HGB Ep. 620 - Haunted Gainesville, Georgia

Moment in Oddity - Bumpy Snailfish (Suggested by: Ruth Dempsey)

Many strange creatures lurk in the deepest depths of our oceans, many of them, yet to be discovered. In March of 2019, off the central coast of California, a new and dare-I-say adorable species of fish was discovered. The Careproctus colliculi, or common name bumpy snailfish, is a deep sea dweller in the Pacific ocean. Ruth aptly nicknamed the little guy, the 'Old Man of the Sea'. Bumpy snailfish measure in at only about 4 inches in length. They are a pale pink hue with large eyes and wide pectoral fins. Their appearance is likened to a bumpy bald headed little old man with a beard. They live at depths of over 10,000 feet. It took several years of detailed studies including DNA sequencing, CT scans and morphological comparisons in the laboratory, to ensure that the bumpy snailfish was previously unknown to science. In August of 2025, the findings were published in the journal of Ichthyology & Herpetology. If you recall a prior oddity on the blobfish, this species is considerably more cute, but it also certainly is odd.

Haunted Gainesville, Georgia (Suggested by: Veronica Martin) Synchronicity

The city of Gainesville is in the northern part of the state of Georgia and was in the heart of the Georgia Gold Rush. Yes, Georgia had a Gold Rush. This fueled the early growth of the city, but eventually textile mills and the poultry industry would drive the local economy. Several of the historic buildings in town have ghost stories attached to them. Join us for the history and hauntings of Gainesville, Georgia!

Gainesville is the county seat of Hill County in northern Georgia. European settlers arrived in the early 1800s and they named their settlement "Mule Camp Springs." On April 21, 1821, the name changed to Gainesville in honor of a war hero from the War of 1812, General Edmund P. Gaines. Gaines was also known for his road building and surveying. A few months later, Gainesville was selected as the county seat. the town stayed relatively small until gold was found in Lumpkin County in 1829. Georgia is definitely not a state that comes up when talking gold rush, but the Georgia Gold Rush was the second significant gold rush in the United States. This rush spread through the North Georgia mountains and lasted until the early 1840s. Then the gold miners headed off to California for the gold rush there in 1848. There are multiple stories as to how and when the gold was discovered including an indigenous man finding a gold nugget in 1815, a man named Thomas Bowen found gold in the roots of a blown over tree at Dukes Creek, a Frank Logan and his enslaved man found gold at Dukes Creek, John Witherood found a three-ounce gold nugget at Dukes Creek and on it goes. Clearly, Dukes Creek definitely plays some part in the beginning of the gold rush. It is estimated that Georgia produced about 870,000 troy ounces or 27060024.8 grams of gold between 1828 and the mid-20th century. With this rush, people and business moved into Gainesville. The springs here also turned this into a resort destination in 1849. Things were great until a fire ripped through in 1851 and destroyed much of the city. The Atlanta and Richmond Air-Line Railway arrived in 1871 and this helped to regrow the city. Textile mills were built in the 1890s and these would be the primary economic driver, particularly with cotton. After World War II, a businessman named Jesse Jewell started the poultry industry in north Georgia and Gainesville has even earned the moniker "Poultry Capital of the World." Fun Fact: Tulsa King has filmed some scenes in Gainesville, Georgia. The historic Hall County Courthouse Annex provided an authentic backdrop for several scenes. 

Not only did Gainesville have the deadly fire in 1851, but the 5th deadliest tornado in United States history hit here on April 6, 1936 and injured 1600 people and killed 203. The storm spawned 17 other tornadoes across the south. There were actually two F4 tornadoes that tore through the business district, setting off fires, one of which killed 70 employees at the Cooper Pants manufacturing company. The factory had been here since 1893 and the flames trapped 125 employees who were mostly young women. The death toll of 70 in the collapse and fire is the highest in a single building ever hit by a tornado. The factory wasn't rebuilt. Wreckage from the tornadoes was piled to 10 feet in some places. President Franklin Roosevelt toured the damage three days later and returned to rededicate the courthouse and city hall that had been destroyed by the tornadoes. But this wasn't the only time the town was hit with a tornado. There was a deadly tornado in January 1903 that killed more than 100 people. We'll talk about that a bit later.  

Blackstrap Rock Hall 

Gainesville has a ghost tour, meaning we have some ghosts in this city! It's no wonder with the tragedies that have occurred in the city. The ghost tour begins and ends at Blackstrap Rock Hall because they are the ones that came up with the idea. Blackstrap Rock Hall is a fairly new venue, having just opened in May of 2023. It is located at 852 Main Street and hosts live shows and even caters to student musicians through Let There Be Rock. They feature live rock music - no DJ stuff - and this includes heavy metal, punk, goth, alternative or grunge. There are rehearsal suites in the back that bands can rent for practicing. Their grand opening was right up our alley with handmade art, music and horror memorabilia, taxidermy, oddities, clothing and records hard to come by at "your typical flea market." There's not much out there on the history of the building. Diane did find that before Blackstrap was here, this was Southern Safety Supply.

An apparition has been seen in period clothing going inside the green room and then exiting the green room. And we have a bathroom ghost here as well, only this time it's the men's room. This spirit presents as some kind of force holding the restroom door closed. Tour guide Ryan Cadaver said, "I’ve been locked in there once myself and it feels as if you’re pushing against the weight of a person leaning against the door. We changed the locks on the door, but we still get calls to this day with people saying they are locked in the bathroom." There is never anyone leaning on or holding the door closed.

Piedmont Hotel

General James Longstreet has a strong presence in Gainesville. He was a controversial figure, being that he was General Robert E. Lee's trusted advisor. Longstreet was born in South Carolina, but spent much of his childhood in Augusta, Georgia. His uncle, who lived in Augusta, was a fervent supporter of states rights and this became extremely important to him as well. He attended West Point, where he became friends with Ulysses S. Grant, and the two men fought together in the Mexican War. When the Civil War started, Longstreet was serving in the New Mexico territory and he quickly resigned and took an appointment as Brigadier General for the Confederacy. General Lee wrote after Longstreet foiled the Union attempt to seize Richmond that "Longstreet was the staff in my right hand." Interestingly, when the war ended, Longstreet and Lee parted ways on April 12, 1865 and never spoke to each other again. Longstreet moved to New Orleans for a time. His reputation got better in the North as he wrote in support of Republicans and Grant gave him a pardon and nominated him to be the Surveyor of Customs for the Port of New Orleans. The South deemed him a scalawag. Longstreet moved to Gainesville in 1875 where he bought a farm. His wife died in 1889 and he married his second wife, who was 34-year-old Helen Dortch in 1897. He was 76 at the time, but in defense of this being a legit thing, Helen did defend Longstreet's name until she died in 1962. He passed away in 1904 and is buried at Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville. 

Longstreet had a strong presence in Gainesville. He served as the postmaster for a time and bought and ran the Piedmont Hotel. With the railroad coming to town in 1871, it made sense to build hotels. A man named Alvah Smith bought the property where the Piedmont Hotel stands in 1873. This was a spot strategically close to the railway stop. Smith struggled financially, so it was slow going for building the hotel. By 1875, construction came to a grinding halt because of several liens filed against him. The largest of these was filed by his own sister. He needed a partner, and fast, and that would be General Longstreet.

The agreement that the men came to was for Longstreet to buy a half interest in the hotel for $6,000. Smith told the General that this would settle the liens and get the hotel finished. Then both men would operate the hotel until Smith was able to buy back, with interest, the half that Longstreet bought. Smith was really bad with money. Not only did the $6,000 not cover the outstanding debts, but there was no way to restart construction. So Smith signed the whole hotel over to Longstreet and the General took over the remaining debt. Construction resumed and was finally completed in 1876. The General put his son, John Garland Longstreet, and his wife, Maria Louisa, in charge of managing the business. Although Longstreet remained actively involved until his death in 1904. The hotel was three stories tall with wrap around verandas on all three levels. There was a kitchen and dining room and privy. There were also stables on the grounds. This was a really fine establishment for the time. And it was the perfect place for Longstreet to run his political life through, which not included him being postmaster for the city, but he also was Ambassador to Turkey, US Commissioner of Railroads and US Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia. Many notable people came through the hotel including the author of Uncle Remus Tales, Joel Chandler Harris, Confederate Generals Joseph Johnston and William Mahone and Union General and New York Congressman Daniel Sickles. Sickles became a well known person due to him being the first person to successfully use the "temporary insanity" defense after he killed his wife's lover, Francis Scott Key's son. And future US President Woodrow Wilson and his wife Ellen were frequent guests. Their daughter Jesse Woodrow Wilson was even born at the Piedmont in 1887. Apparently, chicken was a big thing at the Piedmont and the Piedmont Poultry Federation, makes the claim that southern fried (batter fried) chicken was first served at the Piedmont.

By 1899, the hotel's heyday was over and it was leased to Rev. J.A. Bell to be used as a boys' boarding school under the name Piedmont High School. In 1900, this became the Georgia Military Institute and once that closed, it was used as a boarding house. The Longstreet family still owned it by 1918 and the building had become so rundown by then that they decided to raze it, but it was later decided to preserve the ground floor, so just the top of the hotel was taken down. The family lived in this space as a house, but it must have been abandoned or changed into some kind of business and the city forgot what it had been. 

The Longstreet Society had been formed to honor the life of General Longstreet and they wanted to open a museum. They went to a property with some dilapidated buildings and discussed buying it and bulldozing the buildings to build a new museum. And then they discovered that the largest building was part of the previous Piedmont Hotel. They only had $400 in the bank, so they got seventeen people to sign a $10,000 loan guaranty agreement with the Gainesville Bank and Trust. This saved the hotel and they replaced and restored everything. After some financial issues later, the hotel was deeded to the Gainesville-Hall Trust for Historic Preservation with the agreement that the hotel would serve as Longstreet Society headquarters and the Society would manage the building. It runs as a museum today and has been restored to appear as the ground floor was when the hotel was open and the outside gardens got the same treatment. (Piedmont photos) Dallas Stephenson wrote an article for the UN Vanguard Paper in 2024 entitled A Toast to the Ghost and he shares this about the Piedmont, " Richard Pilcher, described paranormal activity that has appalled many guests during their stay. 'Longstreet would often visit the hotel accompanied by his wife and children that would soon pass away from pneumonia and scarlet fever,' Pilcher said. It is said that they still frequent the hotel after their passing. A man and his wife stayed at the hotel in the “Wilson room.” One night, the man was going back to his room after supper and saw a woman in his room. He soon discovered that woman was not his wife. It was later determined that he had seen Longstreet’s wife in a long white gown. When the lights were turned on, she disappeared. When Longstreet and his children stayed at the hotel, it was common for the children to play with marbles. Late at night many said they heard marbles falling to the ground alongside child laughter. Amongst all these stated accounts, there were never any children staying in the hotel during that time." 

Gainesville Train Station 

Longstreet loved to walk down to the train station when trains arrived, so he could greet visitors and drum up business for the hotel, or even just the dining room. He spent so much time at the train station that perhaps he left an impression in the ether there. People claim to have seen his apparition waving at the train station. And a figure resembling General Longstreet has been seen standing in the steam from the locomotive, but when the train pulls out and the steam clears, there was no one there. Now interestingly, this train station is not the original one that was built here because that was damaged in the 1903 tornado. The current one was built in 1910, six years after Longstreet passed away. Today, Amtrak uses the station and there are some offices inside and the local Eagles also use it. 

Gainesville Cotton Mill

The Gainesville Cotton Mill is said to be one of the most haunted buildings in the city. The original mill was built and opened in 1897. This was a time where there were practically no safety laws, there was no OSHA. And child labor was encouraged. Most families had to have everybody working to put food on the table. Children started working at the mill as young as eight-years-old. Accidents happened quite often, ranging from crushed arms to falls and even death. Workers went hours without a break or food. Depending on the weather, the factory could be extremely hot or very cold. During the hot summer of June 1903, the first deadly tornado to hit Gainesville would strike. Destruction was widespread with $750,000 worth of property damage. More than 100 people were killed and 300 more injured. Eighty of the dead were at the cotton mill, which had it's top two levels ripped off.  Had it not been for the interference of the cotton warehouse in the rear, the mill would probably have been totally demolished.Many of the mill families lost their homes and were homeless too. Operations ceased and the doors were closed in 1989. Today, the mill is 400,000 square feet and was bought by Bob Adams to house his two storage companies, Adams Transfer & Storage and Adams Data Management. He did millions of dollars of renovations and officially moved into the building in 1993. Bob saved the floors, which were 4-by-6-inch pine laid on a diagonal and the 39-inch-thick walls are made from brick. There are also the original, rounded-topped windows and a towering smoke stack and concrete anchors for an old water tower. The building actually sits on water and they still have to pump water out of it today. Bob said the building is really only suitable to being a mill and wasn't built that well, but he loves it. The only thing they really changed about the building were adding two cooling towers in the back.

The fourth and fifth floors have the most paranormal activity. Glen Eddins, the general manager of the storage company told the Gainesville Times, "There's definitely a ghost. In 1903, there was a tornado that tore and collapsed the roof on the fifth floor; part of the fifth collapsed on the fourth floor. In 1903 this was a full-steam-ahead cotton mill and there was a day care center here and a lot of children were killed in that tornado. You get a kind of a chill of being watched and the hair stands up on the back of your neck." There have been many reports of children running and laughing on the top floors through the years. The elevator would go to the top of the building on its own and people could hear footsteps walking out. And there have been apparitions that people thought were real people until they disappeared. 

Brenau University

Brenau University was founded as a private women's college in 1878 and called Georgia Baptist Female Seminary. The term seminary was weird because it wasn't actually religious. In 1900, a man named H. J. Pearce purchased the institution and renamed it Brenau, which comes from two words from two languages. There's the German brennen, meaning "to burn" and the Latin aurum, meaning "gold". This is proved out with the college's motto, "As Gold Refined by Fire". Brenau College was privately owned until 1911. Men were invited to attend classes in the late 1960s. Brenau College became Brenau University in 1992. One of the coolest buildings in the city is located at 202 Boulevard NE. This is the Pearce Auditorium, which is part of the Brenau University's campus. It was built in the Second Empire style in 1878 as an opera house and features a mansard roof, a beautiful stained glass window and four pairs of arched doors that serve as entrances. The exterior is painted a pinkish color and this happened by accident. They were cleaning ivy off the outside and it had grown into the brick, so quite a bit of brick flaked off and they had to putty it, which also meant they had to paint it and they chose white and you can guess how the pink happened. The theater seats 720 people and at the time it was built, it was the largest of its kind in the South. The theater gets its name from H.J. Pearce, who was president of the Uuniversity.

Dallas Stephenson wrote this about Brenau University, "Brenau University, known as the women’s college in the 1800s, is a known location for unearthly occurrences. Alyson Boyko, the host of the annual ghost tours at Brenau, described the experiences that happened on campus. 'Strange things have happened here in the girls rooms at the dorms like red writing all over the walls when no one is home.' A boy dubbed “Little Red” often frequents the girls’ dorms at Brenau. 'If you leave a red marker or pen out in Wilkes or Yonah Hall, Little Red will come and write on your walls with the red marker, hence the name.' 

Pierce Auditorium in Brenau University is known for the haunting of Agnes who took her own life there. In the 1920’s, another student at Brenau known as “Agnes” took her life in the Pierce Auditorium. People have different ideas of what happened to her. Some say Agnes took her life because she did not get into the sorority she wanted and hung herself from the balcony in the auditorium. Others claim she was heartbroken or lost the love of her life and she hung herself over the high dive swimming pool in the basement of the school. Agnes is said to still haunt the college as a friendly ghost. 'Agnes likes to play with the lights in the auditorium,' Boyko said. 'Before shows, people running lights will leave the light board in the tech box for Agnes to mess with before the show so she feels included.' Many students have also reported that they would leave penny jars in their dorms. When the students came back from events, the penny jars would be knocked over with all the coins face up." Theater directors have closed up and locked everything at night and come back in the morning and the lights are all on.

Gainesville seems to have a reason to be hosting a ghost tour. Sounds like a good place to hear some great music and run into a ghost or two. Is Gainesville, Georgia haunted? That is for you to decide!