With October almost over and Halloween upon us, it’s a perfect time to explore some of the haunted history in Williamson County. With so much tragedy occurring over the years, many stories have arisen detailing the haunted tales that have spooked residents and visitors alike.
Williamson County has many supposed haunted houses that dot it’s beautiful landscape. One of the most famous is Carnton. In an upcoming post, we will be exploring Carnton’s amazing history but for fun let’s look at the haunted history and dispel fact from fiction. Carnton was the home of the McGavock family during the American Civil War. The site was inundated with wounded soldiers during and following the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. Thousands of Confederate soldiers would pass through the fields surrounding the home, many marching straight for their deaths. Numerous people have claimed to see ghostly apparitions of soldiers still roaming the property at night, on the grounds and throughout the Confederate cemetery. While I can not speak on the truth of these ghost stories, I can say that there were soldiers crossing the property on that dreadful November day in 1864 that would see no tomorrow.
Another ghost story that routinely comes up regarding Carnton involves a female slave who was murdered in the 1840s by a jealous lover. Many report she can still be seen on the back porch or inside the home from time to time. Historically this story can not be verified. While there most certainly were slaves on the property in the 1840s, after extensive research, I could not find any documentation of a murder under those circumstances. Now does that mean it didn’t happen, no! Lots of things pertaining to slaves during that time period would not have been documented. So that story will remain a mystery.
The Lotz House in downtown Franklin, shows up on many of the local haunted house lists. Built by Albert Lotz in the 1850s, on land purchased from Fountain Branch Carter. Mr. Lotz was a German immigrant looking to make a name for himself in America as a master craftsman. His home was built to showcase his talents. Little did he know that only a few years later, his home would be in the center of a very bloody Civil War battle. With Federal soldiers occupying the town of Franklin since at least 1863, residents were coming in constant contact with the troops. One of the haunts of the Lotz house involves said Federal soldiers. The claim is made that the Lotz family had a set of twins that were killed by the soldiers when they poisoned the family’s well water. The children unfortunately drank from the well killing them. While this may be a fun story to tell to ghost chasers, there is no evidence that the poisoning ever happened and to be honest with you, no documentation exists that indicates the Lotz family even had a set of twins.
Whether you believe or not in ghosts or the spirit world, it is always fun to hear some of the tales that surround these old homes. While I am definitely not saying that these stories are true or false, I will leave that to the imagination, the real history of these homes and the lives of the families who lived in them are equally amazing and surely worth your time. I can not wait to jump into the actual history with you in a future post.
