The Grove (also known as the Stilley-Young House), is an 1861 historic home in Jefferson, Texas. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. In addition, The Grove house has been called the most haunted place in Texas.
The Grove’s history dates back to the 19th century when the property was purchased and the house that became known as “The Grove” was built. It has been featured in the television series, "If Walls Could Talk" on the cable channel HGTV. It was selected “as one of the top twelve most haunted houses in America” by “This Old House,” and was also named as one of the "eight scariest places in Texas" by "Texas Monthly" magazine. These are just a few documentations about The Grove.
The Grove has a vibrant history of unexplained happenings: voices, sounds of footsteps, moving objects, and other ghostly phenomena. These stories indicate that The Grove is the most haunted building in Jefferson, and perhaps the most haunted site in Texas. According to Patrick J. Hopkins, a previous owner who turned The Grove into a restaurant, many mysterious events occurred while he was at the house. These events include mirrors falling off walls, loud wails heard coming from the upstairs, unexplained moisture in spots around the house, and the constant feeling of being watched. “Legend has it that the property lies in an area where several murders occurred, and several unmarked graves reportedly lie under or near the house”. Hopkins’s niece and her friends recall seeing a black man lying in the street, and as they went to see if he needed help, the man supposedly disappeared. This black man could have been a man rumored to have been hanged on the back porch of the house.
A ghostly woman has also been reported many times being around The Grove. She was spotted in the house by Hopkins right before he was opening up the restaurant. The woman has also been reported by a neighbor and her sister, who saw a “glowing white figure” on the porch. This woman has been said to be the original owner, Minerva Fox Stilley. She has often been seen walking beside the house and then stepping up through a wall of the house. On the inside, she emerges from the wall and then walks across the width of the house. This strange path makes more sense when one considers that the wall that she steps up through was once the back porch to the house before an 1870 addition was made. Instead of stepping up through a wall, she instead is probably stepping up onto the back porch, coming through a door that was at the back of the house, and walking across to what would have been the children's bedroom.
The most haunted location in Texas? Who knows. What is sure? The Grove is rich in history (see Wikipedia.org) and has been a place of supernatural experiences for many people over the years. I get goosebumps just thinking about visiting it. You?
Source: Wikipedia.org