Her father was famous for hugs and telling stories about history. When Carolyn Jones Elstner was a child she spent every other weekend and many summers with her grandparents at Ellwood Plantation in Locust Grove, Virginia. She and her siblings grew up climbing trees, playing crochet, and exploring over 100 acres of wilderness. If a car pulled up, they would groan, “Oh, no company.” They knew their grandfather would be busy for hours talking with visitors about the history of the plantation, which includes the burial of legendary Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s arm among many other events since it was built in the 1790s.

Since then, many stories have been told of strange noises and experiences, including one with Carolyn’s own grandfather. The house and plantation was the 200-year-old setting for the lives of two families, tenants, and squatters, as well as historical events that included the confederate and union armies of the Civil War. At the end of the war, the floors of Ellwood were stained with blood and the land was dotted with graves. No wonder there is a certain essence to Ellwood.

“There were three different occasions …. people heard music that seemed to be coming from nowhere,” said Elstner. “There is a light in the house that has been seen and a blue light that travels from the house to the spring and back.”

Even though the house and 164 acres of the original 5,000 was sold to the National Park Service (NPS) in 1977, the sensitivity of the plantation is evident. Before Ellwood was given over to the efforts of the war, it was considered a quiet country farm where the Jones and Lacy families lived and worked. The house was surrounded by stables, barns, slave cabins and a kitchen. Many groups have experienced paranormal activity here including the American Battlefield Ghost Hunters Society, which recorded several EVPs and orbs. “Ellwood is definitely haunted,” said Patrick Burke, who is the president of the group and has been studying ghostly activity since he was two years old. The group was able to record several EVPs and Orbs. An electronic voice phenomenon is the unexplained voices that are sometimes picked up on tape recorders or digital recorders. An Orb is often spherical in nature and is believed to be the easiest form for a soul to travel. It can be a variety of colors.

Lucinda Jones

One of the most interesting family members was Lucinda Gordon Jones Green, who at the age of 16, married William Jones who was 78 at the time. Lucinda was the great grandniece of William’s first wife who died five years earlier in 1823. When the new couple had a child, William named her after his first wife.

If that’s not enough to get your imagination worked up, then consider William’s last wishes. When he died almost 20 years later, he left the estate to Lucinda on the condition that she not remarry. Alas, two years later, she chose love over money and married John Green, of Culpeper.

While most of us would assume that she was forced into her first marriage or that William was an awful man, there is nothing in the records to indicate that Lucinda was unhappy. “I think they did have feelings for each other,” said Elstner. “And I can’t imagine that she didn’t absolutely love the baby.”

The ghost hunters who tried to contact her while visiting the plantation, experienced a different feeling about Lucinda, said Burke. “One of the girls asked Lucinda what it was like to be married at 16 to a lecherous, old man. It wasn’t like she was offended, but she did not seem happy with the marriage.” One of the ghost hunters would also get a gentle tapping on her shoulder every time she talked about Lucinda.

While photos or journals of Lucinda have not been found, her daughter Betty Churchhill wrote about being doted on and traveling the countryside with her mother and father, in “Memories of a Long Life.” And when Lucinda remarried, she named her first son after William. Only one of many stories of the family members who lived there, it makes you wonder what life was like and what presences may still be about.

Besides the main family members, there were also tenant families who lived there after the war, including one that had 11 daughters. Rumor has it that a neighbor boy was in love with one of the girls and took his own life in one of the bedrooms of the second floor. Some think the light that is occasionally seen and the heavy footsteps that are heard could be his ghost. “This young man was heartbroken,” Elstner said.

Civil War

Ellwood was no longer a quiet family home when it received Confederate wounded during the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. The scene was that of soldier tents and campfires all over the land and drummer boys (about 12 years old) helping to get troops ready for battle. For months after this battle, Ellwood served as a field hospital. It was also the headquarters to Union Fifth Corps General Gouverneur K. Warren during the Battle of the Wilderness.

Because of the historical events of the plantation, the Ghost Hunter's group experienced a lot of activity. A night time security officer who helps take care of the house was there to make sure the group was all right. “The officer got a call or a page, and as he left the room they felt his breeze….then a second breeze following him,” Elstner said. “They believed the presence was comfortable with him (the officer). “ The group took several recordings and hopes to revisit Ellwood.

Another story centers on the basement during the ongoing renovations to preserve the house. During the war, the basement was used for soldiers who were too badly injured to survive. Workers for the Bureau say that someone came up from the basement, removed their tools and put them in a different order somewhere else. At the time the basement was nailed shut.

When the ghost hunter group visited Ellwood's cemetery, where Stonewall Jackson's arm is buried, they tried to communicate with the general. “When he was asked if he was glad the war was over, we got a resounding, “Yes, indeed I am,” said Burke.

Carolyn's Connection

Many people have felt the history of Ellwood including Elstner whose great uncle Huge Willis, a law professor, bought the plantation in 1907 during Virginia's 300th year anniversary. When the Vermont native married years later, his new wife did not like living in the country. So Willis deeded the estate, in 1931, to his sister, Blanch Willis Jones, and her son Gordon W. Jones, Carolyn's grandmother and father.

Since the NPS took over, Elstner has been working as vice-president of the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield to restore Ellwood. Donations are welcome and for more information check out www. fowb.org. Tours are available with knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides.

One visitor who claims to be able to feel spirits and the essence of places, experienced several sensations at the plantation. Without any prior knowledge to the history, she explored the land as well as the house. “She opened the door to the storage and said she felt death there,” said Elstner. And the sensation the woman felt when she walked into the house sent a powerful message to her.

“My grandfather was famous for hugs,” Elstner said. The woman walked into the front hallway and looked around without anyone near her.

... When she first walked into the house, she felt someone hug her.

– L.A. Eaton
Prime Writer