HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Built on Lot 1 in 1790 as the oldest residence in Tennessee's oldest town, the Hawley House carries stories of women's voices heard on the second floor during late-night hours
114 East Woodrow Avenue, Jonesborough, TN 37659
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Overnight B&B room rates; contact for current pricing and availability
Access
Limited Access
Historic two-story residence with stairs; limited ADA accommodation
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1790 · Oldest surviving residence in Jonesborough · Built on original Lot 1 of the 1779 town plan · Continuous residential use for over 230 years
Jonesborough was incorporated in 1779 as the first town in what would become Tennessee. Its original town plan assigned numbered lots for development; Lot 1 was among the first to receive a permanent structure. The building now known as Hawley House was constructed in 1790, making it the oldest surviving residential structure in the oldest town in the state—a distinction documented by the Homespun Haints regional history and ghost lore project.
The building has served various uses over more than two centuries before becoming a bed and breakfast. Its position on East Woodrow Avenue places it adjacent to the historic cemetery and within walking distance of the Chester Inn, Christopher Taylor House, and other downtown landmarks that define Jonesborough's heritage tourism identity.
The B&B's presence in the Jonesborough ghost tour circuit is documented by Tennessee Haunted Houses, which lists it alongside other regional properties with paranormal reputations. The building's longevity and its specific Lot 1 provenance give it a concrete historical anchor independent of ghost lore.
Sources
The paranormal claims associated with Hawley House center on auditory phenomena rather than apparitions: guests, particularly male guests, report hearing the sound of women laughing or talking on the second floor late at night, with the activity most commonly reported when trains pass on the nearby line. The timing correlation is specific enough to have become a consistent detail across accounts gathered by Homespun Haints.
Local tradition connects these sounds to women who may have lived or worked in the building during an earlier period of its long history. No documentary evidence confirms this attribution, and the claim belongs to the category of interpretive lore that attaches itself to old buildings with ambiguous histories. The building's confirmed age—the oldest residence in Tennessee's oldest town—gives any story set here an immediate authenticity of place, regardless of its origins.
Jonesborough's oldest residence, built in 1790 on the original Lot 1 of the town plan, operated as a bed and breakfast. Guests report hearing women's voices and gigging on the second floor in the late-night hours, particularly when trains pass.
See current room rates and availability at Hawley House Bed and Breakfast.
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