Ohio has the distinct honor of giving rise to more presidents in U.S. history than any other states. For many years, James A. Garfield lived in the town of Hiram in a building now known as the Garfield House. The Garfield House is one of the few national landmark-designated buildings in Ohio, and some say James and his wife loved their time there so much that they have never moved on.
The Garfield House was built in 1836 and used as a boarding house for faculty at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute. Garfield received his degree from the school, and returned a few years later with his wife Lucretia to teach at the school. By all accounts their relationship was an unhappy one. Lucretia was very religious, and James was more analytic. She was relieved when he left Ohio to serve in the Civil War, and immediately moved home to her parents, leaving the boarding house behind.
The Garfield House was later purchased by a woman who had grown up around President Garfield, Marcia Henry. Her father and the President had been close friends, and she lived there for many years. After her death, her nephew gave the house to Hiram College. The College sold the house to the Mallone family in 1961, who moved it to its current location.
Though President Garfield lived in the house, his wife Lucretia is most often the ghost seen, and experienced there. Men working as security guards in the house have heard the sounds of Lucretia walking around upstairs, and turning the lights on and off. It also appears that Lucretia is something of a neat freak. Workers who took part in the renovation of the house arrived early in the mornings to find their tools carefully placed away, and the trash gathered up. Her spirit has also been sensed in the backyard, and in an upstairs bedroom where she once lived with James.
The Mallone’s also noticed some strange occurrences themselves. They noticed the scent of cigars burning in the house, as if someone had just exhaled, and things that moved across the room. The front door also opens and closes itself, even when the owners are on vacation. On several occasions, neighbors have found the front door standing wide open, days after the family had left. One psychic also claimed the ghost of Almeda Booth haunts the house. Booth was a student and professor at the school, and knew President Garfield as a student. Supposedly Booth fell in loved with the future President, but he rebuffed her advances.
There are also stories that President Garfield himself is still there. Garfield loved cigars, and the scent sometimes wafts through certain rooms of the house, as well as appearing during seances held there. Some have also claimed to have found pieces of paper in the house with his handwriting on them. Other ghosts that some claim haunt the Garfield House are those of Marcia Henry, the former owner, and an young boy known only as Andrew.
The Garfield House is a private residence located in Hiram, Ohio. Those who have been inside say that its worth a look, even if they haven’t seen President Garfield, or his wife inside.
Sources:
http://www.prairieghosts.com/oh-gar.html
http://www.realhaunts.com
http://hometown.aol.com/mrrab/page7.html
