Z.D. Ramsdell House

It was built in 1857-1858, and is a two story red brick and frame dwelling measuring 30 feet wide and 48 feet deep. It sits on a stone foundation and is in the Greek Revival-style with a gable roof. Zopher D. Ramsdell came to Ceredo at the invitation of the town's founder, and fellow abolitionist, Eli Thayer. He built a shoe and boot factory, served with the Quartermaster during the American Civil War, served as a post office inspector after the war, and served as a legislative representative in the West Virginia State Senate during 1868 and 1869. Businessman Z.D. Ramsdell’s home was completed in 1858, and rumor has it it was built on the site of an Adena Indian burial mound. It was said to have contained a hidden basement used in the Underground Railroad. Ramsdell died of tuberculosis in 1886, and although the restored house is now a museum, the Ramsdell family is believed to still live here in spirit. Witnesses report doors and lights that work by themselves, the sound of moaning and chains rattling in the basement, and apparitions of slaves.