Ragersville a Friendly Village

        From modest beginnings, we've grown through unwavering dedication and a commitment to continuous improvement. Each step has reinforced our core belief in the power of collaboration and the importance of integrity. We're passionate about what we do, and we're excited to share our story with you.

        No account of Ragersville would be complete without reminding the people again of the life and lynching of a man known as Jeff Davis. There is no man alive today that knew this man, but there are many stories handed down about this incident and also some court records.  Records show that this man spent 14 years in confinement. When not in prison, he spent his time with farm families working for his food and shelter.  He worked just enough to get by - his troubles grew out of his interest in women and money - but not his own.  Davis was sentenced to prison for raping a Tuscarawas County woman and this marked the beginning of the end for him; he served 4 years vowing he would get his revenge against those responsible for his imprisonment. 

        Written history tells us that Davis, upon his release from prison, ate a Saturday dinner in The Good House in Ragersville, where he told Col. Good, the owner, that "something is going to happen before the day is over." Something did happen, but it was not what Davis was anticipating. Later Davis returned to the Barney Miller farm where he was staying. A short time later a group of men appeared, and he was hauled off to the township house in Ragersville for a second trial on the rape charge. 

        Apparently, some citizens were not satisfied with the original sentence and were angered when Davis was freed from prison.  The citizen trial had just gotten under way when another group of citizens, disguised as vigilantes, arrived in house. A scuffle ensued and Davis, who tried to escape in the confusion, was hit on the head with a hearth poker, shot and carried from the room. He was tied to a horse and dragged over the dirt roads and fields to a wooded area nearby. He was then hanged by the neck until dead. But that's not the end of the story.  What do we do with the body???????

        Davis's body reportedly was taken to the woods on the outskirts of Shanesville, now known as Jeff Davis Hill and was buried in a sawdust pile for a time.  That was the only "rest" Jeff Davis was to have for a while.  Stories tell us that a doctor dug up the body, for some unexplained reason, and took it to his home where he placed it in the attic.  A few days later, while the doctor and his wife were away, 2 cleaning ladies saw the corpse in the attic and ran screaming into the street.  When the doctor returned, he found it advisable to dispose of the body. The physician, as the story goes, dumped the body in Holmes County. When it was found and identified, the corpse was returned to Tuscarawas County.

        Dr. Herman Peters of Ragersville somehow came into possession of the skeleton he identified as Davis and kept it in his office for a good many years.  Upon Dr. Peters death it reportedly was traded for a box of cigars.  One might assume that nature had long since reduced the skeleton to a bag of bones, but a Lorian doctor claims he has it - or nearly all of it.  And that's not all - another person claims to have what appears to be the skeleton's missing parts.  Both men, incidentally, received their "heirlooms" from the same family. 

        The lynchers? They became scattered, also. And if they are known to relatives of this day, that's a family skeleton that will remain forever in the closet. Of course, who knows, Jeff Davis still may be wandering about.  Stop in at the museum and have a look for yourself.