HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
A Queen Anne mansion in Abbeville that housed Confederate General Samuel McGowan and is said to retain his presence in the front rooms.
120 Vernon Street, Abbeville, SC 29620
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Tour pricing set by the Abbeville County Historical Society; check the website for current availability.
Access
Limited Access
Historic multi-story Queen Anne home; interior staircase access; no elevator.
Equipment
Photos OK
Home of Confederate General Samuel McGowan · McGowan later served as SC Supreme Court Associate Justice (1879-1893) · Part of Abbeville County Historical Society's documented historic properties
The McGowan-Barksdale-Bundy House is a Queen Anne-style mansion located in Abbeville, South Carolina. The home is documented by the Abbeville County Historical Society as the residence of Samuel McGowan, a prominent Confederate general born in Abbeville County who commanded South Carolina troops during the Civil War and later served as an Associate Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court from 1879 to 1893.
McGowan was a well-documented historical figure in Abbeville. He was born in Laurens District in 1819, moved to Abbeville, practiced law, served in the Mexican-American War, and rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia before being wounded at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in 1864. He returned to Abbeville after the war and lived there until his death in 1897.
The Roots and Recall historical database provides additional background on the property's successive occupants, including the Barksdale and Bundy families. The Abbeville County Historical Society maintains a page on the McGowan house as a site of local historical significance.
Sources
Paranormal accounts connected to the McGowan-Barksdale-Bundy House center on a male figure seen in the home's front rooms, described in appearance and bearing consistent with a 19th-century military or professional man. Witnesses and investigators have identified this presence as General Samuel McGowan, though no claim to the contrary is made — the identification is traditional, not confirmed.
A separate thread of the haunting legend involves the home's root cellar and Abbeville's reportedly extensive system of underground tunnels. A psychic investigation account, documented through the Old 96 District tourism source, describes a small blond child and an African American man named John in the root cellar. These figures are described in connection with the tunnel system, which local tradition holds connected multiple historic properties in Abbeville's downtown. The claims made in the psychic investigation are not corroborated by historical documentation available for this build.
The tunnel legend and the figures described in the cellar belong to the oral tradition of the property rather than the documented historical record. The name 'John' is not traceable to a specific historical individual in available sources.
Notable Entities
Tours of the McGowan-Barksdale-Bundy House cover its Civil War history, its connection to General Samuel McGowan, and the paranormal accounts associated with the property, including the root cellar and the front rooms where McGowan's apparition has been reported.
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