HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
An 1854 Greek Revival mansion in Eatonton said to be haunted since the 1870s by a young woman called Sylvia, who became trapped in a trunk on her wedding day
400 N Madison Ave, Eatonton, GA 31024
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Private residence; exterior viewable from the street. Ghost tours departing from the Georgia Writers Museum include this site as a stop — see georgiawritersmuseum.org for ticketed tour pricing.
Access
Limited Access
Historic private grounds; exterior viewing from public sidewalk only
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1854 · Greek Revival Architecture · Antebellum Putnam County History · Historic American Buildings Survey Documentation
Panola Hall was constructed in 1854 by builder James M. Broadfield for Henry Trippe on North Madison Avenue in Eatonton, the county seat of Putnam County. The design is straightforwardly Greek Revival: four fluted Doric columns across the front elevation, matching Doric pilasters flanking the main entrance, and a heavy parapet above the entablature that conceals an almost flat roof. Photographs taken in November 1966 by Hubert B. Owens for the Historic American Buildings Survey document the front and side elevations as they appeared more than a century after construction.
In 1891, Benjamin Hunt — a banker and dairyman — purchased the property following his connection to the Eatonton community, and undertook Victorian-era modifications alongside general restoration of the structure. The house remained in private hands through the twentieth century. Dr. Robert Lott performed additional restoration work in the 1990s.
The house is located within Eatonton's historic downtown, a concentration of pre-Civil War structures that regional media have described as making Eatonton the 'second most haunted town in Georgia.' Panola Hall is among the most architecturally intact examples of the antebellum Greek Revival residential tradition in Putnam County.
The Georgia Writers Museum, based at 109 S. Jefferson Ave. in Eatonton, incorporates Panola Hall as the centerpiece stop on its annual Haunted Eatonton Ghost Tour, a ticketed evening walk organized in partnership with The Arts Barn. The Southeastern Institute of Paranormal Research has conducted formal investigations of several properties along the tour route.
Sources
The Sylvia legend traces to at least the 1870s in Eatonton local tradition. The account holds that a young woman — known only as Sylvia — was forced into a marriage she did not want. On the day of the wedding, dressed in a white hoop dress with a rose in her hair, she attempted to escape through the second-floor bedroom window. In the attempt, she became trapped in a large trunk positioned near the window. Her family, believing she had fled the house entirely, boarded the room. Her body was not discovered until later.
The apparition reported at Panola Hall since the 1870s is consistently described as a woman in a white hoop dress, seen either in the second-floor bedroom, in the hallway, or looking out the window from the room below. Multiple accounts characterize her presence as 'a comforting one' — not threatening — which accounts in part for the affection the legend receives locally. Sylvia's story inspired the creation of a Sylvia's Coffee branded café in the Eatonton community, underscoring how embedded the legend is in local identity.
The Southeastern Institute of Paranormal Research has investigated Panola Hall and the other properties on the Haunted Eatonton tour route. Their findings are incorporated into the tour presentations led by Ann Hite for the Georgia Writers Museum.
Notable Entities
Panola Hall sits on North Madison Avenue in Eatonton's historic district. The 1854 Greek Revival facade — four fluted Doric columns, matching pilasters flanking the entrance, and a heavy parapet concealing an almost-flat roof — is visible from the street. The structure remains a private residence; no interior access is offered independently of organized ghost tours.
The Georgia Writers Museum runs an annual guided evening tour through Eatonton's downtown that features Panola Hall as a primary stop, with the Sylvia legend as the centerpiece. Tours are led by award-winning Southern writer Ann Hite and typically run select evenings in late October and early November. Book through the Georgia Writers Museum website.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Macon, GA
Built between 1855 and 1859 for businessman William Butler Johnston at a cost of approximately $100,000, the Italian Renaissance Revival mansion at 934 Georgia Avenue has been called the 'Palace of the South' and is a National Historic Landmark. The Felton family held it through the Civil War period; Confederate general Henry Gray Felton occupied it during the war. The Hay family acquired the house in 1926 and donated it to The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in 1977.
Indianapolis, IN
Hannah House is an 1858 Italianate mansion at 3801 Madison Avenue on the south side of Indianapolis, built by Alexander Hannah, an Indiana businessman who returned wealthy from the California Gold Rush. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Charles City, VA
Benjamin Harrison IV built the current mansion at Berkeley Plantation in 1726, making it the oldest three-story brick structure in Virginia. The plantation became the birthplace of President William Henry Harrison in 1773 and the ancestral seat of a family that produced a signer of the Declaration of Independence and two U.S. Presidents. During the Civil War, General McClellan used the mansion as his headquarters and the cellar held Confederate prisoners.