The park has seen its share of history, ranging from visits by William Bartram, to scoundrels plotting the West Florida Rebellion, to rampaging Creek Indians and Confederate Troops screening the movements of Steele’s Column in the closing days of the Civil War.
Some claim that history continues to play itself out from time to time on the park grounds. There have been reports of phantoms on the park grounds.
The most recent was last week, a volunteer claimed to see a shadowy figure wandering through the woods late in the afternoon. During an event several years ago, two different volunteers claimed to see the specter of a young man wearing colonial era clothing, wandering the woods with a lantern searching for something.
The most popular story at the park is connected to the old store and the phantom of an old man wearing overalls and a felt fedora. Several, including a park worker, claim to have seen this figure lurking on the front steps of the old store.
The specter is usually seen on dreary winter days in the late afternoon. Nicknamed “Sam,” the phantom seems to have some connection to the old store and has been mainly observed loafing around the porch area.
Park officials downplay the ghost stories.
“I suspect the light may be playing tricks on their eyes,” said Nick Warren, park director. “We definitely have a venue of rich history at the Park, but, I doubt we have any ghosts on the place.”
“Of course if one wants to come face to face with a Baldwin County ghost, they should consider visiting the Haunted Trail hayride.
“This is our third year and we have added a number of new stops to the tour that include ghost stories from other parts of Alabama,” Warren said. “We try and keep it scary but the hayride is more family oriented then many of the “in your face” events common to this type of genre.”
Source: Baldwin County Now
