HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
An 1818 Milledgeville home where a Welsh banshee reportedly visited before each Williams family death.
240 W Washington St, Milledgeville, GA 31061
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Exterior drive-by and ghost tour stop only; no interior access as a public attraction
Access
Wheelchair OK
Flat sidewalk; exterior view from street
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1818 · Antebellum Milledgeville residential history · Williams family 150-year occupancy · Stop on official Milledgeville ghost tour
Built in 1818 by Peter Jones Williams, The Homestead stands on Liberty Street — now addressed as W Washington Street — in the heart of Milledgeville's historic district. Milledgeville served as Georgia's state capital from 1807 to 1868, and the antebellum homes along this corridor were occupied by the state's political and merchant class.
The Williams family maintained ownership of the property for roughly 150 years, until the 1960s. The family traced their ancestry to Wales, and this emigrant identity became central to the haunting tradition that attached itself to the house.
The home's position two blocks from Memory Hill Cemetery — with the First Baptist Church between them — is relevant to the legend's geography: the reported apparition was said to walk south from the house, pass the church, and enter the cemetery grounds.
Sources
The Williams family attributed the apparition to a Welsh banshee, a death-omen figure from Celtic tradition that announces an imminent death in the family it haunts. According to accounts documented by the City of Milledgeville's visitors bureau, the family traced this spirit back to Wales and believed it had crossed the Atlantic with them when they emigrated.
The figure was described as a woman dressed entirely in gray. Each documented appearance preceded the death of a Williams family member. A neighbor's account from the 1950s is the most detailed: the witness reportedly observed the gray-clad woman leave the front of the house, walk the length of Liberty Street south past the Baptist church, and vanish as she entered Memory Hill Cemetery.
The last confirmed sighting occurred in the 1950s. No reports have surfaced since the family sold the property in the 1960s — a fact consistent with the tradition that the spirit followed the Williams line rather than the structure itself.
Notable Entities
The Homestead is a stop on Milledgeville's official self-guided ghost tour. Visitors view the antebellum facade from the street and follow the documented route of the Williams family banshee toward Memory Hill Cemetery two blocks south.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Atlanta, GA
Built 1920–1922 by Asa Griggs Candler Jr. (son of Coca-Cola co-founder Asa Griggs Candler), the 42-acre estate included a private zoo of tigers, lions, a gorilla, baboons, and six elephants. After financial difficulties, Candler donated the animals to Grant Park Zoo in 1935. The state of Georgia purchased the property in 1948 and opened the Georgian Clinic—the state's first alcohol treatment facility—in 1953. The Georgia Mental Health Institute took over the campus in 1965 and operated there until 1997, when Emory University purchased the property.
Huntsville, AL
Built in 1823, Cedarhurst Mansion is one of Huntsville's oldest surviving antebellum homes. It became associated with ghost stories in the 19th century following the death of Sally Carter, a 15-year-old who died in the house on November 28, 1837. Alabama Heritage Magazine's 2024 critical analysis traces the legend's documented provenance back to pre-Civil War accounts.
Opelika, AL
Spring Villa was built in 1850 by Horace King — a formerly enslaved master builder who became one of the most accomplished architects and engineers in the antebellum South — for planter Penn Yonge. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, the property was purchased by the City of Opelika in 1927 and now serves as a 325-acre public park.