Goodson - Haunted Etowah County, Alabama

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2011 by Mike Goodson

All rights reserved

Images courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted.

First published 2011

e-book edition 2013

Manufactured in the United States

ISBN 978.1.62584.157.5

Goodson, Mike.

Haunted Etowah County, Alabama / Mike Goodson.

p. cm.

print edition ISBN 978-1-60949-360-8

1. Ghosts--Alabama--Etowah County. I. Title.

BF1472.U6G663 2011

133.10976167--dc23

2011026793

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Aspecial note of thanks is extended to all who helped make this book possible. Many individuals have shared stories about ghosts and strange sightings that have occurred in the past in Etowah County and that appear in some of these pages. This book actually had its early beginnings many years ago in Alabama City when people would share ghost stories trying to send shivers through a particular young child who treasured these stories over the many years.

A great deal of gratitude goes to the Gadsden Times, which printed and reported many of these accounts over the many years of the twentieth century. Many of the stories, especially the ones dealing with the strange creature sightings, would have been lost if they had not been reported in the pages of the newspaper.

Another great contributing force to this publication is the Gadsden Public Library, which has preserved the local newspaper on microfilm for many years. The library has also contributed its own ghost stories, as well as a ghost that has been reported there for many years.

Many people have shared stories, fables and legends pertaining to the strange specters walking the streets and roadways of Etowah County in earlier days from Crudup to Happy Hill and Gallant. These also include the Native American settlements of Ball Play and Turkey Town and the larger towns of Gadsden and Attalla. More and more people come up to me and want to tell stories or comment on the columns that I have written, and to each and every one I am forever in debt. A special thank-you to each and every one who has offered this amazing encouragement.

A great note of thanks is extended to the many people who have encouraged my writing over the years and the many people who have come to the history tours and ghost walks that have been conducted in downtown Gadsden the past several years.

And last, but never certainly least, a great debt is owed to the schoolchildren of Gadsden, who have accepted the history and science programs with their enthusiasm to learn and keep the history of Etowah County alive and well. This enthusiasm has helped to encourage my writings over the last fifteen years.

INTRODUCTION

Did you hear that? In the hours around midnight, in a house that is dark and quiet, a sound is heard that awakens you from a deep sleep. Is it a prowler, someone trying to get in, or is the house just beginning to settle on its foundation from age? Could it be something as simple as this, or is it something more? There is no other sound, only silence.

As sleep begins to once again take control of the night, you hear it again. This time it appears closer, possibly in the next room. Imagination begins to take control, and a vision of a ghostly specter is conjured up in the minds eye. FootstepsI know those are footsteps I hear! The sounds of the ticking clock and those footsteps are all that are heard until fatigue takes over and sleep relieves the anxiety of the late evening.

For more than 150 years, people have come to Etowah County and Gadsden seeking employment and a better way of life. The Coosa River, its majestic riverboat trade and the giant industries that have come and gone throughout our countys history have also brought stories of the supernatural. Strange creatures in and around the river and ghostly visits from restless spirits that seem doomed to walk the streets forever have haunted Etowah County since the days following the Civil War.

Stories from the 1880s concerning the Coosa River Sea Monster, as well as a race of giants living along the banks of the river at Whorton Bend, have come from several of Gadsdens prominent families. These stories, at first the source of ridicule, have emerged again and again throughout our history.

Other ghostly legends deal with the cemeteries that were once located in the downtown area, as well as several of the unfortunate people who have lost their lives on the streets of Gadsden. These stories are about people who have reached out from beyond the grave to help others in need. Are these ghostly reminders of spirits who refuse to rest, or are they the product of overactive imaginations? Did you hear that? Now I know those were footsteps!

PART I

COOSA RIVER LEGENDS

For more than 185 years, the Coosa River has brought the lifeblood into what is today known as Etowah County. While this river brought the first Native Americans to the area, and later the flatboats and steamboats, the river also brought stories of strange creatures, supernatural sightings and tales of ghosts and restless spirits haunting the area. The first sightings began in the mid-nineteenth century and, strangely enough, continue to this day.

One of the earliest sightings on the Coosa River was reported as quickly as the coming of the first steamboats in 1845. Reports of this strange creature continued for many years and actually kept people from venturing into the peaceful waters until reports of the creature were dismissed by local and state officials.

Other ghost stories pertaining to the river include a ghost ship that has been reported on the river making the weekly run from Rome, Georgia, to Gadsden, Alabama, the ghost of a roustabout who arrives on occasion to unload the boats at the wharf and the story of a wharf that vanished into history many years ago.

Many of the strange sightings are attributed to some of the gruesome murders and tragic accidents that have taken place in Etowah County. These intriguing stories include UFOs and cemeteries where restless spirits seem to haunt their final resting place. Several of these stories have been documented by prominent citizens and have been reported in the pages of the local newspapers.

THE SEA MONSTER OF THE COOSA

With the coming of the first travelers to the area, many strange stories have grown out of the beautiful Coosa River. The river has brought commerce to the area for more than two hundred years, with Native Americans plying the waters of the river in canoes and then the coming of flat-bottom boats and eventually the riverboats. The waters of the slow-moving river also brought stories of a strange creature known as the Sea Monster of the Coosa.

The first sighting of this strange creature was reported in the pages of the Gadsden Times on June 8, 1877. Marcus Foster, a respected citizen of Gadsden, was fishing in the vicinity of Ball Play Creek when he noticed a strange commotion near the opposite bank. As Foster crossed the river to get a closer look, he was amazed to find a serpentlike creature glaring at him. This startled the fisherman to the point that he quickly paddled his boat away from it. The large creature floated silently along the bank until it slipped under the water.