Quincy’s Most Haunted, Part 2: The Strothoff House — A Home Where the Past Refuses to Rest
Built in 1876, a stately farmhouse east of Quincy witnessed generations of heartbreak, mysterious deaths and family tragedy. More than a century later, its residents have reported unexplained visitors, ghostly figures and strange occurrences that suggest the home’s former occupants may never have truly left.
Please Note: The historic Strothoff home is a privately owned residence and is not open to the public. The home is visible from the public roadway, but No trespassing is permitted on the property. Those wishing to view the home should do so only from the public road, without entering the property or disturbing its occupants.
QUINCY, Ill. — Some houses hold memories. Others, according to those who live within their walls, seem to hold something more.
Along a quiet country road east of Quincy stands a historic two-story brick farmhouse that has witnessed nearly 150 years of family life, prosperity, heartbreak and death.
From the outside, the former Strothoff residence is a beautiful reminder of Adams County’s agricultural past. Its Italianate architecture reflects an era when prosperous farm families built substantial homes intended to endure for generations.
But behind its brick walls lies a history considerably darker than its stately appearance might suggest.
At least two young women associated with the family died under tragic circumstances. A small child lost his life in a household accident. Generations of the family lived and died within the home, and an unusual connection reportedly links the property’s original owner to the family of one of Adams County’s most notorious murder suspects.
And then there are the ghost stories.
A breakfast table mysteriously set overnight. The sound of a music box playing in an otherwise silent house. A woman standing beside a baby’s cradle. An elderly man appearing at the foot of a bed.
Perhaps most unsettling of all are the reports of a mysterious child who, according to one family account, may have found a playmate among the living.
Welcome to Part 2 of Quincy’s Most Haunted, where the boundary between history and legend becomes difficult to distinguish.
A Grand Home Built for Generations
In 1876, prominent Ellington Township farmer Bernard Strothoff constructed an impressive two-story brick Italianate residence for his growing family.
The home was reportedly regarded as one of the finest farmhouses in Adams County.
Bernard, his wife, Mary Catherine, and their 10 children occupied the residence while the family cultivated approximately 150 acres of surrounding farmland.
For a time, the Strothoffs enjoyed the prosperity and standing associated with a successful farming operation.
But the family’s fortunes would eventually change, and the home would become the setting for a succession of painful events.
Bernard died in the residence in 1885. His surviving family continued occupying the property and working the farm, but additional tragedies would follow.
Even Bernard’s life had an unusual connection to another dark chapter of Adams County history.
According to accounts associated with the property, Bernard was allegedly assaulted by Herman Pfanschmidt, the great-uncle of Ray Pfanschmidt, whose name would later become associated with one of the most infamous murder cases in the region.
The alleged altercation was separate from the later Pfanschmidt murder case, but it adds another curious connection to the home’s already complicated history.
A Forbidden Romance and a Death Upstairs
One of the home’s earliest and most heartbreaking tragedies occurred in August 1886.
Bernard’s daughter, Anna Strothoff, had reportedly fallen in love with the son of a neighboring family with whom her father had experienced disagreements.
According to historical accounts, the relationship was opposed by the families.
For Anna, the situation ended in tragedy.
In an upstairs bedroom of the family residence, Anna died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the heart.
She was reportedly pregnant at the time of her death.
The circumstances surrounding Anna’s death cast a lasting shadow over the family home.
A room that had once been part of an ordinary household became associated with one of the most sorrowful moments in the Strothoff family’s history.
And it would not be the last.
Another Tragedy Near Mill Creek
Fifteen years later, in the summer of 1901, the Strothoff family was again devastated by the death of a daughter.
Louisa Strothoff and her romantic companion, Frank Forrest, departed the family farmhouse to gather flowers near Mill Creek.
Neither returned.
Their bodies were discovered the following morning on a hillside, both with gunshot wounds. A firearm was recovered nearby, but questions surrounding the circumstances of their deaths persisted.
As explored in Part 1 of Quincy’s Most Haunted, the tragedy soon became intertwined with accounts of an apparition near a country bridge and the disturbing cries of a woman coming from the surrounding woods.
The Quincy Daily Whig eventually published an account titled “A Road That’s Shunned After Dark,” describing the area’s growing supernatural reputation.
While the reported encounters near the bridge could never be established as paranormal events, the stories became part of the local folklore surrounding the Strothoff family.
And back at the farmhouse, more sadness lay ahead.
Moonshine, Misfortune and the End of an Era
During the early decades of the 20th century, members of the Strothoff family reportedly became involved in the production or supply of illicit liquor.
According to accounts of the family’s history, their operation was believed to have been among the larger moonshine enterprises in Adams County.
In 1925, tragedy struck again.
Virgil Strothoff, the 2-year-old son of Stephen Strothoff, reportedly ingested ingredients associated with the moonshine operation.
The little boy died several days later.
It was another devastating loss for a family whose home had already witnessed considerable grief.
Financial hardship eventually brought an end to the family’s long association with the property.
Following the Great Depression, the Strothoffs were no longer able to sustain their farming operations and ultimately lost the family residence and surrounding farmland.
The house passed into other hands.
But according to later residents, not everyone associated with the property appeared ready to leave.
A Breakfast Table Set by an Unseen Guest
The property’s more recent history includes numerous accounts of unexplained experiences reported by residents.
Ted and Sarah, who acquired the home from Ted’s parents, have described a variety of strange occurrences over the years. Ted’s family had owned the property since 1948.
Some incidents were merely puzzling.
Others were deeply unsettling.
One of the earliest stories occurred when Ted was living alone in the farmhouse, before his marriage to Sarah.
He went to bed one evening, leaving the home as he ordinarily would.
When he awakened the following morning, he discovered something unexpected.
The breakfast table had been set.
Dishes and place settings were arranged as though someone had quietly prepared the room for the morning meal.
But Ted had been alone in the house.
Who, if anyone, had arranged the table remained unexplained.
It was a relatively harmless occurrence, but it would be far from the last experience reported within the historic residence.
Someone Crawled Into Bed — But Nobody Was There
Sarah described an experience that began with a sound familiar to any parent.
While lying in bed, she believed she heard her child approaching down the hallway.
Moments later, she sensed someone climbing into bed beside her.
She could even feel what seemed to be breathing against her face.
Assuming it was her child, Sarah opened her eyes.
No one was there.
Concerned and confused, she got out of bed and checked on her son.
He was sound asleep.
For Sarah, the experience left an unsettling question: What had she felt beside her in the darkness?
A Message Appears on a Fogged Mirror
Another strange incident reportedly involved a mirror inside the home.
Ted and Sarah’s son described discovering that the glass had become fogged over, with words appearing on its surface.
The full message could not be deciphered, but two fragments reportedly stood out:
“With love” and “killed.”
Whether the words had an ordinary explanation or were connected to something more unusual was never established.
The family also reported occasionally hearing the faint sound of music drifting through the house.
The melody was said to resemble that of an old-fashioned music box.
Yet the homeowners maintained that they did not own a music box.
The music would seemingly appear without an identifiable source, adding another mystery to a home already filled with unusual stories.
The Old Man at the Foot of the Bed
One of Sarah’s most frightening reported encounters occurred on a stormy July night.
She had gone to bed but had not yet fallen asleep.
As the storm continued outside, she opened her eyes to check on the weather.
Standing at the foot of her bed was an elderly man.
Sarah screamed.
And just as suddenly as the figure had appeared, he vanished.
The encounter was brief, but it was sufficiently startling to remain among the family’s most memorable experiences.
Who was the elderly man?
Could the apparition, if accurately perceived, have resembled someone who once lived in the home?
The account provides no definitive answer.
But it was not the only time residents reported seeing an unfamiliar figure inside the farmhouse.
“There Goes That Wild Child”
Perhaps one of the home’s most unusual stories involved Sarah’s young son, Tad.
When Tad was approximately 3 years old, he and his mother were sitting together on a couch when a sudden cold breeze reportedly passed through the room.
The child abruptly jumped up and chased after it.
As he ran, he exclaimed:
“There goes that wild child!”
The statement startled Sarah.
According to the family’s account, Tad had also spoken during his early childhood about playing with a little boy in the home’s playroom.
As he grew older, Tad could no longer recall the incident or the childhood experiences he had described.
Was it simply the vivid imagination of a young child?
Or had Tad been responding to something that the adults in the house could not see?
For those familiar with the tragic death of young Virgil Strothoff in 1925, the story presents an especially poignant connection, although there is no evidence establishing any relationship between the child’s death and Tad’s experience.
The Woman Watching Over the Baby
Ted also described a disturbing encounter involving a woman who appeared inside the home.
One night, he awakened to the sound of his child crying.
Looking toward the baby’s cradle, he believed he could see Sarah standing nearby, apparently tending to their child.
But when Ted turned in bed, he discovered that Sarah was lying beside him.
Startled, he looked back toward the cradle.
The woman was still there.
According to his account, the figure then moved away, walking toward the staircase in the entryway.
The encounter was not entirely unlike experiences reported by other members of the family.
Ted’s aunt, who had previously lived in the home, reportedly witnessed a woman standing at her bedside.
Sarah’s mother also described seeing a female figure inside the residence. On that occasion, the woman appeared to be seated at Sarah’s vanity, tending to her hair.
Were these separate, unrelated experiences?
Or, as the family wondered, had several people witnessed the same mysterious visitor?
A Family That Never Left?
Despite the occasionally frightening nature of the reported encounters, Ted and Sarah described most of the unusual activity as relatively peaceful.
Objects were not generally disturbed, and the apparitions were typically seen only briefly.
The figures seemed, in the family’s interpretation, less interested in frightening the living than in continuing the ordinary routines of a household.
A woman attending to a baby.
Someone seated at a dressing table.
A breakfast setting prepared before morning.
A child apparently playing in the house.
Together, the accounts created an intriguing possibility in the minds of the homeowners: Perhaps some of the Strothoff family’s former members remained attached to the place they had once called home.
Paranormal folklore frequently associates sites of sudden death, intense grief or emotional trauma with alleged supernatural activity. Such ideas remain matters of belief and speculation rather than scientifically established explanations.
At the Strothoff residence, however, the historical tragedies and the family’s reported encounters have become inseparable parts of the property’s story.
For generations, this house served as a place of birth, childhood, family gatherings, heartbreak and loss.
And if the stories of its later residents are to be believed, the echoes of that past may sometimes feel remarkably close.
A House Haunted by History
Nearly 150 years after Bernard Strothoff constructed his impressive farmhouse, the building remains a tangible connection to the lives of the family who once occupied it.
The deaths of Anna Strothoff, Louisa Strothoff and young Virgil are somber reminders that behind the history of even the grandest homes are deeply personal stories of hardship and loss.
The accounts of apparitions, strange sounds and unexplained visitors belong to another part of the home’s legacy — one shaped by the experiences and interpretations of those who have lived there in more recent times.
Whether the house is truly haunted is a question no historical record can settle.
Perhaps every unexplained experience has an ordinary explanation.
Perhaps the home’s tragic past has simply made its residents more attentive to sounds, shadows and sensations that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Or perhaps, as generations of ghost-story enthusiasts have wondered, there are places where the past never entirely releases its hold on the present.
The Strothoff family eventually lost the farmhouse they had built and occupied for generations.
But according to the stories told by those who came after them, some members of the family may never have moved out.
About Quincy’s Most Haunted
Quincy’s Most Haunted is a special Halloween series from Quincy Current exploring the region’s historic homes, forgotten tragedies, mysterious locations and enduring supernatural legends.
Read Part 1: The Tragic Lovers and the Haunted Bridge East of Quincy
Historical note: The Strothoff residence is a privately owned home and is not open to the public for paranormal investigations or tours. Readers are asked to respect the property and the privacy of its occupants.
Reported supernatural experiences in this article are presented as personal accounts and local folklore. Their paranormal origins have not been independently established.
