An 1890 Jefferson County opera house where John H. Perkins, who built the place and ran a general store below it, is still said to linger in the box seats — and where piano music has been heard in an empty theater.
185 W Washington St, Monticello, FL 32344
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ticket prices vary by production. See monticellooperahouse.org for the current season schedule and tickets.
Access
Wheelchair OK
2004 elevator installation provides wheelchair access to the 311-seat upstairs theater. Street parking and city lot across from courthouse.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1890 · Constructed 1890 by John H. Perkins as the Perkins Block Building; architect W.R. Gunn · Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 (NRHP #72000330) · Saved from demolition in 1972 by community fundraising and a major donation from Dorothy Simpson · 311-seat historic theater with wheelchair access via 2004 elevator installation
John H. Perkins was a Monticello businessman who in 1890 commissioned architect W.R. Gunn to design what became known as the Perkins Block Building. The ground floor held retail: a general store, hardware store, and a sewing machine shop. The upper floor, reached by interior stairs, held the opera house — a stage with what accounts describe as exceptional acoustics and a capacity for professional touring productions.
The construction capitalized on Monticello's position in Florida's railroad network. Tourism and commercial traffic flowed through Jefferson County in the 1890s and early 1900s, and the opera house was designed to capture that audience. It hosted professional touring companies and local productions including, by contemporary accounts, a performance of The Mikado. John H. Perkins is buried in Monticello's Roseland Cemetery.
When railroad routes were redirected away from the town, the economic base shifted. The theater tried converting to a movie house but eventually closed and fell into disrepair.
In 1972, community members organized to prevent demolition. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places that same year (NRHP reference number 72000330). Through a combination of community fundraising, state grants, and a significant donation from Dorothy Simpson, the building was purchased in 1973 and restored as a cultural center. A 2004 elevator installation made the upstairs theater wheelchair accessible. The venue today operates under the name Monticello Opera House, Inc., running a year-round season of productions and events in the 311-seat auditorium.
Sources
John H. Perkins is buried in Roseland Cemetery in Monticello, but accounts from the opera house he built have kept him present in the building for well over a century. Staff and visitors report seeing a figure in the box seats. A presence is commonly felt on the stage, and those who go backstage describe full-body chills on entering. Quiet noises from just offstage have been described as the sound of a director or stagehand waiting in the wings.
The other recurring accounts: unidentified odors, heard by both staff and visitors. Piano music in the empty building. A dressing room that staff have described as a place no one likes to clean alone after dark. A girl's figure said to materialize in the dressing room window — an account that has circulated in regional haunted-Florida coverage without a clear origin or named witness.
The building has drawn formal investigation. Soul Sisters Paranormal traveled to Monticello in February 2021 to conduct an overnight investigation at the opera house. Their initial site post indicated the team was reviewing audio and video footage and intended to publish findings; no follow-up report was located in publicly available sources as of June 2026.
Monticello has been designated 'the most haunted small town in the United States' by various regional publications, and the Opera House is the most frequently cited site within that designation. The combination of a documented tragic arc (Perkins built it, ran it from below, is buried in the local cemetery) and a theater's inherent acoustics and lighting create conditions that sustain the accounts.
Notable Entities
The 2025-2026 season includes main stage productions (The Little Mermaid, Tribute to the Troops, Five Guys Named Moe), murder mystery dinner theater events, and special programming in the 311-seat historic theater. Book through the official ticketing system.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Tucson, AZ
The Fox Tucson Theatre opened on April 11, 1930, as a combined vaudeville and movie house. After closing in 1974 and standing vacant for 25 years, the building was purchased in 1999 by the non-profit Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation for $250,000 and reopened in 2006 following a multi-year, multi-million-dollar restoration.
Cripple Creek, CO
The Butte Theater on Bennett Avenue is a historic Cripple Creek opera house rebuilt after the April 1896 fires that devastated the city. Associated with the Imperial Casino, it has operated as a performance venue for more than a century and is reportedly haunted by a ghost named Jack, linked to the nearby fire department.
Macon, GA
Charles Henry Douglass opened the Douglass Theatre on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in 1921, establishing it as the primary entertainment venue for Macon's African American community during the era of legal segregation. The theater hosted Otis Redding, Little Richard, and James Brown, among others, and became a cornerstone of Macon's Black cultural life. It fell into disuse and disrepair before a community-led restoration returned it to operation in 1997.