Wiestling Hall at Mont Alto

Colonel George Wiestling built his home in 1807. It is the oldest building in the Penn State network. There are at least two ghosts haunting the building. Wiestling died in 1891, but many believe he is still present, at least in spirit form.

A ghostly image appeared in a picture of the 1908 graduating class. Many believe this is the ghost of Colonel Wiestling.

There was also a murder in the house in 1911. A man named William Reed murdered his girlfriend, Sarah Hurley Matheny, a dining hall worker. On the morning of 5/9/1911, Reed came to the building, demanding some papers of his that Sarah apparently had. Instead of handing the papers back to him, she threw them into the fire. Reed then shot her three times, the third one being fatal. Convicted of murder in the first degree, Reed was held in the Old Jail in Chambersburg. His execution on 4/30/1912 was the last execution performed by hanging in the state. For decades after Sarah’s murder, workers complained of odd events happening in the kitchen. Appliances turn on by themselves and pots and pans bang together without being touched. And bloodstains appear on the stairway leading from the kitchen area to the second floor bedroom where Sarah died.

There are numerous accounts of desk drawers opening and closing, as if someone was searching for something. Doors open and close on their own and footsteps are heard on a regular basis.

Author Athena Varounis, went to Mont alto with her psychic acquaintance Deborah. Deborah described the male ghost as being in charge of the whole campus. And he wasn’t happy with all the changes that had occurred on the campus over the years. Later, during their time at Mont Alto, she identified him from a photo in the General Studies Building. The picture, just as Deborah had described him earlier, was that of Joseph Trimble Rothrock.

Joseph T. Rothrock, known as the “Father of Forestry” in Pennsylvania, served as the first forestry commissioner in 1895. In May 1903, he established the Pennsylvania State Forestry Academy at Mont Alto. He remained very active in forestry work until his death in 1922.

Could Rothrock be the ghost of Wiestling Hall? This was his domain from start to finish. But, as far as I know, Rothrock never actually lived in Wiestling Hall. Joseph Rothrock and his family appear in the 1900 and 1910 census records, living in the West Chester area.

l like the idea of Rothrock as the one responsible for the haunting of Wiestling Hall . Joseph Rothrock is part of my family tree. He is my great Uncle Joe, the older brother of my great-great-grandmother.