Legends and Hauntings
There are a number of reported hauntings and local legends that circulate around Licking County.
Legends
First National Bank
Popular legend states that the well known face carved into the doorway of the former First National Bank Building at 1 S. Park Place belongs to Adam Kiesel. In 1868 Kiesel was a failing businessman who reportedly set fire to his grocery shack that stood directly east of the bank. [1] He was tried for arson and acquitted, but many locals were thankful that he had burned down unsightly structures from the public square. The architect who designed the bank building Thomas D. Jones carved this face as a reminder to Kiesel's public service to the bank and the community. [2] Other sources say the face may be that of Puck, the mischievous wood sprite immortalized in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream , but locals like to attribute it to Newark's first arsonist. [3]
Jailed Marshal
Believed to be the oldest building in Newark, the downtown office of Aldridge-Mead Chiropractic was once a general store 200 years ago. Legend states that although there was prohibition, the owner of the general store made and sold his own whiskey. Because this was illegal at the time, a marshal came into the town to arrest the owner. The owner who was beloved by the townspeople, was accidentally shot by the marshal when a fight broke out between the two. The marshal was thrown in jail, but later when some of the men got drunk, the dragged the marshal out of jail and hanged him on a telephone pole, at the corner of Second Street and South Park Place. [4]- ↑ Thompson, J. (1998, March 20). Newark's first arsonist still overlooks Courthouse Square. The Newark Advocate
- ↑ The First National Bank 1865-1948. (1948). Folder Banks and Banking, Local History Vertical File, Licking County Library, Newark, Ohio.
- ↑ Keirns, A. (2006, March 9). Newark's mysterious stone face. Our Town.
- ↑ Stamper, C. (2003, October 26). Legends of Licking County. Community Booster West.
