I, along with my co-author Dr. Gerald Smith, recently had the privilege to be interviewed about our book from Arcadia Publishing Black America: Augusta, Georgia.

It was an amazing experience to have the opportunity to share the book with a national audience. The learning experience itself is something I will be able to use in the future with my own interviews and lectures. So I want to send out an appreciative “thank you” to Book TV for letting me have the chance to work with them in the literary field.

Elizabeth Davison

The year was 1829, and downtown Augusta was alive with the sights and sounds of the popular Lower Market. Rays of sunshine peered through white cotton-candy clouds as shoppers strolled through the busy streets of the city market where shoppers found livestock, fresh fruits and vegetables, and even slaves. The sound of a visiting preacher's message of redemption could barely be heard over the hustle and bustle.

Annoyed with the lack of attention the preacher found in the market that day, the man cast a curse upon the city of Augusta and all who inhabited it. According to local legend, he predicted a wind would sweep through the city and destroy the market, leaving only one remnant behind-a single stone pillar. Those who touched or tried to move the pillar would meet with certain death.

Almost 50 years later, in the winter of 1878, the preacher's prophecy had nearly been forgotten. Yet on Feb. 8 of that year, a tornado destroyed the Lower Market. And, true to the evangelist's prediction, only one stone pillar remained standing.

There are many stories and legends told by Augustans about the Haunted Pillar, as it is now known. When workers were clearing out debris that winter from the tornado's damage, one of them who had heard about the curse tried to amuse his friends by putting a rope around the pillar in an attempt to knock it down. He died from a sudden heart attack moments later.

Later, during construction on Broad Street, two men tied ropes around the pillar and tried to move it. Both were struck by lightning while straining to knock it down. Other stories tell of those who have tried to take pieces off the pillar as souvenirs and fell ill within hours after their visit to the landmark.

That same stone pillar is still located in downtown Augusta today, although it has been moved to the corner of Fifth and Broad.

In more recent times, a man hit the pillar after veering off Broad Street in his car. It was merely a minor accident, and bystanders and police all agreed that the man's injuries should have been minimal. Yet, the man died at the scene.

The Haunted Pillar is perhaps the most well-known of Augusta's ghost stories, but there are many other very interesting tales of ghosts and creepy occurrences still being passed down through generations of Augustans.

Most students know that Augusta State University is presently on the site of what was formerly a Confederate arsenal. But many don't know that several campus buildings are said to be haunted.

Bellevue, known as Bellevue Hall to Augusta State students, was built around 1805 and renovations have just been completed to restore and preserve it. First used as a plantation home by the Walker family, it was eventually purchased as part of the property for the Augusta arsenal, with a small area of land set aside for the Walker family to use as a cemetery. The arsenal was occupied and guarded until the end of the Civil War, when it was surrendered to the Union forces.

According to Ed Cashin, in his book General Sherman's Daughter and Other Augusta Stories, strange occurrences at Bellevue have ties to the arsenal's fascinating history.

In 1861, the Galt family lived in the Bellevue home. John Galt had two young daughters-Emily and Lucy. According to local legend, 21-year-old Emily met a young, handsome soldier at the arsenal. The two fell in love and decided to get married. Her fiancé soon went off to join the Confederate troops, but only after much heated debate between the two over whether or not he should fight in the war.

Emily used her engagement ring to etch "Emily Galt, 1861" on a second-story window at the Bellevue home. When she heard the news of her fiancé's death, Emily threw herself out the same window and died on the ground below.

Now used as campus offices, several ASU employees have heard arguing in the hallways of Bellevue Hall after other co-workers have left for the day. The hallways are always empty, but the arguing continues. Perhaps it is Emily, trying to convince the soldier she loves not to go to war.

Sibley Mill stands beside River Watch Parkway, a tall brick reminder to passers-by of the successful, rich history of Augusta textile production. It was built in 1880 on the site of the Confederate Powderworks, which had supplied soldiers in the Civil War with gunpowder.

Sean Joiner, in his book Haunted Augusta and Local Legends, describes the legend of a ghost at the mill. On October 20, 1906, mill worker Maude Williams was shot to death by an irate Arthur Glover, a married man with whom she had been having an affair. She had broken off the relationship, and in his anger (and, according to some, lunacy), Glover killed his mistress while she worked at her weaving machine.

After her death, many workers weaving in the same room said they saw the ghost of Williams. They claimed that when the room was empty, they could see the woman at her weaving machine.

Supervisors, in disbelief, discounted the sightings. But when new employees at the mill reported the same sightings, they began to think that the stories could be true. Sure enough, the weaving machine would be turned on when the room was empty and all of the machines should have been off. Was it the spirit of Williams?

In 1989, when the Old Medical College of Georgia building (circa 1834) was being renovated, workers found 154 bodies underneath the building. Organs and bones were found in vats and jars of foul-smelling liquid, giving credence to a tale that had been circulating among Augustans and MCG students for years-the legend of "Resurrection Man."

The Resurrection Man is thought to have been a slave named Gradison Harris, who had been purchased by the Medical College in 1852. He was taught anatomy, reading and writing during a time when educating slaves was illegal. His education, however risky, was for a rather morbid task-he was instructed to exhume bodies from Cedar Grove Cemetery, a then-prominent burial place for African-Americans in Augusta. The story says that Harris would enter the cemetery in the middle of the night, dig up a grave, open the coffin and bring the cadaver to the college for students to use as a test subject. Harris later became the building's janitor.

The bodies found in 1989 were given a proper burial in 1998 at Cedar Grove Cemetery. Ironically, Harris is buried at the same cemetery.

Augsta's second oldest structure, the Ezekiel Harris House, is also said to be haunted. The house was built around 1797 and served as housing for wealthy planters and merchants who visited Harrisburg, the town Ezekiel Harris was attempting to build and populate. He wanted to create a city that would economically rival Augusta, so he invited planters and businessmen to come and hear his vision.

The property adjacent to the home was the site of a small battle during the Revolutionary War. The Mackay Trading Post, located on the property, was being held by the British. Elijah Clark and other patriots engaged the British, who were being led by Colonel Thomas Brown, in battle. The British prevailed and Clark retreated, leaving behind 29 of his patriot soldiers. These men were tortured, hanged and murdered in cold blood.

According to Joiner, visitors to the Harris House have reported seeing ghosts-a woman, thought to be a mother of some of the soldiers, frantically searching for her sons. Others have reported seeing ropes hung from the railings of the stairway or feeling the strain of a rope around their own necks. The creaking of the tall stairways is said to accompany the screams of the tortured patriots.

The city of Augusta is full of rich history, a history that can be seen in lovely old homes, downtown streets and tall brick mills. Magnolia trees and majestic oaks frame cemeteries and stately old buildings that are turning to rubble. But for all its beauty, Augusta has a dark side, a creepy side just waiting to be explored. Ghosts roam long hallways and graveyards turn scary under the cover of darkness. So the next time you're walking downtown and you come across an old stone pillar that looks some what out of place, watch out-you might just become the next victim of haunted Augusta

Legends abound in every corner of the world. Ghosts haunting, footsteps that make you glance behind to find no one there, and random unexplained sounds all incite the imaginations for people to come up with ghosts stories. Yet, we hear of these stories so often there must be some kernel of truth to these takes of terror and tragedy. And should Augusta be any different? Sean Joiner’s books talks of murders, Confederate soldiers, and the long buries dead.

Anyone who had lived in Augusta very long know of the Haunted Pillar on the corner of Fifth and Broad Street. It’s been the source of countless dares to run up and at least touch it. For it is said, in the 19^th century, a priest demanded a church to sermonize in. The people scorned him by disregarding him. Infuriated, the priest cursed the Lower Market predicting of great winds that will level the market save for one pillar. Anyone trying to take this pillar down would surely die. Later on, a tornado did come and level the market, leaving the single pillar unscathed.

Many people have told me of this story and others. “This pillar has seriously ruined my life. It’s like it (the pillar) thought I was too young to die so it just made everything bad happen. Nothing good has happened since I touched it. I/M not the only person I know either. It’s messed up a lot of things for a lot of people I know.” is what Shari Carstensen had to say about the pillar.

The pillar is not the only thing ‘haunted’ in our golf-playing city. Bellevue, an old mansion, is the site of a tragic love story. Emily and Lucy Galt, close sisters, were living in Bellevue when Emily fell in love with a soldier. They were soon engaged and Emily had a splendid ring on her finger. Sitting, upstairs in her room, the tow sisters carved their names into a window and dated it ‘1861’. Afterward, Emily’s intended broke the news that he was going to join the Confederate cause in the war. She found out later that he had died in battle. Devastated, Emily threw herself from the engraved. People at Bellevue swear they hear a heated argument at times. When investigated though, the voices disappear. Many speculate this is Emily and her betrothed, fighting over his choice to leave her.

The Medical College of Georgia has its own stories. According to legend, a Gullah slave in 1852, would go to the Cedar Grove Cemetery in the dead of night and resurrect old bodies for the medical students to practice on. After a renovation of the college, 154 bodies were uncovered.

These are just a few of the legends that I have read in Haunted Augusta and Local Legends by Sean Joiner. Although the author was unavailable for comment, this book has taught and tempted me to learn more. I may just go listen to that long-ago argument, visit the Medical College of Georgia’s underground, or dare to push the dreaded pillar of Broad Street. Are you game?

^{By Quandra F. Collins
Staff Writer}

^{Martinez author Sean Joiner says he has found about 30 haunted places in the Augusta area - one of which is in Columbia County.}

^{Joiner, who has written the book, Haunted Augusta, Local Legends, said a house on Cedar Grove Plantation, which is located behind the Episcopal Church of Our Savior off Columbia Road near its intersection with Washington Road, is believed to be haunted by spirits.}

^{"People believe the disturbance came about from the cedar trees being cut down," Joiner said. "There's some type of issue with someone that lived there, possibly the homeowners who built the house and planted the trees."}

^{During the pre-Civil War era, Joiner said, the house belonged to Emily Alexander and her husband George W. Evans, a confederate general from whom the city of Evans got its name. The couple had a son who died as an infant and is buried on the land, Joiner said.}

^{The couple, he said, owned 696 acres of land and planted cedar trees around the front of the house.}

^{"When the church bought the property, they cut down the cedar trees that had been (planted) there," he said. "After the cedar trees had been cut down, inside the house, lights had been seen moving from room to room by the house."}

^{Dr. Gerald J. Smith, a part-time English professor at Troy State University, once lived in Holiday Park subdivison, which is on land that used to be part of Cedar Grove plantation.}

^{He said that while living in the subdivision there was always something "spooky" going on.}

^{"You could actually hear what sounded like conversations going on in the house, and there was nobody in the house except me or somebody else," he said with a laugh. "I was always hearing some kind of noise going on. It was a common occurrence."}

^{But Smith said he believes the subdivision is haunted because the neighborhood was built on the old plantation over slave graves.}

^{"I'm convinced the slave cabins were behind the big house," he said. "I bet anything there was no slave cemetery, so the slaves were probably buried on the plantation. I don't think it's the cedar trees being cut down. I think it's because the slaves' spirits were disturbed."}

^{Even though the legendary tales and sightings have been documented in Joiner's book, he said, none of the church members have told him they've seen or heard anything strange.}

^{Joiner, however, said others say they have seen flickering lights passing in the windows of the Cedar Grove house. Now, he said he's focusing his attention on two other potential haunted houses in Columbia County - one in Grovetown and the other in the Appling area.}

^{Joiner said he finds such haunted locations by checking on locations that have historical significance.}

^{"I look for places that are old homes and bed and breakfasts," he said. "I chose some of the more obscure places that haven't been written about or no one knows about.''}

Letter to the Editor

There is so much history in Augusta that goes unnoticed. The DeLaigle family gave much to Augusta, with the most noted being the land for Magnolia Cemetery. Not only is the building sitting across from the Municipal Building historic, it holds wondrous stories that have been shared among locals for years.

The house is the place where John Tilly, the last man to die in a duel on the Sand Bar Ferry, lived with the DeLaigle family. He was taken back to the home where he stayed with the family whose honor he was trying to protect and died in their company.

His story was tragic, just as the outcome of this building will be if Augusta does not protect its history and legacy.

Augusta needs to progress with new additions and buildings being erected, but preservation must come to the forefront, just as modern progress has. The building can be preserved. The Old Government House is owned by the city and is used in a very educational and favorable manner. It is one of the most important sites in Augusta where history is concerned, just as the DeLaigle house is.

These places can be torn down to build parking lots, but when they are gone there is no bringing them back. Augusta is Georgia's second oldest city and when historical buildings are gone there is nobody to see what we were and what we have become. They can't see the memory lane and walk down avenues of Augusta's past.

So look around and see what great losses we will amass if we continue to destroy our history. The building could even be sold to someone who may want to restore it for offices or some other function.

Officials of Augusta, wake up. Look around at what makes the city we live in so great.

Sean Joiner, Augusta

By Dena Levitz | Staff Writer

A local man has combined his investigative skills as a police officer with his longtime interest in history to write a book of Augusta ghost stories.

With Halloween near, Augusta native Sean Joiner held a book signing Sunday for Haunted Augusta & Local Legends, his first published work, which was released by Lumina Press seven months ago.

The signing at Borders Books Music & Cafe on Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway attracted a dozen or so people.

Mr. Joiner, a Columbia County sheriff's deputy, said the book features 18 haunted tales compiled from old newspaper accounts, the experiences of people in the community and earlier books.

"It's a combination of history, folklore, legend and first-hand accounts of hauntings in the area," he said. "My main purpose of writing this was to educate people on the history of these occurrences."

Mr. Joiner said he has always been interested in history but got the idea for the project six months ago after going on a ghost tour in Williamsburg, Va.

He said that he knew about some haunted places in Augusta but that during 18 months of research on the book he learned about many more.

"Many times, I'd just go to the place and start talking to the people," he said.

The tales in Haunted Augusta & Local Legends include a detailed account of the well-known haunted pillar story, Mr. Joiner said.

Legend says that a pillar standing at Broad and Fifth streets, which is the former site of the farmers market, was cursed by a traveling preacher who was denied permission to evangelize there. The pillar is now said to be haunted.

As a whole, the stories in the book appeal to "just about anybody," the author said, especially around Halloween time.

The book is available at Borders and will be available at the Augusta Canal Museum and at the Cotton Exchange.

Mr. Joiner said he has another book of Augusta ghost tales in the works.

History is truth, and local historian Sean Joiner said pictures often capture those truths as well as any words can.

"You can read a written history of something, but photographs have more of an impact. With them you can read into the story more. It's like the old commercial says 'A picture is worth a thousand words,'" he said.

In his book, Black America Series: Augusta, Georgia, a pictorial history co-written by local historian Gerald Smith, Mr. Joiner said the images speak volumes.

Mr. Joiner and Dr. Smith will speak about the book at 5:30 p.m. today at the Augusta Museum of History.

Whether it's photographs of church ushers dressed in white or chain-gang members in black-and-white stripes, the book looks at the people, places, institutions and culture of black Augustans from the city's beginnings until the mid-1950s.

"From the earliest records writing and photographs, African-Americans have built this community just as much as any other group of people, they have some of the richest history here," Mr. Joiner said.

Unfortunately, not a lot of the history is collected in book form, said Dr. Smith, a retired Paine College professor.

"It's a rich heritage that hasn't been explored as fully as it should be," he said. "The African-American experience in this area is just unbelievable. It's more involved in the history of the CSRA and Augusta more than is known."

Attempting to shed light on the contributions and lifestyles of the city's black residents, Mr. Joiner said, he and Dr. Smith looked through private and Augusta Museum of History collections to find photos and write captions.

"There was a lot of research involved," he said. "And we found some interesting stories that no one really knew about when doing this."

Included in the images are the papers listing the city's first black firefighters - freed men who worked with the German brigade - who had equipment and payroll information written in ledger notes from 1853, Mr. Joiner said.

The book also contains some ambrotype photos of families - rare finds considering that the photography method would be expensive to many residents during those times, Dr. Smith said.

Despite being a good start to compiling the history of the area's black residents, Augusta should be only the beginning, Dr. Smith said.

"There's so much more out here; this is just a tip of the iceberg. The story should be told completely," he said, even if it comes from unlikely sources, such as him and Mr. Joiner.

"Why would two white guys do a book on black history?" Dr. Smith said. "Because both of us were very interested in history, period. And history is color blind; we're all bound up in it."