the opposite of spooky and still lovely, despite the state of many of the markers.  There do seem to be some volunteers who maintain the grounds and have located and marked most of the burial sites.  I was disappointed that the church is gone, but I did find this site with a very old photo and the history of the church.  You can also view a list of the people buried there here.  I hope to do lots more local exploring this summer and maybe we will even return to this pretty little site.