What’s in a name? Rumors swirl around Shades of Death Road
Editor’s note: This is the first in an occasional series about the origin of unusual names of places in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties.
Growing up in Avella, Joey Gonzalez heard plenty of stories about Shades of Death Road.
It’s a place where people were murdered and hanged. Sometimes when people drove along the Jefferson Township roadway, their cars would inexplicably shut off.
“Personally, I haven’t experienced anything paranormal. When I was younger, I would go walk the road at night or drive,” said Gonzalez, 38.
Shades of Death Road is a near two-mile stretch that connects Cole School and Bethel Ridge roads. Bethel Church and its cemetery sit near the road’s intersection with Bethel Ridge.
How it became “Shades” will likely become apparent to anybody who has traveled on Shades of Death, as the road is nearly fully canopied by trees on either side.
How “death” became part of the name is a bit more difficult to pin down. Gonzales thinks it is likely not as mysterious as the name implies.
“If you were traveling by horse and buggy, it was hard to navigate,” Gonzalez said.
Terry Wiegmann notes that at one point in time, the road was much “shadier.”
Wiegmann, a volunteer with the A.D. White Research Society in Avella, said much of the surrounding forest had been turned to lumber for the Cliftonville mine just over the West Virginia border.
“A lot of the original virgin forest was harvested to make support beams for the mine,” Wiegmann said.
Wiegmann provided research done by founding members of the A.D. White Research Society.
In his book, “Holes in the Hills,” Joe Bogo recounts the July 1922 Cliftonville Mine Riots. It is likely that many miners died along Shades of Death Road during that time.
In “Under the Sugar Tree,” Kathryn Campbell Slasor gathered many stories from people who grew up around Shades of Death, including her maternal grandparents who moved to the area in 1910.
Still, Slasor writes that no one she spoke to knew exactly how the road got its name.
“Several said it was due only to heavy growth of evergreens overhanging the road, causing even daylight to be dark. Others would tell me that ‘there are stories that the place is haunted,'” Slasor writes.
Like the rumors told to Gonzalez, Slasor found that most people had only vague stories of people succumbing to horrific fates along Shades of Death Road.
“But the individuals are nameless, and no facts can substantiate any of the stories. Thus with tales such as these being handed down through the generations, it is little wonder the name, ‘Shades of Death,’ evolved,” Slasor writes.
Wiegmann also has a similar conclusion. Ultimately, no one can say for sure what specific event may have given Shades of Death Road its name.
“Everybody has their own story about what happened to Uncle Bob that night he went across the bridge and saw a shadow. The people who experience phenomena like that really believe they saw it, but there is no evidence and very little corroboration,” Wiegmann said.
Gonzalez helped curiosity of the name grow when he started the Shades of Death 10 Mile Run in 2019. The race begins and ends at Polar Star Club in Avella, and will take place this year on Oct. 18.
Fittingly, Gonzalez said the first race only had 13 people participate. Last year, there were about 180.
“People come with curiosity for sure. What is Shades of Death? What is the road? And they’re very curious when they are running on the road,” Gonzalez said.
As runners approach Shades of Death Road, the Grim Reaper himself will be waiting at a table with refreshments. (Don’t worry, it’s just Gonzalez’s brother in costume.)
When Gonzalez was coming up with the idea for this run, it was not difficult to figure out what to call it, even if its namesake is a small portion of the 10 miles.
“It kind of hit me right away. Shades of Death is such a cool name,” Gonzalez said.