1824 UGA literary-society building on the historic North Campus, said to be haunted by Robert Toombs, the 19th-century U.S. Congressman and orator expelled from UGA before commencement.
105 Herty Drive, Athens, GA 30602
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free exterior viewing. Active UGA student-society building; interior access is by event or society membership only.
Access
Limited Access
Historic UGA North Campus pedestrian quad; brick walkways and slopes.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1824 · Fourth-Oldest UGA Building · Home of the Demosthenian Literary Society (Founded 1803) · Civil War Union Headquarters · Toombs Oak Fragment
Demosthenian Hall on UGA's historic North Campus was completed in 1824 to house the Demosthenian Literary Society, a student debate-and-oratory organization founded in 1803 and still in continuous operation today. The two-story tan stucco building is the fourth-oldest standing structure on campus.
The building's most prominent historical episode came during the Civil War, when occupying Union troops used the hall as a headquarters. The hall's interior preserves a number of 19th-century elements, and the society maintains custom and tradition around the second-floor chamber.
The building also famously contains a fragment of the Toombs Oak. Robert Toombs (1810 to 1885), Demosthenian Society alumnus, lawyer, U.S. Congressman, and later Confederate Secretary of State, gave his commencement-week speech under an oak tree outside the chapel after being expelled from UGA. Local tradition holds that the same oak was struck by lightning at the precise moment of Toombs's death in 1885 and never recovered; part of its stump is preserved on the second floor of Demosthenian Hall.
Sources
According to the University of Georgia Libraries' ghost-stories research guide, a Red & Black 'Ghosts of the Classic City' piece, and UGA Alumni's Haunted UGA roundup, Robert Toombs has been the resident spirit of Demosthenian Hall for more than a century. Toombs was a Demosthenian Society alumnus expelled from the University of Georgia before commencement on charges associated with his gambling habit. Skilled in oratory, he delivered his class speech anyway — under the oak tree outside the chapel — while the official commencement address went forward inside.
Lore holds that the same oak tree was struck by lightning at the moment of Toombs's death in 1885 and never recovered. A fragment of the tree is preserved on the second floor of Demosthenian Hall, and members of the society say 'Bobby T.' still haunts the hall through that stump.
Members report pacing footsteps from the upper chamber when no one is there, with first-floor members hearing steps 'walking fireplace to fireplace' as though someone is rehearsing a speech. At least one student is quoted in the Red & Black piece as having seen a laughing apparition of Toombs on the second floor. The lore is robustly documented in student journalism and UGA Alumni materials and is fundamental to society initiation traditions, but no formal published paranormal investigation has produced documentation accepted into the major American paranormal literature.
Notable Entities
View the 1824 two-story tan stucco building from the public walkways of UGA's North Campus and pair the visit with the broader Haunted North Campus self-guided walk past Old College, Lustrat House, and the Jackson Street Cemetery.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Athens, GA
Candler Hall was built in 1901 as a UGA men's residence hall and was named for Allen D. Candler, then governor of Georgia. The building, which could house up to 84 students at opening, has been adapted for academic and administrative use.
Athens, GA
Waddel Hall is the second-oldest building on the UGA campus, completed in 1821. Originally a dormitory, it has served as a boarding house, gymnasium, snack bar, and scientific-equipment storage, and is currently the UGA Office of Special Events.
Athens, GA
Joe Brown Hall, built in 1932, was originally a men's dormitory and is now an academic and administrative building at the University of Georgia. The hall is named for Joseph E. Brown, the 42nd governor of Georgia and a proponent of secession during the Civil War.