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Regardless of the accuracy of those events, the plantation was purchased from
Saunders in the 1920s by H. D. Bynum and R. E. Tweedy, who used the farmland but did not reside in the house. This started a long period of decline for the house, which eventually became ruinous. It was finally demolished
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The plantation passed through many owners following the death of James
Saunders in 1896. The last Saunders to own it was James Saunder's grandson, Dudley Saunders. Saunders and his family are alleged to have abruptly abandoned Rocky Hill Castle in the 1920s, purportedly after ghostly activity.
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aesthetics in one plantation complex. The house and tower suffered from neglect during much of the 20th century and were subsequently demolished in the 1960s. Much folklore surrounds the site, with Rocky Hill Castle being the subject of numerous
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The plantation at Rocky Hill Castle was founded by James
Edmonds Saunders in the mid-1820s, shortly after he and his wife came to Alabama from their native
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The interior of the house featured some of the most elaborate woodwork and plasterwork in the state. Other features of the house were an impressive
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extraction. The two-story house was a rectangular stuccoed brick structure over a raised basement. It featured one-story side wings, one-story
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architectural styles. The architect of the main house is unknown, although at least one of the ghost stories alleges that it was a gentleman of
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Saunders practiced law in nearby
Courtland. He eventually amassed 640 acres (260 ha), centered on the hill that his house sat upon.
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Desiring a grander dwelling, Saunders demolished this earlier house and began building Rocky Hill Castle in 1858. The
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Haunted Places: The
National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings and Other Supernatural Locations
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activity at Rocky Hill Castle included knocking and banging of unknown origin, a ghostly "lady in blue", ghosts of
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by a new owner, Gordon McBride, in 1961, after he and his wife had salvaged what they could for their new house in
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put an end to construction in 1861, although the estate was largely complete by that time. The house served as a
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Connected to the house complex on the western side by a high brick wall was a five-story brick
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hospital during the war, with several soldiers buried nearby in the
Saunders' family cemetery.
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205:, United States. Once famed in Alabama for its architecture, it was an unusual mixing of
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Rocky Hill Castle in 1935. It was demolished in 1961 and a new house built on the site.
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Historic
American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (1935).
218:. The most notable story, "The Ghost of the Angry Architect", was published in
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Rocky Hill Castle was built from 1858 to 1861, utilizing a combination of the
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He established his plantation 4 miles (6.4 km) from that of his father,
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tower have been traditionally linked to an itinerant craftsman from
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porticoes centered on the front and rear, and was topped by a large
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The
Alabama Catalog: A Guide to the Early Architecture of the State
469:. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. pp. 112–117.
290:. A modern home was later built on the site by the Cross family.
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605:"Rocky Hill, State Highway 20, Courtland vicinity, Lawrence, AL"
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429:. University, AL: University of Alabama Press. p. 253.
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Windham, Kathryn Tucker; Figh, Margaret Gillis (1969).
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394:List of plantations in the United States
337:. The connecting wall was pierced by a
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240:. Saunders, born on May 7, 1806, was a
168:Location of Rocky Hill Castle in Alabama
691:Reportedly haunted locations in Alabama
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251:The main staircase in the entrance hall
666:Gothic Revival architecture in Alabama
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537:"Courtland is town steeped in history"
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577:. Strode Publishers. pp. 13–21.
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222:and Margaret Gillis Figh's 1969 work
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676:Houses in Lawrence County, Alabama
656:Italianate architecture in Alabama
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535:Connie Thwaite (14 March 2007).
302:Doors between the double parlors
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661:Greek Revival houses in Alabama
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495:Hauck, Dennis William (1996).
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467:Lost Plantations of the South
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671:Plantation houses in Alabama
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70:34.6834905°N 87.3643593°W
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681:Houses completed in 1860
425:Gamble, Robert (1987).
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696:Plantations in Alabama
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220:Kathryn Tucker Windham
118:Architectural style(s)
105:James Edmonds Saunders
611:. Library of Congress
609:National Park Service
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642:at Wikimedia Commons
503:. Penguin. p.
333:tower crowned with
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360:staircase, double
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272:American Civil War
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43:Courtland, Alabama
640:Rocky Hill Castle
638:Media related to
514:978-0-14-025734-2
476:978-1-57806-942-2
185:, was a historic
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613:. Retrieved
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541:Times Daily
335:crenelation
276:Confederate
211:picturesque
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49:Coordinates
650:Categories
405:References
378:paranormal
376:Purported
339:Tudor arch
312:Italianate
259:, and his
195:Town Creek
187:plantation
183:Rocky Hill
126:Italianate
110:Demolished
61:87°21′52″W
58:34°41′01″N
615:2 January
551:2 January
382:Civil War
343:octagonal
199:Courtland
102:Built for
97:1858–1861
89:mid-1820s
388:See also
372:Folklore
242:planters
193:between
39:Location
366:Italian
362:parlors
288:Decatur
238:Georgia
232:History
203:Alabama
139:Private
86:Founded
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358:walnut
351:slaves
324:cupola
316:French
347:Wales
320:Doric
94:Built
617:2011
579:ISBN
553:2011
509:ISBN
471:ISBN
431:ISBN
364:and
310:and
209:and
197:and
189:and
128:and
113:1961
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
