Mount Providence was built by Francis Hitchings in 1834 on Summit Street in Lockport, NY. The home has been vacant for the past 60 years. In that time, it has deteriorated. There are holesi th ceilings, wallpaper is peeling off the walls and seveal roomsare cluttered with furniture and boxes.
As the legend goes, the House was a home for a wealthy family in the days of the underground railroad. It is said to even have a secret passage to the Erie Canal behind one of the numerous fireplaces inside. The family had quite an array of slaves and as legend has it. The slaves were unhappy with the lifestyle they had in the home. One by one, they became insane and took revenge on the family. The family attempted to relieve themselves of the troublemakers and things took a turn for the worse. The slaves were in control and the family was at their mercy. Horrible things took place, from abuse of the family to the gory disfiguration of the family pets. Slowly the entire family was massacerd while trapped inside their home. With the family dead inside their home and the slaves technically free, the slaves turned on each other until the majority of them were either murdered themselves or had taken their own lives. The authorities were eventually contacted and the remainder were taken into custody. It has been rumored afterwards, that people have often seen apparations in the mansion windows. A few years ago someone purchased the mansion to restore it and turn it into a museum. However, the men rebuilding were frightened so badly by ghostly presences on the site. They left their scaffolding and never came back for it. It is said, that if you go near the house at night you can see shadow people guarding the mansion.
Well the facts about Mount Providence that I have been able to find are the house was built in 1834 by Francis Hitchings, with stone quarried fom the canal basin nearby. Hitchings was also th co-founder of a glass factory in Lockport. At one time the house was surrounded by a carriage house, a barn an other out buildings, but those have all gone now, leavingon the stone structure of the main house. The house stands two stories tall with a full attic. There ae back staircases to what once were the servants quarters.
Well I took a drive over to Summit Street November 7, 2008 to see if I could see the house. I did ideed find the house and pulled into the driveway. I got out of my car and took a few pictures from the driveway of the old home. I sat on the hood of my car just watching the house, I didn't have anything better to do. As I was sitting there looking at the house I noticed some black shadows moving around that appeared to have a human like shape, what it was I'm not too sure. It could have been anything. I really didn't get close enought to the house to make a determination, The scaffolding was still up when I was there and the windows were boarded up very secure. Now that we have the proper equipment for a full investigation we are going to contact the current owner to see if we can do an investigation.
