Windsor Hotel in Americus, GA
Posted: 07.14.2024 | Updated: 07.14.2024
Haunted hotels are a spectacle for travelers, the tragic or natural makings of every ghost a fascinating story to absorb as they move between seedy motels and extravagant resorts. Some of these venues are so much more than a stop on an ongoing scavenger hunt to locate the most haunted venues in the world. They’re incredible examples of brilliant architecture and a showcase for historic towns and cities like Americus, Georgia.The 130-year history of the Windsor Hotel is dotted with suicides, murders, and guests who unexpectedly passed away in the night. For as beautiful and majestic as the hotel is—its ornate decor and striking embellishments enhanced by its red wood and antique furnishings—many visitors will find themselves so engrossed in its ties to the paranormal. Every piece of decor in the spacious lobby is a potential conduit for the dearly departed, and each room is a hideaway for the shyest or angriest specters.Its Victorian facade, complete with a castle peak and classic red-brick facing, manifests images of specters in period attire peering through one of its many windows. Was it just a thought spurred by the hotel’s haunting appearance, or maybe you did actually spot one of Windsor’s many apparitions gazing at passersby?Who haunts the Windsor Hotel?
The historic landmark accumulated its share of lost souls over the building’s lifespan, whether operating as a hotel or as an apartment complex. From the Ellaville, cashier believed to have stolen from a local bank before killing himself in one of Windsor’s bathrooms to the double murder that left a young girl and her mother dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft, enough tragedy has shaken the Americus’ hotel to spawn all manner of apparitions.The trick is matching the spirit to the untimely end that may be part of Windsor’s long history. It’s a game you may have to play during your Atlanta ghost tour, as the city and its landmarks have no shortage of ghost stories to tell.Luring the North
Chartered in 1832 by Senator Lovett B. Smith, Americus, Georgia, was anything but an attractive stopover for anyone traveling South to escape the chill of winter. Until the 1850s, before the construction of its first railway, it didn’t even have a form of mass transit. Wanting to appeal more to northerners, work on a new hotel began in 1888. The southwest corner of Lamar and South Jackson Street was measured and prepared for the new structure. An initial design submitted by W. H. Parkins attempted simplicity. It depicted a four-story wooden building sporting a square layout and 120 rooms. Confident he had the winning design, G. L. Norman submitted his own plans after Parkins, winning over a selection committee that included capitalist John Windsor with a design more closely resembling the former Hotel Alcazar in St. Augustine, Florida. The ornate design seemed more likely to draw travelers’ attention, so $150,000 was set aside to complete construction.Thousands flocked to see the structure’s beauty on the hotel’s June 16, 1892, grand opening. The fifth-floor ballroom hosted a Grand Ball, and accommodations filled up quickly, with over 100 guests booking shortly after availability opened.The Windsor’s Sordid Legacy
Despite the fanfare of its grand opening and having hosted notable names like New York governor and future president Franklin D. Roosevelt and former heavy-weight boxing champion John L. Sullivan, the Windsor struggled early into the 20th century. Right before the turn of the century, its original investors, the Americus Manufacturers and Improvement Company, declared bankruptcy, kicking off a period of uncertainty for the splendid hotel. Initially sold to jeweler Charles A. Fricker, by 1930, it was up for sale again and being eyed by hotelier Howard Dayton. When Dayton purchased the Windsor, he converted it into apartments, and what was once the pride of Americus slowly depreciated. By 1974, the apartments were abandoned, and there was no bright future in sight for the hotel.A stroke of luck came to the hotel in the 1980s when the newly formed Windsor Development Corporation pooled upwards of $6 million, which it sunk into restoring the Victorian hotel. A more extensive renovation began in October 1990, which allowed it to finally reopen its doors almost exactly a year later. For locals and travelers, it meant having access to the pride of Americus once more, a stroke of extravagant architecture that gave life to the courtyard nestled within Lamar, South Jackson, North Lee, and West Forsyth streets.Within the walls of the extravagant estate, though, resided inhabitants who had seen the hotel through its best and worst years.The Tragedies and Haunts of Windsor
Not every guest of the lavished hotel has checked out. Some have become a fixture of its history, popping up occasionally to remind guests that, no, they aren’t actually alone in the dark. Who haunts the Windsor is a loaded question with dozens of answers. After all, with a guest list that’s compiled names for decades, tragedy is bound to have struck. Maybe the most notable eternal residents of the short-term accommodations are Emily Mae and her daughter, Emma. It’s believed that in the early 1900s, Emily Mae, a housekeeper of the Windsor, got into a spat with her lover, a local politician. In some versions, Emily Mae was African American, making it a relationship that no early 20th-century politician would ever cop to, and he never did. Whatever led to their fight resulted in a double murder, with Emily and Emma dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft. Few guest accounts attest to the presence of Emily’s spirit in the hotel, but Emma’s is often heard by guests playing in the hallway.The spirits have piled up over the years, from the dedicated employees like Floyd Lowery, who refused to leave even after death, to the businessman said to have taken his life in his third-floor room. Ghostly images appear in the lobby mirror, and guests have heard voices filling empty halls. If guests want to experience the unexplainable, they’re best to stay on the third floor, where much of the unexplained activity is centralized.Visiting the Ghosts of the Windsor Hotel
The Windsor is the type of establishment travelers should experience regardless of whether they care to run into a specter from another time. Its Victorian features are social media-worthy and bound to draw jealousy from followers, friends, and family. The ghosts and their fascinating stories are a bonus on top of the hotel’s luxuries and creature comforts. To learn more about Atlanta’s greatest haunts, check out our blog or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Book your Atlanta ghost tour today to spot one of The Big Peach’s eternal residents. Sources: https://visitamericusga.com/more-local-info/local-facts/https://vanishinggeorgia.com/2009/01/31/windsor-hotel-1892-americus-2/https://www.windsor-americus.com/history/https://www.americustimesrecorder.com/2021/10/08/history-hauntings-and-ghosts-at-the-windsor-hotel/https://thehauntedlibrarian.com/tag/floyd-lowery/https://www.americustimesrecorder.com/2021/10/08/history-hauntings-and-ghosts-at-the-windsor-hotel/Book A Atlanta Ghosts Tour And See For Yourself
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