WELLSBURG - Employees at the Smithsonian Institute have determined the bones found in a wall at Aspen Manor belonged to animals, said the Brooke County Sheriff's Department.

Brooke County Sheriff Richard Ferguson said he was pleased to report skeletal remains found at the hotel were from various farm animals and didn't include human remains.

"The bones ranged in size from those of either horses or cattle to those of chickens. Pig bones were also identified in the mix," he said.

Ferguson said marks in the bones were made by sawing or chopping, indicating they were probably produced from butchering.

The sheriff said in an investigation following the bones' discovery, it was learned that a large amount of butchering was done while the building was occupied by the Knights of St. George.

He acknowledged it's not been determined why the bones would be in the wall of the building's basement.

A pair of silver-rimmed eyeglasses and a fuse common to the turn of the century also were said to have been discovered in the wall during a visit by a group called the Brooke County Paranormal Society.

At its Web site, the group said it was investigating reports of strange phenomena at the location, which was built east of Wellsburg around 1896 as a summer mansion by Joseph Vandergrift, the son of a wealthy Pennsylvania steel tycoon.

There have been unconfirmed stories that Vandergrift's wife and son committed suicide, on separate occasions, there.

In 1922, it became a home for retired clergy run by the Knights of St. George and in more recent years, an assisted living facility operated by first, the Catholic Knights of America, and later, Gene Valentine.

Valentine currently operates it as a bed and breakfast.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com)