HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Home of the Civil War general, where staff and visitors report seeing Chamberlain and his wife Fanny
226 Maine Street, Brunswick, ME 04011
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Guided-tour admission fee; see the Pejepscot History Center for current rates and seasonal hours.
Access
Limited Access
Historic 19th-century house with stairs between floors
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1871 · Joshua L. Chamberlain Residence · Civil War and Medal of Honor History · Bowdoin College Connection · Pejepscot History Center House Museum
The Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum occupies the Brunswick home of one of Maine's most celebrated figures. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain commanded the 20th Maine Infantry and is remembered for the regiment's defense of Little Round Top at Gettysburg in 1863, an action for which he later received the Medal of Honor. He was gravely wounded at Petersburg in 1864 and survived. After the war he served as president of Bowdoin College and as governor of Maine for four one-year terms beginning in 1867.
The house itself predates Chamberlain's residence; he acquired it and in 1871 carried out a dramatic remodel, having the entire structure raised so a new ground floor could be built beneath the original house. The result is the distinctive home that stands on Maine Street today, a short walk from the Bowdoin campus where he taught and served as president.
The Pejepscot History Center, Brunswick's local historical society, operates the building as a house museum. Its collection includes Chamberlain's personal artifacts, letters, and Civil War relics, and guided tours interpret his military and civic career along with the history of the house. Chamberlain died in 1914, decades after the Petersburg wound that never fully healed.
Sources
The Chamberlain house carries one of Brunswick's better-known ghost stories, centered on the couple who lived there. Accounts collected by Occult World and Maine haunted-site coverage describe museum staff and visitors reporting the apparitions of Joshua and Fanny Chamberlain in the home, at times seen walking the halls together.
A more unusual claim attached to the house involves physical sensation: some visitors report a sudden, sharp pain in the hip while touring, which the lore links to the severe wound Chamberlain received at Petersburg in 1864. Other accounts mention orbs and faces appearing in photographs taken inside.
The stories function as a layer over a thoroughly documented historic house rather than the reverse. The building's provenance, Chamberlain's life, and the 1871 remodel are all well recorded, and the museum interprets that history directly. The paranormal reports circulate through regional haunted-site material and visitor accounts; they are presented here as local lore tied to a real and notable home, not as established fact.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Tour the restored home of Civil War general and Maine governor Joshua L. Chamberlain, run by the Pejepscot History Center. The tour covers Chamberlain's life, his battlefield relics, and the house he remodeled in 1871, including the lore that he and his wife Fanny are still seen in the halls.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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