Est. 1832 · One of only two trials of an enslaved man in Gwinnett County history · Physical evidence of escape attempt (chisel marks) survives in cell wall · Built 1832; served as county jail until ~1940
The Gwinnett County Jail was constructed in 1832 at the northwest corner of the courthouse square in Lawrenceville, a few years after the county seat was established. It served as the county's primary detention facility for over a century until it was decommissioned around 1940. The building remains standing near its original location.
The event that defines the jail's historical and paranormal reputation occurred in October and November 1848. Elleck was an enslaved man whose enslaver, Colonel James Austin, attacked Elleck's wife Betsy in a drunken assault on the night of October 10, 1848. A struggle ensued in Elleck's sleeping loft as Austin swung a cavalry sword; in the fight for the weapon, Austin fell backward and died from the fall.
Elleck did not flee. The following morning he presented himself to the sheriff and gave his account of what had happened. Despite the self-defense circumstances, he was arrested, tried, and convicted—one of only two enslaved people ever tried in Gwinnett County courts according to available records. He was sentenced to death by hanging.
During his confinement in the jail cell, Elleck was reportedly shackled by both wrists and ankles for the last three days before his execution, after having been discovered attempting to chip through the cell wall with a broken metal implement—possibly a bed slat. An indentation in the cell wall, attributed to this escape attempt, remains visible today. Elleck was hanged on November 10, 1848, exactly one month after Austin's death.
The Aurora Theatre, headquartered in Lawrenceville, has operated seasonal ghost tours that include the jail since at least the early 2000s.
Sources
- https://www.themoonlitroad.com/ellecks-song-haunted-historic-jail-lawrenceville-georgia/
- https://www.gpb.org/news/2018/10/31/georgia-ghosts-slave-who-sings-for-his-lost-love
- https://1stchoicebailga.com/historic-jail-lawrenceville/
Auditory phenomena (singing echoing back)Cold and hot spots in cellOrbs in photographsUnexplained tugging at clothingMissing/blank audio recordingsOverwhelming emotional sensations
The paranormal tradition at the Lawrenceville Jail centers almost entirely on Elleck, and the accounts are notably specific compared to most jail hauntings. The anchor phenomenon is auditory: tour guides report that when they sing the song that Elleck reportedly sang for his wife Betsy during his final weeks in the cell, they hear a voice echoing back—not random sound, but a repetition of the last few words of each phrase, as if someone is completing the lyric.
This account has been documented in multiple press pieces over more than a decade, including coverage in Georgia Public Broadcasting's 2018 series on Georgia ghost legends. The singing phenomenon is the reason the Lawrenceville tours are led by a storyteller rather than a straightforward walking-tour format—the call-and-response element is built into the program.
Additional phenomena reported in the cell include cold and hot spots, orbs appearing in photographs, unexplained tugging at clothing, and visitors finding their shoelaces untied after standing in the cell. Some visitors report an overwhelming emotional sensation described as grief or despair when they lean against the cell walls.
Audio recordings made during tours have reportedly gone missing or turned up blank, which guides note as anomalous given that adjacent recordings on the same device remained intact. The physical indentation from Elleck's escape attempt gives the cell a material anchor for the paranormal accounts that distinguishes it from sites where all phenomena are purely atmospheric.
Notable Entities
Elleck (enslaved man, executed November 10, 1848)
Where this legend is told
