Tavern of horrors
Young Jacob Gerhard found a secluded spot halfway up a mountain to build a small log cabin. The spot was too rocky for farming but was next to a clear running spring and so it was deemed a suitable place for him and his newly married wife. Soon after, they welcomed a daughter to their new home. She was born deaf and mute, as the story goes. And then sadly Jacob and his wife died suddenly in succession. They succumbed to one of the many ailments that meant death in the 18th century. The future of their daughter, too, was lost to time.
Sadness enveloped their once happy little cabin on the rocky edge of the mountain. It remained empty for over 50 years and quietly fell into ruin. Then, in 1850, a German immigrant Matthias Schaumbach and his wife Margarethe moved in, rehabilitated the home, and made it into a tavern for travelers making their way over the mountain.
The tavern today
Soon, though, rumors started spreading among the folks in the valley below. They whispered about travelers who stopped in at the Schaumbach Tavern, never to be seen again. The rumors took on a sinister spin when Matthias was accused of plying travelers with alcohol, providing them with overnight accommodation in the barn across the street, murdering them, and selling their belongings. The folks in the valley claimed that they had seen Matthias with a blood-stained axe. Others claimed that they heard screams from the mountainside and believed that he had killed as many as 20 people.
It wasn’t until Matthias murdered a local powwow doctor that the killing came to an end. An angry mob made its way to the little cabin, threatening to burn it down. A local magistrate urged them away from vigilante justice and the mob dispersed.
Matthias died on March 10, 1879 and allegedly confessed to murdering 11 to 14 people on his deathbed. His will, administered by his widow Margarethe, amounted to just over $90 (that’s about $3000 today). The most expensive thing being two hogs. He was set to rest in the Union Church cemetery down in the valley below.
New Bethel Church and cemetery in the valley below the tavern. The final resting place of Matthias Schaumbach.
Since his death, residents have claimed to see Matthias hovering over his grave at the cemetery. They’ve even alleged that the grave has been struck by lightning time and time again. Passersby see mysterious lights coming from the home and people living in the cabin claim that it’s haunted by Matthias all these years later.
Today the little cabin is owned by the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. It’s difficult to separate out what’s historical and what’s folklore and likely we never will. The story certainly adds much to this quiet part of northern Berks County.
Reformationsfest (31 October 2025), The Bullfrog Inn
