Located on Sweetwater Avenue in Florence, Alabama, this plantation home was built in 1835 by Gen. John Brahan and first occupied by Robert Patton, Brahan’s son-in-law and, eventually, the governor of Alabama.
Many spooky stories are associated with this mansion, including one about the home’s caretaker, who one day witnessed a casket appear out of thin air. Inside, she found a man dressed in a Confederate uniform, believed to be one of General Brahan’s sons who died in the Civil War, AL.com reported.
Other examples of reported supernatural activities include distant voices of children’s giggles and a woman in old clothes wandering the halls, as reported by Forbes.
Property records indicate that the private home, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, was sold to a hospitality group in 2023. The Willingham, a graduate student magazine at the University of North Alabama, reported that, although the sale was part of a hotel investment, the owners have since worked to restore and find a new purpose for the mansion with the Sweetwater Foundation.
The foundation is led by a descendant of the original owners and also works with descendants from the estimated 300 enslaved people once connected to the property.
