HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A 1912 federal building of Jeffersonian classicism where a worker fell to his death from the rotunda dome; on stormy nights, a shadowy figure is reported falling from the top — and never landing.
307 Laurens Street NW, Aiken, SC 29801
Research updated August 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Building exterior viewable from the street; currently occupied by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions — no public interior access
Access
Wheelchair OK
Flat downtown sidewalk; exterior viewing only
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1912 · Aiken's original federal post office, 1912–1971 · Jeffersonian classical architecture with 23-foot domed rotunda · Site of Strom Thurmond's district offices across multiple decades · Currently occupied by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS)
Aiken's original federal post office was completed in 1912, designed in what the Aiken Standard described as 'an extraordinary example of Jeffersonian classicism.' The building features a 23-foot domed rotunda ceiling, a spiral staircase, two vaults, and — according to building lore — a concealed ladder behind the postmaster's office leading to passageways above the ceiling used for surveillance.
The building operated as a post office until 1971. In the 1950s through the 1980s, and again from 2000 to 2002, Senator Strom Thurmond maintained a district office there. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions leased the building in 2008 and now occupies it, limiting public interior access.
A postal worker died at the building after falling from the rotunda dome during heavy rainfall while lowering the flag. The exact date and the worker's name are not recorded in available sources; the account is documented by multiple Aiken residents who worked or lived near the building. Human remains were reportedly discovered beneath the basement floor during boiler replacement work, further adding to the building's reputation.
Sources
The death on the dome is the anchoring event in the building's paranormal reputation. A postal worker assigned to raise and lower the flag atop the rotunda fell during heavy rain, dropping more than three stories to his death. According to local accounts reported in the Aiken Standard, speculation about the death circulated among downtown workers—a love triangle was suggested, though no finding of anything other than an accident was ever documented.
On stormy nights, multiple downtown Aiken workers and residents have reported seeing a figure on the dome. A woman working in an office across the street reportedly witnessed a silhouette at the top of the rotunda; when she called colleagues to look, the figure was gone. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions employees have described similar accounts. In each telling, the figure falls and does not arrive.
Below street level, the discovery of human remains beneath the basement floor during a boiler replacement added a second layer of lore. Investigators visiting the building's passageways above the postmaster's office have reported screams, disembodied footsteps, and moans from within spaces that proved physically empty on inspection.
The 1912 building at the corner of Park Avenue and Laurens Street features a 23-foot domed ceiling, a spiral staircase, and two vaults — all visible in photographs and referenced by downtown walking tours. Aiken walking ghost tours by guide Ken Cubbage pass this site.
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