Rocky Hill Castle
Encyclopedia
Rocky Hill Castle, also known simply as Rocky Hill, was a historic plantation
and plantation house between Town Creek
and Courtland
, Alabama
, United States. Once famed in Alabama for its architecture, it was an unusual mixing of neoclassical
and picturesque
aesthetics in one plantation complex. The house and tower suffered from neglect during much of the 20th century and were subsequently demolished in the 1960s. Much folklore surrounds the site, with Rocky Hill Castle being the subject of numerous ghost stories
. The most notable story, "The Ghost of the Angry Architect", was published in Kathryn Tucker Windham
and Margaret Gillis Figh's 1969 work 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey
.
. Saunders, born on May 7, 1806, was a planter and attorney.
He established his plantation 4 miles (6.4 km) from that of his father, Turner Saunders
, and his Saunders Hall
plantation. In the years after coming to Lawrence County
Saunders practiced law in nearby Courtland. He eventually amassed 640 acres (259 ha), centered on the hill that his house sat upon.
Desiring a grander dwelling, Saunders demolished this earlier house and began building Rocky Hill Castle in 1858. The American Civil War
put an end to construction in 1861, although the estate was largely complete by that time. The house served as Confederate
hospital during the war, with several soldiers buried nearby in the Saunders' family cemetery.
The plantation passed through many owners following the death of James Saunders in 1896. The last Saunders to own it was James Saunder's grandson, Dr. Dudley Saunders. Dr. Saunders and his family are alleged to have abruptly abandoned Rocky Hill Castle in the 1920s, purportedly after ghostly activity.
Regardless of the accuracy of those events, the plantation was purchased from Dr. Saunders in the 1920s by H.D. Bynum and R.E. Tweedy, who used the farmland but did not reside in the house. This started a long period of decline for the house, which eventually became ruinous. It was finally demolished by a new owner, Gordon McBride, in 1961, after he and his wife had salvaged what they could for their new house in Decatur
.
and Italianate
architectural styles. The architect of the main house is unknown, although at least one of the ghost stories alleges that it was a gentleman of French
extraction. The two-story house was a rectangular stuccoed brick structure over a raised basement. It featured one-story side wings, one-story Doric
porticoes centered on the front and rear, and was topped by a large cupola
.
Connected to the house complex on the western side by a high brick wall was a five-story brick Gothic Revival
tower crowned with crenelation
. The connecting wall was pierced by a Tudor arch. The wall and octagonal tower have been traditionally linked to an itinerant craftsman from Wales
, Hugh Jones. The tower, as well as the adjoining brick kitchen building, contained rooms used to house the Saunders' slaves
.
The interior of the house featured some of the most elaborate woodwork and plasterwork in the state. Other features of the house were an impressive walnut
staircase, double parlors
and Italian
marble mantles.
activity at Rocky Hill Castle included knocking and banging of unknown origin, a ghostly "lady in blue", ghosts of Civil War
soldiers and the ghosts of tortured slaves.
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
and plantation house between Town Creek
Town Creek, Alabama
Town Creek is a town in Lawrence County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, as well as the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area...
and Courtland
Courtland, Alabama
Courtland is a town in Lawrence County, Alabama, and is included in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, as well as the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population of the town is 769.-Geography:...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, United States. Once famed in Alabama for its architecture, it was an unusual mixing of neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
and picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
aesthetics in one plantation complex. The house and tower suffered from neglect during much of the 20th century and were subsequently demolished in the 1960s. Much folklore surrounds the site, with Rocky Hill Castle being the subject of numerous ghost stories
Ghost story
A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, or an account of an experience, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has...
. The most notable story, "The Ghost of the Angry Architect", was published in Kathryn Tucker Windham
Kathryn Tucker Windham
Kathryn Tucker Windham was an American storyteller, author, photographer, and journalist. She was born in Selma, Alabama and grew up in nearby Thomasville....
and Margaret Gillis Figh's 1969 work 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey
13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey
13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey is a book first published in 1969 by folklorist Kathryn Tucker Windham and Margaret Gillis Figh. The book contains thirteen ghost stories from the U.S. state of Alabama. The book was the first in a series of seven Jeffrey books, most featuring ghost stories from a...
.
History
The plantation at Rocky Hill Castle was founded by James Edmonds Saunders in the mid 1820s, shortly after he and his wife came to Alabama from their native GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Saunders, born on May 7, 1806, was a planter and attorney.
He established his plantation 4 miles (6.4 km) from that of his father, Turner Saunders
Turner Saunders
The Rev. Turner Saunders , a noted Methodist preacher, was born in Brunswick County, Virginia.In 1830 he was elected President of the Board of Trustees of an academy for young women. This was LaGrange College, near Leighton, Alabama, which was burned during the Civil War. He served in that...
, and his Saunders Hall
Goode-Hall House
-See also:*National Register of Historic Places listings in Lawrence County, Alabama...
plantation. In the years after coming to Lawrence County
Lawrence County, Alabama
Lawrence County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is included in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, as well as the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. It was named after James Lawrence, a captain in the United States Navy from New Jersey. As of the 2010 census, the population was...
Saunders practiced law in nearby Courtland. He eventually amassed 640 acres (259 ha), centered on the hill that his house sat upon.
Desiring a grander dwelling, Saunders demolished this earlier house and began building Rocky Hill Castle in 1858. The American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
put an end to construction in 1861, although the estate was largely complete by that time. The house served as Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
hospital during the war, with several soldiers buried nearby in the Saunders' family cemetery.
The plantation passed through many owners following the death of James Saunders in 1896. The last Saunders to own it was James Saunder's grandson, Dr. Dudley Saunders. Dr. Saunders and his family are alleged to have abruptly abandoned Rocky Hill Castle in the 1920s, purportedly after ghostly activity.
Regardless of the accuracy of those events, the plantation was purchased from Dr. Saunders in the 1920s by H.D. Bynum and R.E. Tweedy, who used the farmland but did not reside in the house. This started a long period of decline for the house, which eventually became ruinous. It was finally demolished by a new owner, Gordon McBride, in 1961, after he and his wife had salvaged what they could for their new house in Decatur
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur is a city in Limestone and Morgan Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The city, affectionately known as "The River City", is located in Northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. It is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County...
.
Architecture
Rocky Hill Castle was built from 1858 to 1861, utilizing a combination of the Greek RevivalGreek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
and Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
architectural styles. The architect of the main house is unknown, although at least one of the ghost stories alleges that it was a gentleman of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
extraction. The two-story house was a rectangular stuccoed brick structure over a raised basement. It featured one-story side wings, one-story Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
porticoes centered on the front and rear, and was topped by a large cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
.
Connected to the house complex on the western side by a high brick wall was a five-story brick Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
tower crowned with crenelation
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
. The connecting wall was pierced by a Tudor arch. The wall and octagonal tower have been traditionally linked to an itinerant craftsman from Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Hugh Jones. The tower, as well as the adjoining brick kitchen building, contained rooms used to house the Saunders' slaves
History of slavery in Alabama
Following the War of 1812 and the defeat and expulsion of the Creek Nation, European-American settlement in Alabama was intensified, as was the presence of slavery on newly-established plantations in the territory...
.
The interior of the house featured some of the most elaborate woodwork and plasterwork in the state. Other features of the house were an impressive walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
staircase, double parlors
Parlour
Parlour , from the French word parloir, from parler , denotes an "audience chamber". In parts of the United Kingdom and the United States, parlours are common names for certain types of food service houses, restaurants or special service areas, such as tattoo parlors...
and Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
marble mantles.
Folklore
Purported paranormalParanormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
activity at Rocky Hill Castle included knocking and banging of unknown origin, a ghostly "lady in blue", ghosts of Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
soldiers and the ghosts of tortured slaves.
See also
- List of plantations in the United States
- Reportedly haunted locations in AlabamaReportedly haunted locations in AlabamaThere are many reportedly haunted locations in the U.S. state of Alabama, with notable places listed below.*Adams Grove Presbyterian Church and adjacent cemetery in Dallas County, allegedly the site of multiple paranormal events...