HGB Ep. 649 - Haunted Abingdon, Virginia

This Month in History - The Birth of Louis Armstrong

In the month of August, on the 4th, in 1901, legendary trumpeter, singer and bandleader, Louis Armstrong was born. Armstrong was born into severe poverty in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a child, Louis worked odd jobs for a local family who loaned him money to buy his first cornet. He learned formal cornet playing at the Colored Waif's Home for Boys after a New Year's Eve arrest in 1912. Armstrong had the fortune to be mentored by local jazz pioneer, Joe "King" Oliver before he began playing professional gigs on Mississippi riverboats. In 1922, Armstrong moved to Chicago to join King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. He popularized scat singing with his 1926 hit "Heebie Jeebies". Scat singing is a style of vocal jazz improvisation where the singer uses wordless vocals and nonsense syllables instead of actual words. After World War II, manager Joe Glaser officially disbanded Louis Armstrong’s big band. It was then that Louis Armstrong began touring with his band 'Louis Armstrong and His All Stars'. In 1964, he recorded the most famous version of "Hello Dolly" which became a Billboard number-one hit and won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Male Vocal Performance. Louis Armstrong was one of the most foundational and influential figures in jazz history. He died of a heart attack on July 6, 1971, at his home in Queens, New York. 

Haunted Abingdon, Virginia 

The small southern town of Abingdon in Virginia oozes charm with its large maple and dogwood trees lining the brick sidewalks of Main Street, which had once been a pioneer trail through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Quaint shops and eateries fill the 20-block historic district here and there are several haunted locations that make this one of America's most haunted small towns. Join us for the history and hauntings of Abingdon, Virginia. 

Main Street was once the Great Road that Native Americans and bison had traversed through the Blue Ridge Mountains before Thomas Walker arrived in 1748 to survey the area for the Loyal Land Company. The spot was known as Wolf Hills because a story claimed that Daniel Boone had camped here with his dogs in 1760 and that they had been attacked by wolves. Several pioneering men bought plots from Walker in 1765 and began to set up a town. In 1774, Joseph Black built a fort to protect the settlers from attacks by the Cherokee Nation and the town would take on the name Black's Fort. An act of the Assembly of Virginia would incorporate the Town of Abingdon in 1778 and then it would have a very important role in the Revolutionary War. In 1780, militias from North Carolina and Virginia gathered at the Muster Grounds in Abingdon and marched 300 miles to fight in Kings Mountain, South Carolina and this would be a turning point in the war. The name Abingdon is thought to have come from Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, England, which was the ancestral home of Martha Washington's family. The railway would bring prosperity and the Civil War would bring destruction in December of 1864 when Union General George Stoneman’s cavalry forces raided the town, tore up railroad tracks, burned buildings and destroyed military supplies. The modern era brought the Theater District and the Market District. There are over 145 buildings in the historic district and they have played witness to most of this history and a few of them just may have spirits.

Barter Theater

There are two buildings that make up the Barter Theater. There is the Gilliam Stage at 127 W. Main Street and the Barter's Smith Theater across the street at 110 W. Main Street. The building in which the Gilliam Stage resides was constructed in 1831 for Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church. 

Eventually this was owned by the Sons of Temperance and they transferred the title to the Town of Abingdon in 1890. The building was then used as a town hall and later as a fire hall. Even after this is no longer a fire hall, the siren still sat on the roof and would sound when there was a big fire. This was there until 1994 and would occasionally interrupt performances. Barter’s Smith Theatre's building was constructed in 1829 as a Methodist church. Speaking of fires, a big one burned up the out buildings of the church in 1914, leaving only the main building. Martha Washington College used the building as a gymnasium and a storage area and in 1961, it became part of Barter Theater. Robert Porterfield was an out-of-work actor when he moved from New York City to Virginia in 1932. He was looking for a new beginning and he convinced 22 of his fellow actors to come with him. They founded the Barter Theater in 1933 in what would later be the Gilliam Stage. Their first show opened on June 10, 1933 and was a three-act drama called "After Tomorrow." The theater was packed because Porterfield had implemented an interesting system. The Great Depression had left most people without extra spending money, so patrons could barter crops and livestock for tickets. Hence the name, Barter Theater. This also gave the actors something to eat as they were poor too. That made this the longest-running professional equity theatre in the United States. Life magazine would call this system a "booming success" in 1939. This was a little tough on the actors who boarded at the theater because they had to deal with chicken and pigs running around the back of the theater.   

Porterfield heard that the Empire Theater in New York City was going to be demolished in the 1950s and he was given a weekend to get to the theater and pull everything out of it that he could. So he and the actors headed north and they salvaged $75,000 worth of seats, lighting fixtures and system (originally installed by Thomas Edison), carpeting, paintings, and tapestries. That lighting would be used in the theater until the 1970s. 

Both buildings have undergone several renovations through the years. The Smith Theater has 167 seats, making this an intimate theater. It was named Smith Theater in 2019 for Steve and Debbie Smith for their loyalty to the theater. The Gilliam Stage has seating for 506 patrons and features a traditional proscenium style theater. The Lounge was opened in 2018 for events. A couple of notable actors connected to the theater are Gregory Peck and Ernest Borgnine. Peck acted in five plays at the Barter Theatre during the 1940 season and Borgnine spent four and a half years performing with the Barter Theatre company. There is a secret tunnel under the theater and some lore claims that a Confederate soldier was killed in the tunnels while transporting some ammunition and he roams the property and if you see him, specifically his wound, you will die in two days. That tunnel also harbors a malevolent entity that was once said to have scared some carpenters working in the theater at night. They dropped their tools and wouldn't return. And the founder of the theater seems unable to let go of it. People have claimed to have seen him sitting in the audience or watching from his favorite opera box during live performances.

The Tavern 

The Tavern is located at 222 E. Main Street and is the oldest building in Abingdon and said to be the oldest pub in Virginia. The building was erected in 1779 to serve as a stagecoach stop for people on their way to Kentucky. This is a two-story Colonial style building constructed from hand-cut local limestone and logs. 

The tavern served as the first post office west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Some famous people who stayed here include Pierre Charles L’Enfant, Henry Clay, President Andrew Jackson and the King of France. The building would serve as a hospital during the Civil War and then a variety of things like a bank, a bakery, an antique shop, a general store, a private residence, a barber shop a cabinet shop and today as a fine dining restaurant. The wife of the founder of the Barter Theater, Mary Dudley Porterfield, bought it in 1965. Up to that point, from 1858 to 1964, it had been owned by descendants of Thaddeus Harris, who was a freed black man. Local attorney Emmitt F. Yeary owned the place next and then sold to Max Hermann in 1994. Josh Fuller worked for six years as general manager under Hermann and in 2019, he bought the restaurant from him and owns it still. Josh Fuller believes that the building is about 70% original and the interior features wooden beams across the ceiling, original fixtures and uneven brick flooring. And there is this glorious outdoor terrace. There are several spirits here. People hear disembodied footsteps and objects move on their own. This is one of our favorite nicknames for a ghost: The Tavern Tart. Obviously, this is a female apparition who is believed to have met a violent fate at some point in the tavern, although there is no specific evidence of this story. At least if you don't count getting a little pinch on the tush if you are a man. Men seem to get most of the attention from this ghost. Not only do they get pinched or grabbed, but they see her face in the window. What makes her haunting compelling is how similar stories are about her and these stories are coming from people who haven't heard of the ghost before. And there have been many of these experiences, so they are hard to ignore. 

James Wyatt's Horse

Some people claim to hear the galloping or clip-clopping of horse hooves on Main Street when there is no horse on the road. The ghostly horse is said to belong to Union Captain James Wyatt who was part of Stoneman's Raid. Major General Stoneman had a force of 6,000 men and their only job was to destroy stuff, which they did over 2,000 miles through six states. This would be one of the longest cavalry operations in military history. Wyatt decided to exact revenge in Abingdon because he had grown up there and he held a grudge over run-ins with authorities there as a youth. He set fire to the courthouse and this ended up burning the homes near it as well. Nearby Confederate cavalry soldiers went after Wyatt and they shot and killed him and his horse. And now that horse, and perhaps Wyatt atop the horse, still ride Main Street. 

The Valentine Baugh House

The Valentine Baugh House is located at 129 Main Street. The home started as a log house in 1798 that was built by Robert Dukes. A Federal-style expansion was added in 1807 by new owner, surveyor Valentine Baugh. The house encompasses the original log cabin built on the site. The house passed on through the family to Valentine's granddaughter Minnie Baugh who added a retail space on to the western side of the house. She operated it as an apothecary shop for ladies. Minnie and her sister Ethel organized the Washington County Historical Society. 

A story claims that Ethel fell in love with an intern at the hospital, but her father didn't want the two together. Ethel planned to elope, but before she could leave, her father locked her into her room on the second floor of the house. She never left the house and now people claim her spirit is still there. Cheré Dastugue Coen (shuh-RAY das-TIG-oo KOH-en) wrote on the Weird South website in 2020 about an experience a tour guide had at the house while dog-sitting. She wrote, "The current owner once asked Hietala to house-sit her dog for a week. The Assistant Haint Mistress would not pass up a chance at a haunted house, she told us, so she eagerly agreed. However, Hietala is more easily scared than she thought. She woke at 3 a.m. with the sound of a door creaking downstairs, right where the house opens to the store. 'I didn’t sleep that night,' she admitted. The second night she again woke at 3 a.m. with the same noise. About 30 minutes later, she felt as if someone was in the room with her, watching her. 'I felt every single hair on the back of my neck go straight up,” she said. “And it (the haint) did not want me there.' The next night Hietala moved to the living room where she left on all the lights as well as the TV. 'I binged watched ‘Diners, Drive-ins and Dives’ and felt that if that can’t protect me, nothing will,” she related with a laugh. Guy Fieri let her down, however. The dog began barking in the dining room and wouldn’t stop. Hietala scooped up the pooch but the dog kept returning to the spot, looking at the door leading to the shop and barking. That was enough for our Assistant Haint Mistress. She grabbed the leash, the dog and her stuff and spent the rest of the week dog-sitting in her apartment."  

Martha Washington Inn

Across the street from the Barter Theater is the Martha Washington Inn at 150 West Main Street.  Most people call it simply The Martha. This started as the private residence of General Francis and Sarah Preston and their nine children. The General was a hero of the War of 1812 and he was retiring to Abingdon. 

The two-story house was completed in 1832 in the Federal style and built from brick. The porch has a one-story Ionic portico with massive double doors topped by a large fanlight. The interior featured a grand staircase, high ceilings and formal parlors on the first floor, with bedrooms on the second floor. The house was bought in 1858 by the founders of the Martha Washington College. This was an all woman college and was open for 70 years, closing during the Great Depression because it was no longer financially stable. During its tenure as the college, the Civil War started and a Confederate unit called the Washington Mounted Rifles trained on the college grounds. The school also served as a hospital and both sides brought their wounded here. The Victorian era brought the updates of another floor with a mansard roof and dormers. The valedictorian of the Class of 1880 was Nellie Nugent Somerville and she would go on to become the first woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature. Her daughter would also be elected shortly thereafter. Nellie was described as "a major liberalizing force in Mississippi for forty years." An expansion in 1913 brought brick wings to the east and west with front porticoes supported by Doric columns. The college closed in 1932 and sat vacant until it opened as the Martha Washington Inn in 1935. The main lobby of the inn is the former living room of the Preston family. The East Parlor holds a 9-foot Dutch-baroque grandfather clock that had been shipped over from England by a Preston daughter. Notable people who stayed at the hotel through the years include First Lady  Eleanor Roosevelt, President Harry S. Truman, Lady Bird Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Elizabeth Taylor. 

The United Company bought the inn in 1984 and a multi-million dollar renovation was conducted. The Camberley was the next owner in 1995 and they rehauled everything, adding a spa, pool, tennis and pickleball courts and renovating guest rooms and they opened the Sisters American Grill. This is now part of their historic collection. And apparently, has several ghosts.

There are claims that slaves were kept down in the basement and that the basement is haunted with some of their spirits. The tunnel from the Barter Theater connects to tunnels at the house as well, so the malevolent entity that hangs out at the theater could be wandering around here too. Actors who used the tunnel to go from the theater to their rooms at the inn in the 1930s and 1940s, claimed to run into this spirit. Since the hotel had served as a hospital for a time, it isn't surprising that there might be a wounded Confederate soldier wandering around. He is usually seen hobbling along using a crutch for support and the strange thing about him is that he always leaves a trail of mud behind him. There was also a Union soldier who had been wounded and was at the hospital. He fell in love with one of the nurses while he was recovering. He was sent back to his regiment and then returned a while later to bring the nurse home with him. Confederate soldiers heard he was in the hospital and they shot him dead. A large pool of blood formed under him, leaving a bloodstain that no one can get out of the wood. Another version claims that it was two Union soldiers who killed a Confederate soldier whose girlfriend was attending the college. He had come to tell her goodbye and was shot and killed and he left behind the bloodstain that never goes away. Even when it is cleaned, it returns. Carpets over the area often develop mysterious holes over the stains. The most famous spirit here is Beth with her violin. She was a young lady at the finishing school who had volunteered to stay on and help tend wounded soldiers. Beth had a violin and she played it in the evenings to calm the nerves of the injured. One of these men was Captain John Stoves, a Yankee officer. He caught her eye and she played most often for him and the two fell in love. He actually asked her to marry him and she accepted. Unfortunately, his injuries were grave and eventually he succumbed to them. Beth was heartbroken. She herself caught typhoid fever and died a few weeks later. Now she has returned to the inn and is seen as an apparition in Room 403, where it is thought the Captain died. Female students at the college claimed to hear a ghostly violin playing and this has continued with employees and guests at the inn. 

Abingdon historic district has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970 and seems like a great place to experience history going all the way to the Revolutionary War. Do we have some spirits going back to this time too? Are there other ghosts here? Are these places in Abingdon haunted? That is for you to decide!