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Gettysburg is rich with Civil War history – and Civil War ghosts. The site of a historic battlefield and President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Gettysburg has numerous ghostly reminiscences from times gone by. Here are the spookiest places in Gettysburg to visit as part of a Gettysburg ghost tour.
The Welty House
The Welty House is a historic haunted house in Gettysburg that only recently opened to the public. It was built by J. Schwartz in the 1830s and purchased by Solomon Welty, a Swedish immigrant whose original surname was Welde, in 1854.
During the Battle of Gettysburg, as Union soldiers and residents were fleeing the town, Confederate sharpshooters took up position at the Welty House, aiming at fleeing soldiers and civilians. The house served as a separation line between the Confederate and Union armies and bore the brunt of the battle of the war. After the battle, 36 soldiers from both sides were temporarily buried on the grounds of this property.
In 2006, The Welty House was converted into an inn as part of the Brickhouse Inn (more on that later). The ghosts of the battle-weary soldiers buried there continue to haunt the building, especially the basement. The ghosts of the Welty children, the only kids there at the time of the war, were traumatized by the fighting. They are said to dwell in the basement, where they hid from the warring soldiers.
The Brickhouse Inn
Right next to The Welty House stands the historic Brickhouse Inn, one of the most haunted inns in the country. Guests often report hearing tapping from within the walls during the night and waking up to find items misplaced, ending up in bizarre locations.
The ghost of Charlie Toot, former owner of the inn, is frequently heard barking orders in the dead of night. However, most of the shadowy figures belong to the soldiers who died in the house during the battle. The loud crack of gunfire can sometimes be heard in the early morning hours.
The Jennie Wade House
Not far from The Welty House and the Brickhouse Inn is The Jenny Wade House, which is now a museum. Jennie Wade had the unfortunate claim to fame of being the only civilian to die during the Battle of Gettysburg. She was baking in the kitchen of the house when the house was fired upon, and she was instantly killed.
The most unfortunate part of this story is that Jenny and her family moved to this house, which belonged to the oldest Wade sister, Georgia Anna, to flee from the fighting that was taking place in front of their own home. When the fighting followed them to her sister’s house, she decided to bake some bread for the Union soldiers outside the house. She was kneading dough when she died, and her bloodstain still soaks the floor.
The house is now a museum, but some visitors report hearing the muffled sound of gunfire and a woman’s sharp cry immediately after. It’s believed that the spirit of Jenny Wade never found peace due to her blood being soaked in the floor.
The Farnsworth House Inn
The Farnsworth House Inn is one of the oldest inns in Gettysburg. It was previously called the Sleepy Hollow Inn, owned by the Black family and heavily marketed as an attraction for having 135 bullet holes in its walls from the Battle of Gettysburg.
During the Battle, the building was turned into a makeshift infirmary and military headquarters. In fact, many buildings were repurposed during the war by soldiers who seized them. In this case, it was occupied by Confederate soldiers. On the third day of the Battle, though, Union soldiers stormed the structure and killed many of the Confederate soldiers who were stationed there.
According to the Schultz family, which currently owns the inn, 16 different spirits inhabit the house. A former midwife, several Confederate soldiers, and an eight-year-old boy are among the spirits who are said to reside in this building for eternity. The soldiers’ ghosts are stuck in a perpetual loop, patrolling the house as in their lifetimes before they were gunned down. Meanwhile, some guests report an eerie and frightful feeling of being tucked in at night, presumably by the midwife’s ghost.
Dobbin House Tavern
Finally, we come to the oldest building in Gettysburg, the Dobbin House Tavern, which was the former home of Reverend Alexander Dobbin. It served as the first stop on one of the Underground Railroad’s passages north of the Mason-Dixon line. During the Civil War, this building, too, was turned into a temporary hospital.
The ghost of Reverend Dobbin himself supposedly watches over the tavern. Some drinkers report feeling a hand on their shoulder, and others report strange occurrences such as their glasses emptying by themselves.
Take a tour with Civil War Ghosts to learn the deep and dark secrets of Gettysburg’s haunted history.
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