Posted in Purdy, TN, tagged a, also, and, Anyone, are, area, asked, attend, be, before, believes, blog, buried, but, by, can't, Cemetery, Cemtery, children, colonel, conceived, D., day, decsendants, descendant, descendants, dream, family, Fielding, Fielding's, generations, going, had, haunting, having, He, her, his, home, house, Hurst, Hurst's, HurstNation.com, I, if, in, is, It, Kevin, leave, likely, located, Mansion, many, may, McCann's, Melocky, met, more, Mrs., of, old, on, one, opinion, or, over, personal, Purdy, read, relative, remember, reunions, saddened, says, several, show, sites, slaves, spirit, stated, states, still, than, that, the, There, these, this, those, through, TN, to, told, us, very, was, We, weekend, went, were, where, why, wife, with, would on May 13, 2008|
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Over the weekend, I met a relative of Colonel Fielding Hurst. He went with us to Purdy Cemetery and was going to show us where the Old Purdy Cemetery was located before we were asked to leave.
This descendant states that in his personal opinion, if anyone were to be haunting Hurst Mansion it would more than likely be Colonel Fielding’s wife, Melocky Hurst. He says that it was told through the generations of his family that Mrs. Hurst was very saddened by having to leave her dream home and this is why he believes her spirit may still be there.
I was also told that many of the Hursts buried in this area are children that Colonel Hurst conceived with his slaves. He stated that the descendants of these children attend the family reunions to this day. I had read that he had children with several of his slaves. I can’t remember if I read it on Kevin D. McCann’s blog or on HurstNation.com, but it was one of those sites.
Anyone with interesting information on the Hurst Family, please email tnhauntings@writersbeacon.com.
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Posted in Mason, TN, photos, tagged 1847, 1912, a, also, and, Andrew's, are, as, aware, be, been, behind, bleeds, broke, building, buried, burned, but, by, care, caretaker, Cemetery, Church, cult, daytime, died, distressed, During, earlier, Episcopal, eyes, for, founded, from, graves, gravestone, gravestones, had, has, haunted, have, heard, hearing, I, in, installed, is, It, keep, legend, lights, local, located, many, Mary, Mason, most, neck, noises, not, of, old, once, only, over, people, Perhaps, place, reported, return, said, Saint, Satanic, says, seeing, serves, small, Some, statue, stories, strange, taken, that, the, their, There, they, this, time, TN, to, trespassing, Trinity, trip, two, vandalism, vandalized, Virgin, was, which, who, will, wires, woman, years on April 30, 2008|
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Old Trinity Episcopal Church is located in Mason, TN. It was founded in 1847 in the place of Saint Andrew’s Church, which had burned two years earlier.
For many years, the church was not taken care of and the church and cemetery was vandalized by a small Satanic cult. They broke most of the gravestones, and vandalized the church building.
Behind the church there is a statue of the Virgin Mary which serves as a gravestone for a woman who died in 1912. It is said that this statue bleeds from the eyes and neck.
There are also stories that the church and the cemetery are haunted. People have reported seeing strange lights and hearing noises. Local legend says that the people buried in the cemetery are distressed over the vandalism of their graves.
I have only been to this cemetery once and it was during the daytime. Perhaps I will return some time, but be aware — I have heard that the caretaker has installed trip wires to keep people from trespassing.
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Posted in Bolivar, TN, photos, tagged 1854, 1862, a, across, alleged, allowed, also, and, Ann, at, be, beautiful, bedroom, beside, Bolivar, Built, buried, by, can, Cemetery, chair, Civil, cross, daughter, daughter's, day, days, death, district, downtown, due, During, each, easily, Ezekiel, few, from, grave, had, has, haunted, have, her, his, historical, history, home, in, inconsolable, is, It, James, K., legend, Lines, local, located, McNeal, McNeal House, Mrs., near, Nest, not, occasionally, of, on, only, original, out, owner, pass, passing, place, Polk, Priscilla, property, quite, reach, relative, rich, right, road, rocking, same, say, says, second, see, she, side, signs, simply, Some, Sonic, special, spirit, stand, stare, staring, stop, story, teens, that, the, this, through, to, Tom's, turning, Uncle, Union, very, visit, visited, War, was, west, When, where, which, who, window, within, would, Wren's, You on April 26, 2008|
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Built in 1862, this home is beautiful AND it has a very rich history.
Photograph by Barbara Chambers-Hensley of http://www.barbarasgraphicdesign.com/
This home is located within the historical district in downtown Bolivar. You can reach it quite easily by turning beside Sonic and passing through a few stop signs.
McNeal Place was built due to the death of the only daughter of the original owner, Ezekiel K. Polk (a relative of James K. Polk). Mrs. (Ann) Polk was inconsolable at the death of Priscilla, who was in her teens in 1854. Polk built the home on the west side of his property near Polk Cemetery where Priscilla was buried. Ann visited the grave each day. During the Civil War she had to have a special pass to cross the Union Lines.
The local legend says that on the days when Mrs. Polk was not allowed to visit the cemetery, she would stand in the second story bedroom window and stare out at Polk Cemetery. Some say you can occasionally see her spirit in that same window simply staring across at her daughter’s grave.
Even though I have never seen the ghost of Mrs. Polk, I still enjoy visiting this neighborhood. There are many other historic homes nearby, including one that is documented as being haunted. (The Wren’s Nest, Uncle Dave’s rocking chair) It is also right across the road from Polk Cemetery which is alleged to be haunted.
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Posted in Purdy, TN, tagged $5, 000, 1800's, 1993, 6th, 70's, a, after, also, always, an, and, another, are, area, Army, as, Aside, at, back, bad, be, became, bedroom, been, before, believe, blood, bottom, buried, burnt, but, by, can, car, carriage, case, Cavalry, cemeteries, Cemetery, circle, Civil, closer, colonel, compared, could, county, course, dating, dawn, decide, did, die, died, discouraged, discuss, do, Dodds, down, drawn, During, early, enemies, entire, excluding, existing, extorting, face, fascinating, Fielding, five, for, forced, friends, from, ghostly, Gilead, going, grave, has, have, have a, He, hear, heard, highly, him, his, history, home, horse, house, However, http://www.hurstnation.com, Hurst, Hurst Mansion, Hurst Nation, Hurst's, I, if, image, images, in, interested, interesting, is, It, itself, Jackson, joined, land, last, left, legend, legends, life, local, look, makes, man, Mansion, many, McNairy, Melocky, minutes, Mount, moved, much, murdered, my, name, neighbors, never, not, note, numerous, of, oldest, on, once, one, only, or, Others, over, overlooked, own, owned, owner's, park, parts, people, phenomena, photographs, photos, pictures, place, places, Please, possibly, post, posted, prankster, prominent, property, provide, purchased, Purdy, read, really, reappear, recently, referred, repeats, resemblance, respect, respectful, roadway, same, say, says, scream, seat, see, seen, sell, several, share, shot, side, since, slaves, so, soldiers, Some, sometimes, soon, spot, stair, stall, start, starter, still, stories, strongly, structure, surrounding, sympathizer, take, taking, taking a, Tennessee, that, the, them, There, these, they, this, times, TN, to, town, trespassing, true, truly, Union, University, unlikely, until, update, updates, upstairs, vandalized, vehicle, very, visit, visiting, visits, War, was, We, When, which, who, wife, will, windows, wishes, with, woods, years, You, your, yourself on April 26, 2008|
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This is another place I have been to numerous times. The history of these places is truly fascinating so I will share the true stories before I discuss the local legends.
Purdy was once the county seat of McNairy County and home to Purdy University. The area surrounding Purdy Cemetery and Hurst Mansion was once referred to as “Hurst Nation”. A prominent man by the name of Fielding Hurst owned Hurst Mansion and much of the land surrounding it.
During the Civil War, Hurst became a Union sympathizer and joined the Union Army as colonel of the 6th Tennessee Cavalry. He murdered many of his neighbors and burnt town the entire town of Purdy, excluding only his own home. Of course, this makes Hurst Mansion the oldest existing structure in the town. He also burnt down parts of Jackson, TN after extorting over $5,000 from them.
In the last years of his life, Hurst was forced to sell his home and he and his wife, Melocky, moved to the Mount Gilead area. It was there that he died (in his 70’s) and is buried in Mount Gilead Cemetery. His grave has been vandalized several times.
The Hurst Mansion was purchased by the Dodds, who owned the home until 1993. This home is posted and trespassing is strongly discouraged. Please be respectful.
Local legend says that you can hear soldiers and slaves in Purdy Cemetery. Some people say they have seen a horse drawn carriage. Others say that if you park on the left side of the circle your car will not start until dawn.
After many visits, I can only say this: I have never heard soldiers or slaves. We did hear a scream from the woods which could very possibly have been a local prankster. We did have a vehicle stall for five minutes on the left side of the circle but I believe it was a starter going bad. Aside from that, it is still interesting to visit as it is one of the oldest cemeteries in Tennessee dating back to the early 1800’s. I will be visiting Purdy Cemetery very soon as it has been years since my last visit and many of my friends are interested in going. I will provide an update after my visit.
Hurst Mansion was always a place we overlooked, really. It was not until recently that I read the history of this house. Local legend says one of Hurst’s many enemies shot at him from the bottom of the stair case and he died in his bedroom. (Hurst DID NOT die in this house. He died in Mount Gilead.) They say sometimes the blood spot will reappear and you can hear him scream. This is highly unlikely since he did not die there. However, I have seen several photographs of Hurst House with a ghostly face in one of the upstairs windows. When I compared the image to photos of Hurst, you can see a resemblance. (You can see these images for yourself on http://www.hurstnation.com.)
I will be taking a closer look at Hurst Mansion and taking my own photographs to see if this phenomena repeats itself. Please note: I will NOT be trespassing on the property. I will take my photos from the roadway. If you decide to visit, please respect the owner’s wishes and do the same.
I will post pictures and updates after my visit.
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Tennessee Hauntings 