HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Hannah Caldwell, shot through a window at her Connecticut Farms home by a British soldier in June 1780, is rumored by some to haunt the courthouse area, where a portrait of her husband hangs.
2 Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07207
Research updated October 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Active public courthouse; public areas are accessible during business hours.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Public government building with elevator access.
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1905 · Located in Elizabeth, one of New Jersey's oldest cities and first state capital · Associated with Hannah Caldwell, killed by British forces June 7, 1780 · Contains portrait of Reverend James Caldwell, Continental Army chaplain
Elizabeth — originally Elizatown, established in 1664 — was among the first English settlements in New Jersey and served as the state's first capital. The Union County Courthouse at 2 Broad Street reflects the city's long role as an administrative and judicial center. A three-story Classical Revival structure, housing the main offices of county government, opened in 1905 and forms the central section of today's complex. Within fifteen years the county had outgrown it, and a seven-floor annex, including a Hall of Records and county jail, was added in 1925. A 17-floor tower followed in 1931 to provide still more space, and a modern two-story entrance opened on Elizabethtown Plaza in 2000.
The figure most associated with the site's paranormal history is Hannah Caldwell, wife of Reverend James Caldwell. James Caldwell was a Presbyterian minister at the First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth who served as a Continental Army chaplain during the American Revolution — his aggressive support for the Patriot cause earned him the nickname 'the Fighting Parson' and made him a target of Loyalist and British hostility.
On June 7, 1780, British and Hessian forces raided Connecticut Farms (now Union, New Jersey). Hannah Caldwell was inside her home with her children when she was shot through a window and killed. She had nine children at the time. Her death drew immediate outrage in the Patriot press and was widely characterized as a deliberate act by British forces rather than an accident of battle. James Caldwell himself was killed less than a year later, on November 24, 1781, shot by an American sentry at Elizabethtown Point in what was ruled an act of treason by the sentry.
A portrait of James Caldwell is displayed in the courthouse. The building has been cited in paranormal accounts as a location of Hannah Caldwell's reported presence; Union County's own history says only that it is rumored by some that her ghost walks the area of the cemetery and the courthouse on occasion.
Sources
The paranormal accounts at Union County Courthouse center on Hannah Caldwell. Union County's own history calls her 1780 killing an alleged murder and says it is rumored by some that her ghost walks the area of the cemetery and the courthouse on occasion.
The specific attribution of these accounts to Hannah Caldwell is consistent with her historical connection to the site's patriotic memory. Her death in 1780, documented in contemporary newspapers and Continental Army records, transformed her into a symbol of British excess in New Jersey; the courthouse's judicial history and its Caldwell memorabilia make it a natural locus for that memory.
The courthouse is an active government building, and access for paranormal investigation purposes would require formal authorization from Union County.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The Union County Courthouse is an active government building. Public areas including the lobby and rotunda may be viewed during business hours. Courtrooms are not open for casual tourism. Tours of the courthouse can be scheduled through the Union County Clerk's Office.
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