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| Gaineswood National Historic Landmark in Demopolis, Ala. |
A few weeks ago, I spotted in Linden’s “Democrat-Reporter”
newspaper an article that said that the Gaineswood National Historic Landmark
in Demopolis would be offering special “Up, Down and All Around” tours on Sat.,
Feb. 1. Visitors to this famous plantation house, which dates back to the 1840s,
usually only get to tour the first two floors, but during this special one-day
event, visitors would be allowed to check out the home’s spooky basement and rooftop
observatory, two areas that are usually off limits to guests. It sounded like
an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up.
I’ve had a visit to this house on my bucket list for a while
because it has the reputation for being one of the most haunted locations in
all of Alabama. Growing up, just about every kid at Frisco City Elementary
School read about Gaineswood in the school library’s worn copy of Kathryn
Tucker Windham’s classic book, “13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey.” That book
contains an entire chapter about Gaineswood titled “The Unquiet Ghost at
Gaineswood.”
According to Windham, Gaineswood is haunted by the spirit of
Evelyn Carter, who was the sister of a housekeeper employed by the home’s
original owner, General Nathan Bryan Whitfield, who died in 1868. Evelyn was a
native of Virginia and her father was out of the country serving as the U.S.
consul to Greece. Evelyn, a talented musician, came to visit her sister at Gaineswood, but
died a short time later during of the coldest Alabama winters in memory.
She’s believed to haunt Gaineswood to this day because she
didn’t receive a timely burial. Due to roads covered with ice and snow and the
fact that her father was out of the country, her body was stored for a time in
the basement at Gaineswood. Soon thereafter, people in the house began hearing
ghostly music and the sound of strange, unexplained footsteps, which didn’t
stop even when Evelyn’s body was finally transported to Virginia for a proper
burial.
Another great book that also discusses Gaineswood and the
ghost of Evelyn Carter is “Haunted Alabama Black Belt” by David Higdon and
Brett Talley. Published in 2013, this outstanding book also details the
mysterious tales of Carter’s final days and the unexplained events that
followed her death. If you’ve never read this book, I highly recommend that you
check it out.
Aside from all the spooky stuff, the house is amazing, and Saturday's tour was especially well done. With tour guides in all the main areas of the house, we
started the tour in the basement and then checked out all of the rooms on the
first and second floors. We ended the tour with a visit to “The Ring” on the
roof of the house. It’s there that it’s said that the Whitfield family would
play their musical instruments on summer evenings, and the circular observatory
also gives you an impressive, panoramic view of Demopolis. The staff was
especially well versed in the history of the home and its contents, and they
were happy to answer all of our questions.
The property is currently operated as a museum by the
Alabama Historical Commission, and if you’ve never been to visit, I highly
recommend it, especially if you enjoy Alabama history. Gaineswood is located at
805 South Cedar Ave. in Demopolis and is open Tuesday through Friday from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s also open on the first Saturday of each month from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. For more information, call 334-289-4846.
In the end, how many of you have ever visited the Gaineswood
National Historic Landmark? What did you think about it? Let us know in the
comments section below.
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