HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
A 1917 bank-turned-archive where an elevator has twice opened unprompted when a dead lawyer's name is spoken aloud
136 Main Street, LaGrange, GA 30240
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Archives and museum access generally free; Strange LaGrange ghost tour departs from this address ($20 adults, $18 seniors, $15 children 5–12).
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic commercial building with elevator access
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1917 · LaGrange National Banking Co. Building · Troup County Archives · Strange LaGrange Ghost Tour Departure Point
The structure at 136 Main Street was built in 1917 to serve as the LaGrange National Banking Co. building, one of the more prominent commercial structures in downtown LaGrange during the early twentieth century. The building's two-story form and original banking hall are still visible in the current configuration, which houses both the Troup County Archives on the upper floor and the Legacy Museum on Main at street level.
The Troup County Archives functions as the repository for Troup County's historical and genealogical records, drawing researchers and family historians from across the region. The Legacy Museum, operated in partnership with local historical societies, presents the documented history of LaGrange, Troup County, and the broader west Georgia region through permanent and rotating displays.
Hatton Lovejoy, a beloved LaGrange attorney whose name enters the building's ghost lore, left a scholarship fund upon his death that benefited the community for years. His reputation as a civic figure made him a natural subject for ghost-tour storytelling after staff began reporting unexplained occurrences inside the archives. The building serves as the official departure point for the Strange LaGrange Walking Tour, a Troup County Historical Society production that has operated on Friday evenings in the fall since at least 2019.
Sources
The building's paranormal reputation centers on the archives floor and its association with Hatton Lovejoy, a well-regarded local attorney who left scholarship money to the LaGrange community upon his death. Staff members have reported hearing footsteps on floors where no one else is present — a phenomenon noted consistently enough that it features in the official Visit LaGrange paranormal documentation.
The most specific incident involves tour docent Lewis Powell, who leads the Strange LaGrange Walking Tour from the museum's sidewalk. During at least two separate tours, the building's elevator opened on its own at the moment Powell spoke Lovejoy's name aloud, with no one else present in the building to call or operate it. Visit LaGrange, the city's official tourism organization, documented this incident on its website.
A visitor described as a psychic or sensitive reported a distinct contrast between the first and second floors: she felt nothing on the ground level but immediately detected a male presence upon ascending to the archives. When she asked the entity's name, she received what she described as a high-pitched giggle. She also reported seeing a man dressed in an old-fashioned business suit standing in a window of the archives room. None of these accounts has been independently documented through physical evidence, but the consistency of staff experiences over time distinguishes the Legacy Museum from venues with lore derived solely from ghost-tour scripts.
Notable Entities
The ground-floor museum occupies the former LaGrange National Banking Co. building (1917) and displays Troup County history, while the upper archives hold genealogical and historical records. Staff have reported hearing footsteps when alone in the building.
A ticketed Friday evening ghost and history walking tour departing from the museum's sidewalk at 7 PM. Docent Lewis Powell leads a 3-hour walk through downtown LaGrange covering murder sites, the former county jail, City Hall, and Hillview Cemetery. Runs September through mid-November.
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