Is the Old Governor's Mansion in Milledgeville Haunted by Old Molly?

 Often called the First Lady of Milledgeville, or the Gem of Milledgeville, the Old Governor's Mansion is the centerpiece of the historic district in Millledgeville and one of the highlights of the Georgia College & State University Campus. Designed by noted architect Charles Cluskey, an Irish immigrant, and built by Connecticut builder Timothy Porter, the mansion was finished in about 1839 (Georgia College & State University, 2021). While Milledgeville was founded in 1803 and named for Georgia Governor John Milledge, the state legislature did not designate the city the permanent capital of Georgia until 1805, and the state legislature opened its first official meeting in the city in the newly constructed statehouse in 1807. The Old Capital Building is now the main administrative building and a classroom facility at Georgia Military College's main site in Milledgeville. The Old Governor's Mansion did not begin housing governors until 1839, well after the seat of power was moved there 32 years prior. The first governor to occupy the mansion was Governor George Rockingham Gilmer, who moved in in 1839 during the end of his term (Turner, 2013). Other governors who lived there were Charles McDonald, George Crawford, George Towns, Howell Cobb, Herschel Johnson, Joseph Brown, Provisional Governor James Johnson, Charles Jenkins, and Provisional Governor General Thomas Ruger (Turner, 2013). Howell Cobb also served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and President Buchannan's Secretary of the Treasury, and Herschel Johnson was Stephen Douglas' running mate in 1860 against eventual winner Abraham Lincoln. Governor Ruger was appointed as military governor during Reconstruction (Turner, 2013).

While the mansion was the center of power for a few chaotic periods of Georgia history, perhaps the most memorable of those epochs was the arrival of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman as he entered the city of Milledgeville during his famous March to the Sea in November 1864. While in Milledgeville, Sherman stayed at the mansion. Other events that occurred in the state while the mansion served as the home of the chief executives were the Cherokee Removal and Trail of Tears and the Civil War itself. 

One can imagine that a home to so many influential politicians and so many chaotic and perilous events discussed, managed, and even played out in or near the mansion, that there would be stories of the supernatural and strange. I have gone on many tours of the mansion in the last 15 years, one of them recently as part of their Death: After Dark Tour Series where I learned about the way our ancestors in the 19th century dealt with death. Of particular interest was the death of the brother of Governor Joseph Emerson Brown-Joseph Mackey Brown. He died as the result of a wound while serving as an officer in the Confederate service. Joseph M. Brown died in the mansion in July of 1864. In fact, the mansion used to do a murder mystery tour where guests try to solve the murder of Mr. Brown, albeit he was not murdered and was killed as a result of military action, a fact the mansion staff makes very clear (Pound, 2017).  

Along those lines, during the Death: After Dark Tour I attended was about over, one patron asked the tour guide, who was quite the storyteller and very familiar with the history of the mansion, if there were any ghost stories or episodes of the paranormal that she could relate. She stated very clearly that the mansion was not haunted, and that the staff knew of no ghost stories she could recall. However, some have had quite a different experience in the mansion through the years. The man responsible for establishing the mansion as a historical "must visit" was James Turner, who was the Mansion Director and Adjunct Professor of History at GCSU. Sadly, he passed away in 2017, and in his stead, the mansion was left in the care of Matthew Davis, his protégé. Matthew has turned the mansion into an even greater historical asset to Georgia, and has even managed to get the mansion affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. During Turner and Davis' tenures at the mansion, thousands of visitors and researchers have visited the mansion, not to mention the many students, employees, docents, and graduate assistants. 

Although I have never sat down and discussed this with Matthew or asked him if he has found anyone by the name of Molly in the historical record at the mansion, stories do abound about a cook who served in the mansion. Apparently Molly was well-known for a few of her specialties, which included black-eyed peas with pork and blueberry muffins. Some visitors and workers at the mansion have reported smelling those things inside the mansion itself, although there is no place in the mansion where those items could be cooked. While the mansion includes the restored kitchen where food was prepared in days of old, the wood-fired stoves and fireplaces are no longer operated and there would be no one cooking those items inside the mansion. While no one is sure of who "Molly" is, nor when she lived in the mansion or if she is even real, it should be noted that there is a cafeteria nearby the mansion across the street at the Maxwell Student Union. Food is served there to students at GCSU. It should also be noted that there are bakeries in downtown Milledgeville, most notably Ryals Bakery, that could be the source of the smell of the blueberry muffins. However, the timeframe of when these stories were told and originated is not known. 

Besides the smells associated with "Molly," the cooking ghost, stories are told of bed-linens being tossed from their beds, and the scent of cigars. It should be noted that there is no smoking allowed inside the mansion, and the policy is strictly enforced. Another story involves the local fire department. Once, the staff of the mansion smelled burned potatoes. The smell became so strong that it alarmed everyone, and for safety sake, the fire department was called. Upon arrival and investigation, the source of the smell was never found (Hargrett, 2014). 

So is the mansion haunted? Or are these stories just the flights of fancy of ghost hunters or the over-active imagination of staff and visitors who are projecting their fears and suspicion and making more of the issues than there really is? Could the smells have originated outside the mansion? Was there ever a cook there named "Molly?" If so, is it possible that she is still hanging around the mansion and its grounds cooking up the victuals for which she was so well-known? I have no clue, but what I do know is that a visit to the mansion is never disappointing, and stepping into the building is like stepping back into the 1850s. 

                                            Photo courtesy of gcsu.edu and the OGM page.

References:
Hargrett, K. (October 29, 2014). "The Ghost of the Old Governor's Mansion," 41WMGT. Retrieved from: https://www.41nbc.com/the-ghost-of-the-old-governors-mansion/.

Pound, G. (October 13, 2017). "First-Ever Murder Mystery at Old Governor's Mansion Sells Out in an Hour," The Union-Recorder. Retrived from: https://www.unionrecorder.com/news/first-ever-murder-mystery-at-old-governor-s-mansion-sells-out-in-an-hour/article_4c5ad78a-afc7-11e7-8cc9-bb4d2fd8c7a7.html.

Turner, J. (2013). Old Governor's Mansion. In New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 14, 2021, from http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archeologuy/old-governors-mansion/.

Georgia College & State University. (2021). Georgia's Old Governor's Mansion. GCSU. Retrieved from: https://www.gcsu.edu/mansion.

The Strange Disappearance of Justin Gaines

 One of the highest profile disappearances in Georgia was that of Justin Gaines. Gaines, 18 years old and a freshman at what was then called Gainesville State College, now part of The University of North Georgia, decided to spend the evening with friends at a local nightclub and hangout known as Wild Bill's in Duluth, Georgia in Gwinnett County. That would be the last night anyone would see Justin Gaines. The date was November 2, 2007.

The Thursday night in question was a popular night at Wild Bill's-Thirsty Thursday, as they called it. Local police investigating the case said there were over 3000 people in attendance that night at the club. While there, surveillance cameras picked up Justin on their footage, but then he simply vanished. The last image where showed up was of him making a cell phone call to a friend to come and pick him up. After that, the cameras had no more images of the missing teenager. From what police understand, Justin phoned several friends, and none of them were able to come and pick him up from the club. So, Justin left the club around 1:30 AM.

There are several important things to note about Justin while he was at the club. Apparently, he took a lot of cash with him to Wild Bill's. Why is unclear. Additionally, he was wearing a diamond earring in his ear, something he routinely wore out and about. Detectives investigating the case theorized that this probably attracted the attention of the wrong kind of person, and that could have had something to do with his disappearance. The theory gained some traction with the emergence of a suspect named Dylan Glass, a convicted felon and gang member. Glass told police that he indeed did assault Justin and took the diamond earring from his ear, but he did not kill Justin. As of 2017, Glass was not charged with the anything related to the Gaines case, but Glass was in federal prison at the time of the confession serving a sentence for unrelated charges. One thing to note about Glass, however, is rumors have circulated about him telling a friend he killed Justin Gaines, and according to Justin's mother, Erika Wilson, Glass was saying this prior to her reporting Justin as missing. While such a claim is difficult to substantiate and Glass maintains he does not know the whereabouts of Justin nor did he kill the 18-year old boy, in 2011, another suspect, Martin Leonard Wilkie was arrested for concealing a death. The reason: Glass told authorities that he and Wilkie had in fact assaulted Gaines and shot him to death. It gets worse from there. Glass and Wilkie supposedly placed Justin's body in a toolbox and then took it to Walton County. Horribly, Glass' mother, Ruth Ballew, was potentially involved, as it was told that she helped the two men dispose of the body. She even led investigators to the location where they supposedly dumped Justin, but no body or evidence of remains were found there. Ultimately, she was charged with making false statements to police.

Police also strongly believe a blonde-haired lady lured Justin into her car for a ride home form the club. The next is just theory. They think the woman took Justin to a house in nearby Snellville where he was robbed and killed. They further theorize that the killers probably threw his body in Lake Lanier, and when it surfaced, they retrieved it and dumped it down a well, which some say was in nearby Barrow or Walton County. Police investigators have searched nearby wells for human remains, and nothing has been found. To this date, no one has seen him, heard from him, nor found further evidence of his whereabouts. Remains have been found near Lake Lanier, but so far, none of them have been identified as Justin Gaines. 

So the question remains, what happened to the boy? Why did he not have a ride home from the club? Did he tell anyone at the club where he planned to go after the night was over? Who was this mysterious blonde woman who supposedly lured him into her car for a ride home? Did the money he flashed and his diamond ring draw attention from thieves and miscreants who then robbed and killed him? Did Dylan Glass really assault Justin and take his diamond earring but leave him alive, or does he know more than he is telling?  Did he and Wilkie shoot Justin and dump his body off in Walton County with the help of Ruth Ballew, Glass' mother? If not, why did they lie, and why did Ruth Ballew put herself in jeopardy by lying to police and taking them on a wild goose chase looking for a body that wasn't there or ever was? Or was it at one time?  Another pressing question is that Justin's parents told him that he could always call them for a ride home, no matter what time of night or morning it was, but he didn't. Why? Of course, the ultimate and most important questions are, what happened to Justin Gaines, and where are his remains?

The above is a picture of Gaines at 18. Today, he would be 32 years old. He stood at 5'10-5'11 and weighed about 230 pounds at his disappearance. There is a reward for information leading to his remains or for information that could solve the case. His mother and investigators believe that Justin is dead, so this is a recovery rather than a rescue attempt.

Further Reading:
Coyne, A.C. (November 2, 2017). The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved from: https://www.ajc.com/news/local/now-been-years-since-gwinnett-teen-justin-gaines-disappeared/Vbl3QRbE4hmzJjCpw9ig6L/.

Kellog, B. (September 30, 2019). 11Alive. Retrieved from: https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/justin-gaines-human-remains/85-9086be5f-fa30-4885-8c24-554b9b228e1e.

The Charley Project (March 12, 2018). Justin Glen Gaines. Retrieved from:  https://charleyproject.org/case/justin-glen-gaines.

Eerie Georgia: Chilling Tales from the Mountains to the Sea by Jim Miles, A Good Read!

 Jim Miles has staked out a position in the Georgia paranormal literary world as "Mr. Weird Georgia," mostly owing the moniker to his many books on ghosts and the supernatural in Georgia. Some of his most popular books are Weird Georgia: Close Encounters, Strange Creatures, and Unexplained Phenomena, Civil War Ghosts of Atlanta, and Haunted North Georgia. He has also released a number of books on the Civil War in Georgia. Recently, I ran across one of his more recent books from the last few years, and I am glad I did. Eerie Georgia: Chilling Tales from the Mountains to the Sea is a great read. It is jam packed with vignettes about the strange, supernatural, weird, and unexplained in the Peach State. Written in narrative style, Miles provides access to some of the weirdest, yet interesting events in Georgia. Some of the more common stories can be found in the book, including sightings of Altamaha-ha, otherwise known as Georgia's Loch Ness monster, and the ghosts of the Windsor Hotel in Americus, but Miles also presents a bevy of other tales that even the most avid reader of strange and macabre tales from Peach State, like me, might never have heard. I have taken the liberty of listing a few of those below, as well as a brief description of the tale. These were some of the more interesting to me.

1. Connie's Sage-This story details memories related to the author by a lady who claimed to have alien encounters throughout her life, and vivid details about at least three encounters, one of which was in her youth, and another that included her husband. The story was definitely weird and has the potential to cause chill bumps, particularly with the extreme circumstances behind the encounters and contact with the beings she described.

2. Ancient Roman Coin-This narrative particularly interested me as an historian and professor of history. The story relates details about a woman who once lived in a small community outside Savannah and her issues with the septic lines outside her home. When a professional came and dug into the yard in an attempt to fix the problem an ancient Roman coin was unearthed. The discovery brought up great points about the historical narrative and assumption that Christopher Columbus and his crews were the first Europeans to successfully explore and infiltrate the interior of North America. Of course, the voyages of Leif Erickson are also relevant to this discussion, but even so, the Roman coin would predate the Leif Erickson voyage by a millennium or more. This story is definitely one that most Georgians know nothing about and has the potential to cause a divergence from the accepted narrative about the Age of Exploration and Discovery.

3. Mad Gassers-Similar to stories from the Midwest and other parts of the country, Columbus and Bainbridge seemed to have an issue with what the writer calls a Mad Gasser. In one account, a family dog was able to wake up the rest of the family before too much damage was done, people were harmed, or property stolen. The gasser escaped, but his fumes, piped into the home via windows, did have an impact on the residents and made some of them ill. In yet another account from Bainbridge, the gasser attacked several times and several families in a neighborhood in the mid-1940s, just as World War II was coming to a close. Filling the homes with a sweet smelling gas that made residents ill, one family was so frightened they left their home and had to stay with neighbors. As is to be expected, no one was ever charged with the crimes, so the Mad Gassers were at large for quite a while. With the large chunk of time that has passed, it would be quite logical to assume they are now dead, that is if death came naturally to whatever or whomever this fiend was.

The book describes a great deal of phenomena in Georgia. From the Mud Volcano at the Temple of Nodoroc to the stories about falling fish from the sky, Eerie Georgia will not disappoint. 

Happy New Year!!!

 Greetings to all my followers and readers!
I want to wish you all a Happy New Year, and although we are already ten days into 2021, I felt compelled to come to the blog and wish you all the best and brightest in this new year. I know that we have been through quite a spell, as my great-grandmother used to say, in 2020, and 2021 has not started off much better, if any better at all. However, there is much to look forward to in 2021. We have vaccines, and we hope and pray they work. We have a new administration coming in, and although I never reveal how I vote, and I have no intention of making this blog a political blog at all, a new administration always brings with it new ideas and optimism about solving old and new issues. Like I did with President Trump, I plan to give President Biden the respect he deserves as the new leader of the free world and hope that he can help grow and heal the country. I wish President Trump all the best-and yes, I refer to him as President Trump, as that is what he is. I do not, nor will I ever engage in name-calling or childish antics. I, like so many others right now, plan to demonstrate the attitude and behavior we expect to see from our elected leaders. In other words, I plan to "Be the change I want to see." I hope and pray that you all will as well, and that our leaders, from BOTH parties, will do so along with us. I do wish you all the best, and another thing to look forward to is more posts from me in the new year. There are some exciting things happening, and I plan to post about recent events so that you may be able to follow them.

Again, Happy New Year, and I wish you all the best in the coming days. God bless.