Built in 1898 on Washington's fire-leveled town square and reportedly constructed over an 18th-century cemetery whose headstones moved but whose bodies did not
16 W Square, Washington, GA 30673
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Overnight room rates; day visitors may inquire about tours
Access
Limited Access
Historic Victorian-era hotel; stairs and uneven surfaces likely
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1898 · Built 1898 on Washington GA town square after fire leveled the west block · One of the oldest surviving hotel buildings in Wilkes County · Restored 2004 after mid-20th century closure · Oral tradition records 18th-century cemetery beneath foundation
Washington, Georgia — the county seat of Wilkes County and one of the earliest incorporated towns in Georgia — developed its commercial district around a central square. In the late 19th century, a fire destroyed the structures on the west side of the square, clearing the way for new construction. The Fitzpatrick Hotel rose on that site in 1898, a Victorian-era building designed for the traveling commercial trade that passed through Washington on the Augusta road.
The hotel operated continuously for roughly half a century before closing around 1952. The building sat vacant or underutilized for decades before a restoration project brought it back to operation in 2004. The restored hotel operates with its Victorian-era character intact, including the original room numbering system that preserves Room 307's identity as the room at the center of the most specific paranormal claim.
The 1930s incident involves a claim, documented in local news coverage and oral tradition, that a woman was pushed from a window in Room 307 by a jealous wife. The specific circumstances — identity of the parties, the outcome, and whether formal documentation exists in Wilkes County records — are not established in the sources examined.
The more structurally unusual claim involves the building's foundation. Local oral tradition, covered in multiple news sources, holds that the hotel was built on the site of an 18th-century cemetery. The story specifies that headstones were moved when the site was cleared for construction, but that the burials themselves were not relocated. The origin of this claim has not been traced to a historical document in available sources; it exists at the level of established local tradition reported in regional news.
Sources
The primary apparition at the Fitzpatrick Hotel is identified in guest accounts and news coverage as 'the lady in green' — a female figure appearing in period-appropriate dress, accompanied by the scent of floral perfume. The figure appears most consistently in the vicinity of Room 307, which is associated with a violent incident from the 1930s: a woman reportedly pushed from the window by a jealous wife. Whether this apparition represents the victim of that incident or one of the cemetery's displaced 18th-century occupants is not specified in the accounts.
The perfume is the most consistently noted sensory detail across multiple independent guest reports covered in local media. It appears without attribution to any known perfume use in the hotel and is described as distinctly floral and period-appropriate rather than contemporary.
Phantom ballroom music is the second major reported phenomenon. Guests and staff describe hearing music — described as period-appropriate, as if from a band or orchestra — emanating from common areas or hallways late at night when no event or entertainment is scheduled. The music stops when approached or when a light is turned on. No acoustic explanation from the building's structure has been documented.
The cemetery-foundation claim provides an additional layer: if the 18th-century burials beneath the foundation are real, the hotel may be one of the more concentrated sites of accumulated presence in Washington County. This claim, though unverified against historical records, is presented in local news as established oral tradition and is part of the hotel's documented identity.
Room 307 is the room where a woman was reportedly pushed from a window by a jealous wife in the 1930s. Guests staying in this room report the most concentrated activity — scents of floral perfume, unexplained temperature drops, and occasional apparitional sightings of a figure described as 'the lady in green.' Booking through the hotel website required.
The Fitzpatrick Hotel's staff and local guides conduct historical tours covering the 1898 construction on the fire-leveled town square, the building's Victorian-era architecture, and the cemetery foundation legend. Contact the hotel directly for tour availability.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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