Root House Museum 145 Denmead Street Marietta, Georgia
The internet has made mounds of information available for mining. Among these mounds of information are content sites like Examiner.com, Associated Content and Suite101. Sometimes denigrated as “content farms,” these sites provide a platform for writers on all levels and can also provide some financial income as well. Certainly these sites may be mined for information on haunted places and they can produce junk but also occasional gems, like this article from Rhetta Akamatsu.
Akamatsu, the author of the recent Haunted Marietta, has provided a well-researched and informative article on The Root House Museum. Built around 1845, this middle class residence has been moved twice in the name of progress and has finally been preserved by the Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society some two blocks away from its original location. The house is now open as a house museum with costumed docents guiding visitors through the home filled with period furnishings and gardens planted with plants appropriate to the period.
The house was the home to William Root, the town’s first druggist and a merchant. While residing here, Root was a founder of St. James Episcopal Church and served as its Sunday School Superintendant for many years. He also served as the county coroner for two terms. His family did experience a loss in the house, one of his sons died at a young age which was sadly a common occurrence at the time.
According to Akamatsu there has been paranormal activity experienced in the main bedroom of the house. Some have claimed to see the spirit of a woman, quite possibly that of Mrs. Root. Both the article and the book report that Mrs. Root’s spirit has been seen by passersby peering from the bedrooms windows. The book goes on to explain that the room contains an antique rope bed that is sometimes appears to have been slept in when the house is opened in the mornings. The bed, it is noted, is tightened every night before the house is closed. Sleep well, Mrs. Root!
Sources
Akamatsu, Rhetta. Haunted Marietta. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2009.
Akamatsu, Rhetta. “The Root House Museum, Marietta, GA.” com. 30 June 2011.
Oakland Cemetery 248 Oakland Avenue, SE Atlanta, Georgia
On March 14, 2008, Oakland Cemetery was awakened from its eternal slumber. A tremendous tornado bore down on downtown Atlanta damaging landmarks such as CNN Center and the Peachtree Plaza Hotel. After ripping its way through downtown, the twister ripped through peacefully dreaming Oakland Cemetery, one of Atlanta’s oldest and certainly its grandest burial ground. The winds toppled many majestic namesake oaks which toppled and broke fragile marble monuments. The Archangel Gabriel, trumpet in hand to summon forth the sleeping masses for Judgment Day, atop the monument for Governor Joseph E. Brown, was thrown to the ground along with obelisks and columns throughout the cemetery.
Hundreds of monuments were damaged, but the Historic Oakland Foundation immediately went to work repairing and restoring the cemetery. Since the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Place in 1979, the foundation has worked to maintain Oakland’s peaceful slumber. In fact, they have worked to improve the beauty of that slumber.
Lush plantings at Oakland, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
An attractive gravesite at Oakland, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
I knew nothing of this when I visited today to photograph this haunted cemetery and I was very pleasantly surprised. It’s been a very hot summer in the South and I expected to find an ancient, baking cemetery with dry patches of grass in the plots. To my relief, the cemetery is being transformed into a garden with lush plantings surrounding the ancient monuments. The effect is quite lovely. Lush magnolias and oaks (those not completely taken out by the tornado) shade lovingly restored memorials with rose bushes, juniper and flowers covering and in between the graves. Birds fill the trees and peer from perches atop statues and mausoleums. While only part of the cemetery has been restored to its garden-like setting, the work continues.
Oakland, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
One of the many mausoleums, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
A MARTA train passes by Oakland, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Founded in 1850 as the Atlanta Graveyard or City Burial Place, the cemetery began on just 6 acres and over time it expanded to the current 48 acres. Much of the expansion took place during the Civil War when the city’s military hospitals required a place to bury the dead. Following the fierce fighting around the city, space was needed as bodies were recovered from the battlefields. Confederate dead, both known and unknown found their final repose in the cemetery’s garden-like grounds. Near the south-east corner of the cemetery, the seven Union operatives who participated in the famous Great Locomotive Chase were hung before they were buried on the cemetery grounds.
A pigeon peers down from atop a statue pointing towards heaven, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.Monument to the Confederate Dead, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Rows of Confederate dead, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
In 1872, the name of the cemetery was changed to Oakland to recognize the majestic oaks that shaded the grounds. Statesmen, governors, businessmen, generals, clergy and their families found their final rest here side by side with unknown military dead and the indigent that were laid in the potter’s field. African-Americans and Jews also found their place within the walls of Oakland. But with the arrival of the mid-20th century, vandals and neglect began to take a toll. Now in the loving hands of the Historic Oakland Foundation, the cemetery has passed into its third century and its beautiful and peaceful slumber continues.
Grave of Confederate General John B. Gordon, Oakland, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
In such a grand cemetery, a place with some 70,000 interments, it’s no surprise that spiritual activity has been reported. Most of the stories seem to revolve around the Civil War. The most famous story is that of the roll call of the dead. A young man visiting the Confederate portion of the cemetery on a December day reported hearing soldiers’ names being called with faint voices answering “heah” and “present.” According to William Bender, the young man even heard his own name called. Alan Brown reports that one visitor witnessed the blue-clad figure of a soldier hanging in a tree, possibly one of the Union conspirators in the Great Locomotive Chase, while another witnessed a bleeding Confederate lying atop a grave.
Mausoleum of Confederate Vice President, Alexander Stephens, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The lion guarding the unknown Confederate dead, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Bender also relates a legend of the spirit of Jasper Newton Smith, a real estate investor whose likeness now sits in a chair atop his mausoleum. Legend tells that his spirit climbs out of his chair at night and walks the grounds, though Bender found no eyewitness accounts of this activity. Reese Christian does report a shadowy figure that was seen in the cemetery by a cemetery staff member at night.
The Brown Monument, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
In October of 2008, the statue of the Archangel Gabriel was restored to its perch atop the Brown monument. He stands, trumpet in hand, to call the dreaming citizens forth. Until that moment, he silently watches over the gardens of Oakland.
Statue atop a child’s grave, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Sources
Bender, William N. Haunted Atlanta and Beyond. Toccoa, GA: Currahee Books, 2005.
This article is a part of an occasional blog series highlighting Southern hauntings or high strangeness associated with specific days. For a complete listing, see “A Haunted Southern Book of Days.”
The roots of both Athens and the University of Georgia are inextricably linked. Land for the university was purchased in 1801 by John Milledge who would later serve the state as governor. The land, on a hill overlooking Cedar Shoals on the Oconee River, was to house the state-supported university and parcels of land adjacent to the campus were sold to private interests. The town was incorporated as “Athens” in 1806 with a handful of residents, faculty and students. Athens grew quickly into a regional center for trade and education as well as a social center.
After the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves, Athens became a regional center for the African-America community. A school, The Knox School, was created and a prosperous African-American middle class emerged towards the end of the 19th century. The entire city saw rapid growth throughout the 20th century, some of it tied with the growth of the university. The city continues to expand with the university which has brought a world-class cultural experience to the region.
Alpha Gamma Delta House (Thomas-Carithers House) 530 South Milledge Avenue
Alpha Gamma Delta House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Alpha Gamma Delta House showing the bas-relief that gives the house its wedding cake appearance, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Built as a private home in 1896 and used as a sorority house since 1939, this exuberant wedding-cake like house is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. William Winstead Thomas, a local engineer, built the house which was later bought by James Yancey Carithers as a wedding gift for his daughter, Susie. As legend tells, when Susie’s groom failed to show up for the ceremony on time, the distraught woman hung herself in the attic. The groom finally did show, having been delayed on the way to the nuptials, but Susie was dead. Her spirit has been seen throughout the house while girls living in her old room often become engaged, thus the suite’s name, “The Engagement Suite.”
Classic Center 300 North Thomas Street
Firehouse No. 1, now the Classic Center, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
When it was decided to build a performing arts center in Athens, the original plans called for the demolition of the warehouses and the old 1912 Firehouse Number 1 which were standing on the site. However, local citizens fought to have the firehouse incorporated in the design. The firehouse was remodeled and now serves as a box office for the performing arts center that stands around it. Captain Hiram Peeler had had a distinguished career as head of the Athens Fire Department when he plunged to his death in an elevator shaft in 1928. It is believed to be his spirit that remains in the firehouse. Reports of activity were reported in the building while it still served as a firehouse. The activity continued through the building’s use as the Chamber of Commerce and has continued while it serves as the Classic Center.
Morton Theatre, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Actors in the dressing room of this restored theatre have reported odd activity in the dressing room. Sadly, that’s all the information I can find in terms of the paranormal. The Morton Theatre was built by African-American businessman Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton starting in 1909. The theatre was one of the main anchors of “Hot Corner,” the intersection of Washington and Hull Streets, that was the center of African-American life in Athens. It opened as a vaudeville house for the black community and such names as Butterbeans and Susie, Louie Armstrong and Cab Calloway appeared there. The building has since been restored as a performing arts center for the community and is one of the few remaining black vaudeville houses in the nation.
Oconee Hill Cemetery 297 Cemetery Street
Oconee Hill Cemetery, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
When the main city cemetery (now known as the Old Athens Cemetery) began sprawling close to the campus and the homes of the university president and professors, steps were taken to create a new cemetery nearby. Since it’s opening in 1855, the university has sprawled close to the cemetery with massive Sanford Stadium now looming across the street. The cemetery now hosts a number of prominent Georgians including two governors, eight university presidents and at least one ghost. The legend exists of a ghostly carriage appearing on the bridge between the old and newer portions of the cemetery.
View from Oconee Hill Cemetery towards Sanford Stadium, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Old Athens Cemetery Jackson Street
Old Athens Cemetery, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The original city cemetery before Oconee Hill Cemetery was created; the cemetery was created around 1810. The last burial occurred in 1898, not long after the university first tried to reclaim the land. This would be a struggle that would continue through the 1980s. The cemetery was deeded back to school in 2004 and in 2006 a preservation program was instituted under the university’s grounds department. Kathleen Wall mentions that the ghost of a young girl has been seen in the cemetery. The location was investigated by the Georgia Haunt Hunters team in 1998 and the team discovered some temperature fluctuations.
Grave at the Old Athens Cemetery, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Phi Kappa Psi House 398 South Milledge Avenue
Phi Kappa Psi House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
In researching Athens, I keep coming across locations that are mentioned as being haunted, but there are few specifics given. This is one location that is briefly mentioned. Daniel Barefoot mentions that the brothers in this house have heard the crying of a baby. This Queen Anne style home was built in 1890.
Phi Mu House (Hamilton-Phinizy-Segrest House) 250 South Milledge Avenue
Phi Mu House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The legend of the Phi Mu House, according to the sorority, concerns a young woman named Anna Powell. Her husband shot himself, either purposefully or accidentally at the bottom of the stairs. At times, it is said, a cross will appear on the floor where this horrific incident took place. Anna’s spirit has been encountered frequently by sisters in the house. Knocking and sobbing have been heard in the house and one young woman had the door unlocked for her late one night by unseen hands. The house was constructed by Colonel Thomas Hamilton, reportedly Georgia’s first millionaire, and finished in 1858 by his widow, Sarah. It has served as a sorority house since 1964.
Taylor-Grady House 634 Prince Avenue
Taylor-Grady House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Built by Irish immigrant turned cotton merchant and planter, Robert Taylor, in 1844, the Taylor-Grady House was purchased by Major William S. Grady in 1863, at the height of the Civil War which he was fighting in. Major Grady was killed in the Battle of Petersburg and his spirit is said to have returned to his family’s home. Henry Grady, the major’s son, was a staunch advocate for the “New South” as managing editor for the Atlanta Constitution and a famed orator. As the only existing of Grady’s homes, the Taylor-Grady House was named a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
T. R. R. Cobb House 175 Hill Street
T. R. R. Cobb House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
This noteworthy home with octagonal wings took the scenic route in its move from nearby Prince Avenue. It faced the wrecking ball in 1985, and was moved to Stone Mountain Park, just outside of Atlanta, to be restored as a part of the living history village there (which also has some notable haunted structures). After languishing 20 years, the home was returned to Athens and restored. A ghost story from this house was collected as part of the WPA Writers’ Project and recalls the spirit of “a gentleman wearing a gay dressing gown” who is seen descending the stairs and sitting in front of the fire in the drawing room. For further information, see my in-depth entry on this home, “A firebrand phantom.”
University of Georgia Campus
Joe E. Brown Hall
Joe E. Brown Hall, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
This 1932 building, built as a dormitory is home to a staircase to nowhere. Legend states that not long after the building was built, a student hung himself during Christmas break. His decomposing body was found when students returned. Though the mess was cleaned up, the blood stains were said to return. According to Daniel Barefoot, when the building was remodeled for office space, the room was sealed and the staircase leading to it blocked. In an article in the university newspaper, The Red and Black, a photograph of the staircase to nowhere was published in an article on campus legends. Supposedly knocking still issues from the sealed room.
Lustrat House
Lustrat House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Like many of the oldest campus buildings, the Lustrat House has served a variety of functions. Currently the office of Legal Affairs, the building initially served as a residence for professors. Towards the end of the 19th century, it was home to Dr. Charles Morris, chair of the English Department. When the university decided to relocate the house in 1903, Dr. Morris attempted to assuage officials away from that plan. He refused to move with the home. After his death, the family of Professor Joseph Lustrat began to see Dr. Morris has surprisingly taken up residence, sitting in his favorite chair by the fire.
Waddel Hall
Waddel Hall, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The oldest building on campus still in its complete form according to Daniel Barefoot, Waddel Hall was built in 1821 as Philosophical Hall. The sounds of a tragic lovers quarrel are still heard in this building that now houses the university special events office. During World War I, a young man left his female love who fell for another in his absence. When he returned, he confronted his beloved and the quarrel ended in a murder-suicide.
Barefoot, Daniel W. Haunted Halls of Ivy: Ghosts of Southern Colleges and Universities. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 2004.
Bender, William N. Haunted Atlanta and Beyond. Toccoa, GA: Currahee Books, 2005.
Beynon, Valerie. “Morton Theatre.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 26 March 2005.
Burnett, Daniel. “Mythbusters UGA.” The Red and Black. 28 January 2009.
Hendricks, Bill. “Ghost trackers look for proof of afterlife: Athens haunt club checks Georgia sites.” The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. 1 December 1998.
“History.” The Classic Center. Accessed 17 June 2011.
“History.” Oconee Hill Cemetery. Accessed 17 June 2011.
“History.” The Taylor-Grady House. Accessed 21 June 2011.
Demosthenian Hall University of Georgia Athens, Georgia
One of the oldest organizations on the UGA campus, the Demosthenian Literary Society, a debating society, was founded in 1803. Among its alumni roster are many who would help shape the state of Georgia as well as the nation including Robert Toombs. Known for his fiery disposition and oration, Toombs represented Georgia in the United States House of Representatives, the Senate in the turbulent years leading up to the Civil War and served as the first Secretary of State for the Confederacy.
Robert Toombs, c. 1870-80. Photo by Matthew Brady or Levin Handy. Courtesy of the Brady-Handy Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Toombs entered the university at the ripe age of 14. Under the firm rule of University President Moses Waddell, who was later described as having been “a born educator and strict disciplinarian,” Toombs was more than once on the receiving end of Waddell’s discipline. One evening, only a year or so into his schooling, a proctor caught Toombs and a group of other students playing cards—a vice worthy of expulsion. Instead of awaiting a dishonorable dismissal from the school, Toombs sought out Waddell and received an honorable dismissal before the proctor’s report arrived. Encountering Toombs later that day on campus, Waddell harangued him for this deception to which Toombs replied that he was no longer a student and simply a free-born American citizen.
Demosthenian Hall, 1934. Photo by Branan Sanders for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
However, the legend does not end there. During graduation exercises, Toombs took a position outside the university chapel (located just next door to Demosthenian Hall) next to an oak. He launched into a compelling oration and soon the students emptied out of the chapel to hear him speak. That oak was later named the “Toombs Oak” and remained for many decades. Legend says that the oak was later struck by lightning at the same time that Toombs died in 1885, however records show that the oak was dying, but still alive into the 1890s. According to Barbara Duffey, the oak was struck by lightning at the moment of Toombs’ death, but lived on and was finally taken down in 1908. Regardless, upon the tree’s death the stump was removed to Demosthenian Hall where it remains to this day.
Starting in the Georgia legislature in 1837, Toombs record of service to the state is lengthy. He entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1844 and there forged a lifelong relationship with another Georgia representative, Alexander Stephens, who would later serve as vice president of the Confederacy. Toombs entered the Senate in 1853 and served until his resignation in 1861 when Georgia seceded from the Union. Jefferson Davis asked him to serve as the first Secretary of State, but Toombs became increasingly frustrated with the Confederacy and stepped aside to become a military commander for Georgia. He escaped the South as the Confederacy fell in 1865 and returned two years later as an “unreconstructed” Southerner.
Just as he returned to his beloved Georgia after the fall of the Confederacy, perhaps Toombs’ spirit has returned to his beloved Demosthenian Hall after his death. Students studying in the quiet of Demosthenian Hall have reported hearing pacing footsteps in the empty chamber above. Other students have felt a presence urging them to get out, but when they exclaim, “Bob, no!” the feeling dissipates. A hazy grey figure has also been spotted and other sources claim that the figure is outfitted as a Confederate soldier.
Demosthenian Hall, 2017. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
William N. Bender, in his Haunted Atlanta and Beyond, states that Toombs’ spirit has also been seen at his home in Washington, Georgia. He asks whether it is possible for a spirit to travel. In my opinion, it seems there is nothing to actually indicate that the Demosthenian Hall spirit is actually Robert Toombs. I have observed that in historic locations—especially those associated with famous people—there is a tendency to identify any spiritual activity with those famous people, even in cases where is unlikely. While it’s not unimaginable that Toombs might haunt his home, it appears that the activity within Demosthenian Hall is simply residual energy associated with the many students that have passed through the hall’s portals.
Henry Ford Building Complex Berry College Mount Berry, Georgia
Located on part of the largest college campus in the world (at more than 26,000 acres), the Gothic-style Henry Ford Building Complex now is mostly used for administration. The complex was built through a gift from automobile manufacturer, Henry Ford, one of many prominent philanthropists to aid this institution built on philanthropy. Martha Berry, the daughter of a local planter, was shocked by the ignorance of the children in this city at the foot of the Appalachians. She built a series of school to educate these impoverished children and of them, Berry College has survived as a symbol of her kind work.
Henry Ford Building Complex, 2008. Photo by TheCustomofLife, courtesy of Wikipedia.
According to Daniel Barefoot’s Haunted Halls of Ivy, Berry College’s two campuses, the Main and Mountain Campuses, are practically crawling with spirits. From the spirit of Frances Berry, Martha’s sister, at Berry’s home, Oak Hill to the female wraith haunting Stretch Road, the road between the campuses, to the ghost of the House o’ Dreams, a mountain retreat cottage. In the Henry Ford Building Complex, the spirit of a female student who hung herself after her boyfriend was killed in World War II, is said to still roam the building. Of course, with the beauty of Berry’s enormous campus, who wouldn’t want to return?
Pearce Auditorium Brenau University Gainesville, Georgia
Two sensitives associated with the Southeastern Institute of Paranormal Research in Pearce Auditorium encountered a wet female. Working independently, the sensitives discovered this sad form wearing a white dress with dark, matted hair. Perhaps this was Agnes, the auditorium’s resident spirit. Legend speaks of a young woman who hung herself in the building at some point during the 1920s. She’s been roaming the halls ever since.
Old postcard of the Brenau Campus. Pearce Auditorium is the building just right of center. Published by the Asheville Post Card Company, courtesy of the Georgia State Archives, Historic Postcard Collection.
Opened as a private women’s school in 1878, Brenau gained its unusual name when the school was acquired by H. J. Pearce (for whom the auditorium is named) in 1900. The name is an amalgam of the German “brennen,” “to burn” and Latin “aurum,” “gold;” reflecting the school’s motto, “as gold refined by fire.” The school has continued as a force for education in the region and opened its doors to men in the 1960s while retaining its historical Women’s College and acquiring a few ghosts along the way.
Pearce Auditorium, dedicated in 1897, was built to serve the needs of the campus as well as Gainesville. Over the years, the auditorium has seen names ranging from noted American dancers Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn to the Vienna Boys Choir and, if legend holds true, a slight dark haired young woman named Agnes. Since Agnes passed through the doors of the auditorium, numerous stories have been told about this dark-haired waif.
As with most legends, there are numerous versions and sources do vary. The basic story tells of a young music student who fell in love with a rakish music professor. He kissed her during a lesson and when he married another woman, the distraught student committed suicide by hanging herself in the building. All of this took place around 1926.
Investigators interested in Agnes’ legend have thoroughly searched school records and discovered one young lady who may be the real Agnes: Agnes Galloway, whose picture appears in the 1926 yearbook. Records indicate that Ms. Galloway, from Mount Airy, North Carolina, died young, though in 1929 and the reason given for her death was tuberculosis. While suicide was often covered up by image-conscious families, the year of her death obviously doesn’t agree with the legend. Nancy Roberts in her Georgia Ghosts published an interview that adds some fuel to the legend’s fire.
Roberts interviewed a student whose grandmother had attended Brenau and who had known Agnes. The interview includes the story of the music professor and has Agnes hanging herself in her room in Pearce. The student coincidently was assigned to the very room where Agnes’ life had ended. The student was awakened one evening and saw the ghostly image of Agnes hanging from the light fixture. But, what would account for the sensitives seeing a young woman who was wet?
Another investigation in 2005 by the Ghost Hounds did capture an EVP during an investigation, but who or what is actually haunting Pearce Auditorium may never be known.
Sources
Atkins, Jonathan M. “Berry College.” New Encyclopedia of Georgia. 15 April 2009.
Barefoot, Daniel W. Haunted Halls of Ivy. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 2004.
Bender, William N. Haunted Atlanta and Beyond: True Tales of the Supernatural in Atlanta, Athens, and North Georgia. Toccoa, GA: Currahee Books, 2005.
Berry College. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 20 May 2011.
Brenau University. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 17 May 2011.
Coulter, E. Merton. The Toombs Oak, The Tree That Owns Itself, and Other Chapters of Georgia. Athens, GA: UGA Press, 1966.
Davis, Mark. “Ghost Hunter: His Mission: To chat with a School spirit.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 31 October 2005.
“Exploring haunted history.” The Athens Banner-Herald. 31 October 2010.
Jordan, Julie Phillips. “Happy hauntings.” The Athens Banner-Herald. 31 October 1999.
Justice, George. “Robert Toombs.” New Encyclopedia of Georgia. 9 February 2009.
Mahefkey, Ann. “Brenau University.” New Georgia Encyclopedia. 6 June 2006.
Robert Toombs. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 16 May 2011.
Roberts, Nancy. Georgia Ghosts. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 1997.
Stovall, Pleasant A. Robert Toombs: Statesman, Speaker, Soldier, Sage. NYC: Cassell Publishing, 1892.
Thomas, Brandee A. “Spirits of the past draw a crowd to History Center.” Gainesville Times. 30 October 2010.
Underwood, Corinna. Haunted History: Atlanta and North Georgia. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2008.
Walls, Kathleen. Georgia’s Ghostly Getaways. Global Authors Publications, 2003.
Marietta City Cemetery 381 Powder Springs Street Marietta, Georgia
Thanks to a wonderful friend of mine, I now have a marvelous new blog header. The angel tops a monument to Mary Annie Gartrell erected by her sister Lucy. Tradition has it that Lucy visited her sister’s grave twice a week dressed in black mourning clothes. Over time, with Lucy’s biweekly appearances, she became known around town as the “Lady in Black.”
Gartrell Monument, 15 January 2011, the snow is not a usual occurrence in Georgia. Photo by Lewis O. Powell, IV, all rights reserved.
Marietta, located northwest of Atlanta and now a part of a the Atlanta metro area, was chartered in 1834, sometime before the creation of Atlanta. Of course every growing town needs a burying ground and the City Cemetery was established around the time the city was chartered. Over time, it has become the resting place for a cross-section of Marietta’s citizens and during the Civil War, many Confederate soldiers from throughout the South were buried in the adjoining Confederate Cemetery.
The ranks of Confederate Dead in the Confederate Cemetery adjoining the Marietta City Cemetery, 15 January 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell, IV, all rights reserved.
Over time, ghosts have been reported in the cemetery. The earliest reports, according to the cemetery brochure published by the Marietta Department of Parks and Recreation, come from a cemetery sexton in 1895 who reported a number of figures in the cemetery. Legend holds that the Gartrell Monument is still visited by a “Lady in Black” over a half-century after the death of Lucy, the original Lady in Black.
Update: 1 November 2017. Since the changeover to a new blog, I have retired my original header, though I’m still using a picture of the Gartrell Monument.
Sources
Akamatsu, Rhetta. Haunted Marietta. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2009.
Marietta City Cemetery and Confederate Cemetery Brochure. Marietta, GA: Marietta Department of Parks and Recreation. No Date.
Scott, Thomas A. “Marietta.” New Georgia Encyclopedia. 30 September 2003.
Eagle Tavern
26 North Main Street Watkinsville, Georgia
The Eagle Tavern. Photo by Lewis Powell, IV, 2010, all rights reserved.
On my recent trip to Milledgeville, I made some stops on the way home in Madison and Watkinsville, two of the more historic towns in east Georgia, to photograph some haunted locations. The Eagle Tavern is one of the most historic landmarks in the area and has hosted generations of Watkinsville citizens and guests. The date of its initial construction is lost to history and may be as early as 1789. The building was definitely serving as a tavern by 1801 or 1802. Over the years, additions were added haphazardly and when the building was restored by the state of Georgia in the 1950s, most of these additions were torn down. The tavern has served as a museum since its restoration.
The Eagle Tavern. Photo by Lewis Powell, IV, 2010, all rights reserved.
The structure remaining after the state’s restoration is not very large, but it possibly hosts an array of spirits. A dancing female in a ballgown has been reported by a cleaning woman in one of the downstairs rooms. Possibly, three male spirits have been encountered in the tavern, including a very unpleasant entity in the basement of the building. Phantom footsteps have been heard and phantom odors including cherry tobacco have been smelled.
Sources
Summer, Margaret T., editor. The History of Oconee County, Georgia. Curtis Media, 1993.
Underwood, Corinna. Haunted History: Atlanta and North Georgia. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2008.
As my first blogging trip, I’ve headed to Milledgeville, Georgia to explore some of its haunted past. Milledgeville was established in Middle Georgia by an act of the state legislature in 1803. The city was laid out as a seat of government for the state based on the designs for Savannah and Washington, DC. The state government was moved from Louisville in 1807 to the newly built and unfinished statehouse in the center of Statehouse Square. By 1814, the once rough and tumble town had grown into a respectable city that attracted wealth and prosperity. The new capital attracted skilled architects who created grand homes and government buildings including a state penitentiary, mental asylum and an institute of higher learning, Oglethorpe University.
In January of 1861, the city’s illustrious rise to prominence entered its twilight when a convention of delegates passed the Ordinance of Secession and officially joined the Confederate States of America. The city erupted in joy but on a fall day three years later, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman would enter the city accompanied by some 30,000 troops who would pillage and ransack it before leaving a few days later on their March to the Sea. The ruined capital was dealt a harsher blow when the state capital was moved to Atlanta in 1868.
The city remained provincial but worked to provide educational resources for the state. While Oglethorpe University during the Civil War and closed in 1872 (to be rechartered in Atlanta in the 20th century), Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College (now Georgia Military College) was founded in 1879 in the Old State Capital building in Statehouse Square. Ten years later on the site of the Georgia Penitentiary which had burned during the Northern occupation of the city, the Georgia Normal and Industrial College (now Georgia College and State University) was founded. The state mental asylum developed into Central State Hospital which would carry a patient load of nearly 12,000 people in the early 1960s. Changes in mental health treatment have led to the slow phasing out of the hospital and many of its programs. Combined with the closing of local mills, the local economy has had to shift away from health care and manufacturing towards industries such as tourism.
With a concentration of historic structures, it’s no wonder that Milledgeville has many ghosts. Kathryn Tucker Windham in her 13 Georgia Ghosts and Jeffrey, includes the story of Sam Walker, who was mayor in the 1870s, who was deemed “the meanest man in Georgia” after he contributed to the untimely death of his son. It is believed that both Walker and his son may still haunt their former home. Barbara Duffey has penned two books, Banshees, Bugles and Belles: True Ghost Stories of Georgia (1995) and Angels and Apparitions: True Ghost Stories From the South (1996) both of which document many hauntings in Milledgeville.
Following are photographs of some of the haunted locations in Milledgeville. As my research continues, these locations will be highlighted individually.
Lockerly Hall, built in 1852 by Daniel Reese Tucker and originally called “Rose Hall.” The house in now the centerpiece of Lockerly Arboretum. The spirit of a young woman, possibly Emma Tucker, the daughter of Daniel Reese, has been seen in the house. The grounds of the arboretum are open to the public and the house may be toured as well. Photograph by Lewis Powell, IV, 2010, all rights reserved.The gates of Memory Hill Cemetery, Milledgeville’s primary historic burying ground, where many famous Milledgeville citizens are interred including author Flannery O’Conner, Congressman Carl Vinson and vaudeville magician Dixie Haygood. Memory Hill is the site of a few mysterious graves that may have some paranormal activity. Photograph by Lewis Powell, IV, 2010, all rights reserved.
Built as the first official residence for the state’s governor, the Old Governor’s Mansion was completed in 1839. It served as the official governor’s residence from its completion to 1868 when the capital was moved to Atlanta. The house served in a variety of functions including the home to Georgia College presidents until it was restored and opened as a house museum. The smell of food cooking has been reported wafting through the basement and ground floors while the ghost of a woman in period dress was seen in the State Dining Room. Photograph by Lewis Powell, IV, 2010, all rights reserved.Considered one of the grandest Gothic Revival structures in the United States, the Old State Capitol Building now serves as part of the campus for Georgia Military College. The sound of legions of marching spectral soldiers has been reported on the adjoining parade grounds as well as the apparition of a Confederate sentry. Photograph by Lewis Powell, IV, 2010, all rights reserved.
Sources
Duffey, Barbara. Angels and Apparitions: True Ghost Stories From the South. Eatonton, GA: Elysian Publishing, 1996.
Duffey, Barbara. Banshees, Bugles and Belles: True Ghost Stories of Georgia. Berryville, VA: Rockbridge Publishing, 1995.
Old Heard County Jail
Court Square
Franklin, Georgia
Old Heard County Jail, now the Heard County Historical Center and Museum in Franklin, Georgia. This facility was built in 1912 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. Photograph by Lewis Powell, IV, 2010, all rights reserved.Side view of the Old Heard County Jail. The inmate’s cells were located on the second floor while the first floor held offices. A museum employee reported hearing the sound of cell doors slamming shut when she was alone in the building. Photograph by Lewis Powell, IV, 2010, all rights reserved.The tower on the front of the Old Heard County Jail. The gallows are located in this tower and were quite possibly used for executions. This location was investigated by West Georgia Paranormal Investigations and presented in their show, Ghost Burn. Photograph by Lewis Powell, IV, 2010, all rights reserved.
