Spirits of the Old South Endure at Georgia Museum

11alive - The Marietta History Museum sits off the square along a set of railroad tracks, during the civil war the building was used as a hospital and morgue for Confederate and Union armies. It's where The Great Locomotive Chase began and now has exhibits from many eras of history. Some of the artifacts date back to the 1700s.

A team from Paranormal Georgia was brought in to investigate what other parts of history may still be around. "I've seen someone standing next to me, I've smelled cigar smoke, I've heard footsteps when no one else was in the building," says museum founder Dan Cox.

Paranormal Georgia wanted to see if they could document any of those claims. "We always go into an a place cold," says investigator Bob Sturgess, "and with an opened mind."

The team set up cameras, recorders and special devices that pick up electromagnetic fields. It's believed when a spirit is present, it disrupts the electromagnetic field.

The group walked through the building for several hours asking sometimes, "Is anyone here with us." One investigator asked "are you a Union sympathizer?" No answer, but the group recorded several hours of audio and video that they're stilling going through. We'll let you know what they find.

Whatever spirits still reside at the museum "don't feel evil or cold," said Cox. "I've never been slimed like you see in Hollywood."
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THE KENNESAW HOUSE GHOSTS


Marietta, a town steeped in Civil War history, with several old buildings still intact and occupied, its not hard to find ghost stories. Joni Goodin, founder of Ghosts of Marietta, a walking ghost tour, collected the tales and now takes people on a 90-minute jaunt through the haunted places in town. She tells stories of a ghost dog in a local cemetery, a grieving sister and a mysterious fireman.

"The Kennesaw House is pretty fascinating. Some claim there are 700 ghosts there since it was once a Confederate hospital and morgue," said Goodin.

The house was built in 1844, and in 1855, the Fletcher family added on a bed and breakfast. They had three daughters, and it's believed that one of the daughters could still be there, according to Goodin.

"I'm not sure why. But they did live through the Civil War, a terrible time of tension and death. The Fletchers were Unionists, and it was really a period when families were being ripped apart and women were being left alone," she said.

Dan Cox, founder of the Marietta History Museum in the Kennesaw House, said he has many pictures of ghosts. "I've heard and seen all types of stuff. When I get here at 6 a.m., I hear footsteps. But I don't really believe in that stuff; it's just the imagination," he said with a laugh.

HISTORY AND RENOVATION

Built as a cotton warehouse by John Glover in 1845, the Kennesaw House is one of Marietta's oldest buildings. Dix Fletcher purchased the warehouse in 1855, and after remodeling it, opened the Fletcher House Hotel in its place. During the early years of the Civil War, the hotel was used as a Confederate hospital and a morgue. In addition, Andrews' Raiders stayed in a second floor room on the evening prior to their theft of the steam engine, "The General."

As the war was nearing its end in July of 1864, the Union Army took over the building, and when General Sherman came through town on his "March to the Sea," he did not burn the Fletcher House. Sherman spared the hotel because Dix Fletcher was a Mason and because his son-in-law, Henry Cole, was a Yankee spy. However, the fourth floor did catch fire as ashes from other burning buildings blew onto the roof, and the fourth floor was not rebuilt.

After repairs to the Fletcher House were completed in 1867, Dix Fletcher reopened the hotel, and renamed it the Kennesaw House. The Kennesaw House remained a hotel until the 1920s, when the first floor was converted to retail shops, leaving the hotel on the second and third floors.

In 1979, the building was gutted, and converted into an office complex. Various businesses and restaurants occupied the building for the next 14 years, until the Downtown Marietta Development Authority purchased the building. Then, under the direction of Marietta City Councilman Dan Cox, the second and third floors were completely renovated to house the Marietta Museum of History on the second floor and offices on the third.

The Marietta Museum of History officially opened to the public on January 13, 1996, with two galleries, an Executive Director, and volunteer staff. Today, the museum occupies the second and third floors of the Kennesaw House. The museum has expanded to four galleries and has a full time staff, a Board of Directors and a large number of volunteers.

Source:
http://www.mariettahistory.org
http://www.ghosttocoast.us