The Haunted House on Jackson Street
By Emily Kubota, Museum Curator
The house at 1104 Jackson Street as it appears today. Courtesy of Lynchburg GIS
The unassuming house at 1104 Jackson Street has a spooky reputation in Lynchburg. It is primarily known as the “Rocking Cradle House,” where inexplicable events occurred in 1839—supposedly caused by a demon. To learn more about that mysterious occurrence, see our blog post here: https://www.lynchburgmuseum.org/blog/2021/10/1/the-early-family-rocking-cradle. Although the rocking cradle is the most famous story associated with the house, it is by no means the only ghost story.
The original front porch of the house at 1104 Jackson Street is now enclosed. Courtesy of Kipp Teague
The origins of the house are unknown. It was built prior to 1819 when the land was annexed from Campbell County into the City of Lynchburg, but the exact year of construction remains a mystery. The original owner of the house too is unknown. It is thought that the house was constructed under the ownership of either Edmund B. Norvell or Thomas Wyatt; both were early proprietors of the land. The home was constructed facing the Salem Turnpike (today’s 12th Street), and it was constructed before the city’s modern street platting.
The house has been through several renovations and additions. The original structure was two stories; each story had two rooms and the stories were connected by a staircase. In 1875 a new addition was added, and a kitchen was built into the house in 1904. The home was originally supported by a well that was later filled in and now lies beneath the more recent additions.
In 1937 the Works Progress Administration’s Susan R. Beardsworth conducted an oral history with Trueheart Poston, the son of the owner of the home. He not only recalled the rocking cradle story, but also other ghost stories associated with the house.
This 1937 photo of the home was included in the WPA report
Poston told her about a menacing spirit believed to be the ghost of an unnamed Confederate major who was a heavy drinker and was known to fly into fits of “delirium.” When this happened, the major’s family locked him in the dining room for the safety of himself and the people surrounding him. It became his habit to pick up a fire poker and try to beat his way out of the room. He also used the poker to attempt to break away the paneling and locks along the doors and windows to escape. According to Poston, this repeated activity allegedly left an impression on the house, and the dining room doors were known to unlatch and open on their own accord, usually around midnight.
Another story shared by Poston involved Walter Addison, the editor of the Lynchburg News in the early 20th century. The Poston family owned the home at the time, and Addison rented a room as a tenant. Poston explained that Addison had returned to the house after a late night of editing around 2 a.m. and saw a woman standing at the top of the stairs. She was around 80 years old and was dressed in an “old fashioned costume.” Addison had assumed the woman was a visiting relative of the house’s owners, and he consequently retired to his room on the first floor. The next morning, he inquired about the visitor and was told that there was no one else staying in the house. Poston explained in his oral history that the woman’s spirit had not been seen since Addison’s encounter, but others had since heard the patter of her feet and witnessed chair cushions sinking as if used by an unseen spectre.
Walter Addison was the editor of a Lynchburg newspaper and allegedly witnessed a ghost. He was also a politician and served in the Virginia Senate. Courtesy of the Library of Virginia
Perhaps the most unsettling account given by Poston involved mysterious sounds. Supposedly in an upstairs dormer, visitors to the house could hear the sound of a body falling out of the window. No evidence or eyewitness accounts existed to explain the cause of the phantom noises, but Poston speculated it was the window sash weights banging inside their frames.
Maybe all of the stories surrounding this house have explanations, but the causes for some phenomena remain unknown. This time of year, it is easy to believe that the bump in the night or shadow in the corner of your eye is something more than natural. If you live in a haunted house in Lynchburg or have your own ghost stories in the Hill City, we’d love to hear them! Please email Curator Emily Kubota at emily.kubota@lynchburgva.gov. To read Trueheart Poston’s full account, visit image.lva.virginia.gov/VHI/html/05/0231.html.
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Sources:
Beardsworth, Susan R. “The Poston Home.” Works Progress Administration of Virginia Historical Inventory, 1937, pp. 1–7. Library of Virginia, image.lva.virginia.gov/VHI/html/05/0231.html.
Chambers, S. Allen, Jr, and Richard Cheek. Lynchburg: An Architectural History. 1st ed., Univ of Virginia Pr, 1982.