HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Georgia's oldest documented stone structure, built by Quaker settler Thomas Ansley in 1786 — and one of its more actively investigated paranormal sites.
Rock House Rd, Thomson, GA 30824
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Historic structure maintained by the state; free to view exterior; check Georgia State Parks for interior access details
Access
Limited Access
Rural dirt road access; uneven grounds around the historic stone structure
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1786 · Oldest Documented Stone Structure in Georgia · National Register of Historic Places · Quaker Settlement History · Jimmy Carter Family Ancestry
Thomas Ansley, a Quaker originally from North Carolina, constructed the Rock House in 1786 using hand-laid granite and fieldstone on land he had been granted in the Georgia backcountry. The structure predates Georgia statehood as we know it today, and it stands as the oldest documented stone dwelling in the state — a distinction that secured its listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ansley was part of a community of Quaker settlers who moved into the Georgia piedmont after the Revolutionary War, and the Rock House reflects the building methods they brought with them: thick stone walls, a simple rectilinear plan, and functional construction over ornamentation. The property remained in use for generations, and its connection to the family ancestry of Jimmy Carter — the 39th President of the United States and a Georgia native — has added a secondary layer of historical significance noted in encyclopedic sources.
The structure has survived more than two centuries largely intact, which is unusual for rural vernacular architecture from the 18th century. McDuffie County has maintained the property as a historic landmark. Its isolation along Rock House Rd in rural Thomson gives the site a quality of stillness that has attracted both historians and paranormal investigators in recent decades.
Sources
The Rock House's paranormal reputation draws primarily from investigations conducted by Central Georgia Anomalous Paranormal (CGAP), who published a 2009 report documenting their time at the site. The investigators captured audio recordings they characterized as a woman screaming about her baby and a young girl's voice — EVPs that have circulated in regional ghost-hunting communities since.
Witness accounts collected by local investigators describe full-body apparitions on the property, shadow figures moving near the stone walls, and physical sensations of being touched by an unseen presence. The 1786 date of construction places several generations of occupants within the walls during periods of high infant and child mortality, which investigators often cite as context for the reported phenomena.
A 2025 WRDW local news feature on haunted sites in the CSRA (Central Savannah River Area) included the Rock House among its documented examples, indicating the reputation has remained active in regional haunted-travel coverage into the present decade. The building's thick stone walls and rural isolation contribute to an acoustic and atmospheric character that investigators have noted produces unusual results in their equipment.
The 1786 stone structure is one of the oldest standing buildings in Georgia and remains accessible for exterior viewing. The property sits along Rock House Rd in rural McDuffie County, where visitors can observe the hand-laid masonry construction typical of late 18th-century frontier building in the Georgia backcountry.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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