Bulloch Hall in Haunted Roswell, GA
Tucked away in the flourishing greenery of Roswell, Georgia, sits a pristine white structure, its Grecian facade a callback to what some may consider a simpler time. Though it’s barely a minute from the nearest highway and the sounds of small-town life are within earshot, there’s something secluded and distant about the old manor. Maybe it’s its age, standing as one of the oldest structures in Roswell. Maybe it’s what it represents as the former birthplace of the nation’s 26th president.
Or maybe it’s the shadows that creep beneath Bulloch Hall’s clean and stately presence, whispering of a grimmer reality behind the building’s history. Yes, it’s a national treasure, especially for former President Theodore Roosevelt supporters, but Bulloch Hall and its legacy were built on the backs of others. For some, that legacy cost them their lives.
At Bulloch Hall, you’ll come for the history and stay for the ghostly mysteries and eerie haunts.
Who haunts Bulloch Hall?
Many believe it’s the spirit of a young girl who fell to her death in a well on the property. Others swear Confederate soldiers have gazed down at them from the second-story window. The only real way to know is by booking an Atlanta ghost tour.
The Start of a Presidential Legacy
The couple gathered near the fireplace, the joy of the occasion lighting the quaint dining room. At the time, it was merely a wedding, a common union between two people. What neither Martha “Mittie” Bulloch nor Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. knew was that their nuptials would drastically impact the nation’s politics.
Five years before giving birth to the future 26th president and nominee of the Bull Moose Party, Theodore Roosevelt, Mittie, and Roosevelt, Sr. stood before friends and family within the antebellum mansion. It was one of the most pivotal moments in the 19th-century Greek Revival home. Years prior, the construction had been commissioned by one of Roswell’s first settlers, Major James Stephens Bulloch, and his wife, Martha Stewart.
Though the dining room would be the most famous part of the home, Bulloch, a cotton planter, purchased the 10-acre lot to expand his operations and try to offset his accumulated debt. Though he tried, when the Major passed away in 1849, he left his family with no money. The threat of being homeless loomed over Martha and their children until a family friend, Major Archibald Howell, purchased the home and allowed them to live there.
For the Bullochs, it gave the family stability to stay, grow, and host events like Mittie and Theodore’s marriage. For others, it may not have been the best outcome.
Slavery Keeps Bulloch Hall Operational
Though Major Bulloch commissioned the Greek Revival home, he didn’t have much to do with the construction. That honor fell upon trained craftsmen and unpaid workers, including some of the 31 slaves owned by the Bulloch family.
Living in slave cabins on the property, these workers managed the grounds, worked in the family’s cotton fields, and sometimes worked and stayed inside the mansion. Two known slaves – Daddy Luke and Maum Charlotte – were closest to the Bulloch family and lived within the home. They experienced the best conditions while the remaining slave workers combatted the Georgia heat while caring for the mansion’s grounds and cotton fields.
There’s little record of how the Bulloch family treated the slaves, but they still knew no freedom, and those who lived and died by their owners would likely find their way back to the space they were most familiar with. In this unfortunate case, that would be Bulloch Hall, the former slave quarters that were reconstructed for the mansion’s exhibits.
While the spirits of some slaves likely made their way back to the manor they knew best, there’s at least one known apparition that cries out into the night, forever seeking help with her plight.
The Weeping Girl of Roswell
The ten-acre property on which Bulloch Hall was built featured many fine adornments, but few were more crucial than the pair of wells. The first, used to gather drinking water for the family, is visible in the front yard, its appearance elevated by expert stonework. Around the back, butt up against dense forestry, sits a second used to keep dairy products cool.
When all is quiet, if you stand near the second well, you may hear the sorrowed weeping of a young girl. Legend has it that the girl was either trying to receive something from the well or playing too close to it and fell to its bottom. It’s unknown if she died on impact or succumbed to starvation or even hypothermia within days, but she did pass away in that hole.
The Weeping Girl of Bulloch Hall is one of the mansion’s more popular spirits, with visitors turning an ear to the well to hear her cries echoing from the vast emptiness below.
Memories Linger at Bulloch Hall
Bulloch Hall didn’t remain in the possession of either the namesake or Roosevelt families. After Martha Stewart’s death, the Wood family became the new owners, purchasing it from Martha’s executors in 1872. Eventually, it landed in the hands of “Hattie” Mary Virginia Suddath, but she had no one to inherit it after her death.
That came in 1971, and with no one to claim it as their own, the building was scheduled for demolition. Instead, businessman Richard S. Myrick took ownership and restored Bulloch Hall to its original beauty.
Of course, a fresh coat of paint highlighted a reality—No matter how refreshed the property looked, its ghosts still lingered. Lighting flickers, perhaps the mischief of a young slave girl charged with lighting and extinguishing all lamps and candles, and an unusual energy courses through the building’s veins.
There’s a charge at Bulloch Hall, a flow of energy that reminds you that you’re not alone. Is it the former slaves of the Bulloch family returning to reclaim what should be theirs? From the weeping well ghost to the Confederates in the second-story window, plenty of tales from the afterlife are still tied to the fascinating history of Bulloch Hall, Georgia.
Want to learn about the haunted locations in and around Atlanta? Book your Atlanta ghost tour today, and read up on the history of the Bulloch residence on our blog. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for even more haunted history.
Sources:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/venues/museum/bulloch-hall-7LP/
https://www.exploregeorgia.org/roswell/history-heritage/civil-war/bulloch-hall
https://househistree.com/houses/bulloch-hall
https://networks.h-net.org/node/4113/discussions/9660143/confronting-slavery-georgias-bulloch-hall
https://good-eyesight.net/haunted-bulloch-hall-a-hidden-haunt-within-roswell-georgia/
https://househistree.com/houses/bulloch-hall
https://paranormaldailynews.com/bulloch-hall-is-haunted/1275/
