​​​​Spring Hill Paranormal Investigators

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SPRING HILL PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS

"Miss Malta" as we refer to this full-body apparition caught on camera during our investigation.

The Malta House

SPRING HILL PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS

About The Malta House

A century of lives lived within a building that no longer stands.

For nearly a century, the Malta Home stood on 131 acres in Granville Township, just outside Lewistown. Conceived by the Knights of the Order of Malta of Pennsylvania, the property was intended to serve several purposes at once: an orphanage, a home for elderly and infirm members of the order, and the organization's executive offices. The Knights purchased the land from Henry Selick for $6,000 and envisioned a complex that would become a source of pride for the surrounding community.

Construction began just as World War I was ending. Ground was broken on October 18, 1918, and the cornerstone was laid the following May. By August 1921, the first wing was ready to be dedicated, with an estimated 5,000 people expected to attend the ceremony. Even then, the enormous building was only about one-third complete.

The building itself reflected its connection to the Order of Malta. Constructed of pressed brick with Indiana limestone trim, it was designed in the shape of the Order's cross. Inside were hardwood oak floors, steel staircases, 65 bedrooms and numerous bathrooms. Different wings and floors were intended for different purposes, from housing elderly Knights to conducting the business of the organization. Plans also called for additional cottages and buildings across the property.

But the Malta Home wasn't simply an institution. For the children who lived in its orphanage, it was home. Former residents began holding reunions in 1951, sharing memories of daily life there, from working in the poultry house to scrubbing the building's floors. Later, the property continued its role as a home for the elderly, eventually operating as a personal care facility.

The Knights operated the Malta Home until 2005, when it was purchased by Valley View Retirement Community. The personal care portion closed in 2009, and eventually the remaining residents were relocated as the aging building became increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain. In December 2015, it was announced that the Malta Home would be demolished.

By then, generations of people had passed through its halls. Children grew up there. Elderly residents spent their final years there. Employees worked there, families visited, and former residents returned decades later to remember the place they once called home.

Our investigation gave us the opportunity to explore the Malta Home before that history disappeared with the building itself.
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