Shot the table read for the teaser trailer for the novel “Appalachian” by James Wosochlo Jr. Teaser Trailer coming soon!
During the years 1850–1889, there was a kept secret about atrocities that wasn’t proved until after the death of Matthias Schaumboch. This story is based on true events about one of the first cunning serial killers in the early history of the United States. Maybe the local people turned their heads in shame, or perhaps events continued because the law was stretched so thin in those days. Some individuals didn’t want to get involved in a local secret; however, that didn’t stop the spread of rumors.
In 1789, after the Revolutionary War, a small, two-roomed home was built on Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania. This soon-to-be tavern was just north of the Appalachian Trail in Albany Township near the Schuylkill and Berks County line. Later, in the 1850s, Margaret and Matthias Schaumboch purchased the tavern. Rumors began to spread about the couple or, more so, about Matthias, who owned and managed the tavern. It is said that travelers and peddlers disappeared, and the common relationship between them all was that they stayed at the Schaumboch Tavern. An individual also reported hearing cries and moans coming from the cellar or barn as he passed by.
When Matthias sold items, local individuals recognized the belongings of travelers and peddlers. Rumors also spread that Matthias was feeding his victims to unknowing guests. Over time, more and more individuals were never heard from again. It wasn’t until William Turner and his wife, Anne, purchased the tavern after Matthias Schaumboch’s death that they began to find human bones on the property and down its four wells. This was proof that something truly deadly had happened there. The method of the murders is unknown, and no records were kept of the events.
Matthias Schaumboch admitted to killing up to fourteen individual’s right before his death by dementia in 1889. However, he stated that he had lost count as he became more ill. The point is, the presence of human remains found in the four wells and on the surrounding property means something terrible happened to many individuals at that location. There is no record of any family members coming forward and looking for missing persons.
Some have theorized that Matthias was very careful about the victims he chose and sought common factors. The victims had several similarities. For example, they were not locals, they traveled alone, and they had something of value that was worth the risk. Most people in early America were new immigrants who were en route to new lives with no family ties in the area.
One record shows that Matthias was almost caught when a peddler selling Civil War surplus items went missing. Matthias was found trying to sell the same surplus items in Reading, Pennsylvania; the event was reported to authorities. After a search of his property, authorities found no evidence at that time, so the charges were dismissed. Sadly, the law of the day was focused on deaths and assaults being committed by the Molly Maguires, an Irish society of organized crime controlling the coal mines in this part of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the late 1800s. At this time, anthracite coal was found only in Schuylkill County, and it was highly prized to those running the railways and most industry of the time. Most lawmen were hired to control the canals and the Reading Railroad to contain the Molly Maguires’ reach, and they were spread thin, leaving remote areas lawless.
One other factor that kept Matthias from facing justice was that he killed his victims over a vast number of years. A second factor is that he was able to stop when he was almost caught due to his selling the victims’ belongings. All these factors made it easy for travelers to be victims of Matthias Schaumboch. In addition, there are a good amount of local historical facts written into this story of actual and true events; they tie in with this story before and during the Schaumbochs’ occupation and ownership of the tavern.
Today anyone can drive past the tavern and view it from the road that goes north and south over the mountain and through the sanctuary. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary has requested that the tavern now a private residence and will not tolerate trespassing. The tavern isn’t open to the general public, and I ask readers to respect the sanctuary’s wishes.
No individuals I, the author, know of or am acquainted with in my life are depicted in this book and storyline. I, the author, did make up or speculate about the following. There are no records or written accounts describing how the individuals died or were murdered. That said, details of the murders are the product of speculation, though the murders obviously happened. Besides, the research doesn’t specify that the Schaumboch couple had any children; the author created the character Ben for the book. The suggestion of belongings or items of value being hidden on the property by Matthias isn’t factual and is the result of speculation by the author of this book. Any individual vandalizing, trespassing, or stealing from the property and/or tavern will be held under penalty of state and federal laws. Again, the tavern is now a private residence on the sanctuary.