BRADY TWP — The Old Stone House has had a storied history, but not until now has it had its own documentary.

Filmmaker Brett McGinnis, 23, of Cherry Township wrapped up filming a short documentary on the house earlier this month.

He said he chose to do a project on the former stagecoach stop partially because there was not a documentary made about it yet but also due to an underlying interest in the house.

“I've always been interested in the Old Stone House,” McGinnis said. “It's great to point out that Butler County has a rich history.”

The nine-and-a-half-minute film covers the history of the house, from its construction to the present.

The site, located in Brady Township at the intersection of routes 8, 173 and 528, was built in 1822 as a stagecoach stop and tavern.

The house was abandoned in 1918, stagecoach lines having been long since replaced by other means of transport, and fell into ruin.

In 1963, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy restored the building, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission operated the site as a museum.

Slippery Rock University bought the house in 1999.

For the project, McGinnis interviewed the house's curator, SRU professor Aaron Cowan, and his graduate assistant, Jen Melnick. He also did some independent research, but found that Cowan is very knowledgeable about the house.

“Dr. Cowan knows pretty much everything about it,” McGinnis said.

McGinnis began planning in spring 2011 for the project. He began filming shortly after that. He shot the documentary using his own equipment.

He had an initial edit done by July 2011.

McGinnis spent quite a bit of time working on an animated portion of the project, which covers the Samuel Mohawk killings.

In 1843, Mohawk, a Seneca Indian, murdered six members of the Wigton family near the Old Stone House. He had stopped in the house prior to the killings. He was hanged in the Butler County Jail yard on March 22, 1844, the first execution in Butler County.

In addition to learning the history of the house, McGinnis also found out there are a lot of untrue rumors about it.

A big one is that George Washington stayed at the house at one point; however, the house was not built while Washington was alive.

Another is that Mohawk committed murder in the house. He actually did it not far away.

McGinnis also is interested in doing a project about alleged hauntings at the house.

“I still may do that,” McGinnis said.

Cowan and other workers at the house told him, however, that they do not believe it is haunted. McGinnis said while filming at the house late at night a few times, he did not experience any paranormal activity.

He said he spent “zero dollars” on the project, making it a real no-budget work.

“I think it's pretty good looking for being a no-budget project,” McGinnis said.

McGinnis joked that he does not know how Hollywood productions get away with multimillion dollar budgets.

“Sometimes, I just wonder what they do with that money,” McGinnis said.

The program likely will be used at the museum to teach guests about its history.

“I told them to use it however they want to. It's theirs,” McGinnis said.

Cowan has seen the documentary and said, “I thought it was very well done. For a minimal budget, it had high production values.”

Cowan said the documentary will be promoted on the Old Stone House website and in its newsletter.

Now that the project is done, McGinnis said he is happy to be able to show off a piece of local history.

“I'm glad I can do this for Butler. I think that our area is important,” McGinnis said.

McGinnis graduated from Moniteau High School in 2007 and from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a degree in digital media production in 2011.

In addition to filming, McGinnis also has appeared in front of the camera. He was in a video for the punk rock band FareWell in 2007, and he was a cast member on the second season of “Ghost Hunters Academy” which aired on the SyFy Channel in 2010.