Est. 1851 · Civil War History · Yellow Fever Epidemic History · Savannah Heritage · Mary Marshall Historical Figure
Mary Marshall opened her hotel in 1851 on Broughton Street, then as now Savannah's principal commercial corridor. She developed the property as an independent businesswoman in the antebellum South and built a reputation for quality that attracted significant clientele.
The Civil War changed the building's function entirely. Union forces occupied Savannah in December 1864 as Sherman's March to the Sea concluded. The Marshall House was converted to a hospital — surgeries performed, wounds dressed, amputations conducted in the spaces that had been guest quarters and public rooms.
The yellow fever epidemics struck Savannah in 1854 and 1876. Each time, the Marshall House functioned as a hospital, receiving patients from the city's periodic epidemic outbreaks. The 1876 outbreak was severe; Savannah lost hundreds of residents.
The hotel returned to hotel use after the war and epidemics, operating through the 19th and 20th centuries with varying success. A late 1990s restoration brought significant renovations. Workers replacing damaged floorboards on the first floor discovered human remains beneath the surgery room area — skeletal material later identified as amputated limbs from the Civil War period, deposited below the floor during the hospital's operation. The material was properly removed and the restoration continued.
The Marshall House reopened as a 68-room boutique hotel, now one of Savannah's most prominent independent accommodations on Broughton Street.
Sources
- https://www.marshallhouse.com/haunted-hotel.htm
- https://ghostcitytours.com/savannah/haunted-savannah/haunted-hotels/marshall-house-hotel/
- https://exploregeorgia.org/savannah/general/historic-sites-trails-tours/marshall-house
ApparitionsPhantom footstepsCold spotsDisembodied laughterPhantom sounds
The fourth floor generates the Marshall House's most distinctive and frequently reported phenomenon: the sound of children running through the hallways in the middle of the night. The sound is described as audible and specific — footsteps too light for adults, moving at a pace consistent with children playing. It appears in reports from guests on multiple floors and from staff doing overnight rounds.
The lobby produces reports of a Union soldier with a missing arm moving through the space. The image maps directly to the hospital history — amputations were performed in this building — and the figure's behavior of searching is consistent across independent accounts.
Room 414 specifically has generated reports across multiple guest stays and travel review platforms. The phenomena described include apparitions, cold spots, unexplained sounds, and faucets activating without physical cause.
Mary Marshall, the hotel's founder, is reported by Savannah ghost tour operators as a presence in the building. Her long investment in the property — she built it, operated it, and made her reputation there — is cited as context.
The Marshall House has been featured multiple times on the Travel Channel's haunted hotel programs. Savannah's status as one of the most heavily ghost-toured cities in the United States means the building is frequently referenced in walking tours through the historic district.
Notable Entities
Mary MarshallThe One-Armed Soldier
Media Appearances
- Travel Channel haunted hotel programs
