HISTORY
The Hardesty Mansion is one of the oldest homes in the Village of Malvern,Ohio. Construction began on the house in 1824 and was officially finished in 1827. It served as the house for William Hardesty, who was a reverend at the Malvern United Methodist Church, as well as his family. His family included his wife, Louisa Hardesty, as well as their 11 children. Hardesty was also the founder of the Malvern Mills Logging Company and he constructed a large saw mill in the middle of the village. Hardesty built his mansion on a hill so it would overlook the entire village of Malvern as well as his saw mill. The mansion reportedly served as a safehouse for runaway slaves during the time of the Civil War.
William Hardesty II also was known as an underground railroad conductor and was known for transporting slaves thus keeping them out of the hands of slave catchers. Rumor has it that 2 slaves fell ill while in care by the Hardesty's and died and were buried somewhere on the property but the location remains unknown. The Hardesty family did however build their own cemetery behind the mansion and it serves as the burial ground for all members of the Hardesty Family as well as some former slaves and former Civil War Veterans.
Unfortunately over time the Hardesty Mansion has fallen into a state of disrepair because of continuous vandalism and disregard from bad owners. However, the mansion still stands today and serves as a major focal point of history for the town of Malvern.
Mission Report
Although there was no official major mission at the Hardesty Mansion, the Malvern EPS visited the Hardesty Homestead numerous times in the months of October and November of 2016. We were educated about the Hardesty Mansion by our at the time teacher, Matthew Churico. The Hardesty Mansion serves as the first place that the Malvern EPS has ever visited. It is here that we made the decision to take on the hobby of exploring abandoned places and thus the Malvern EPS was born.