HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
1852 Morgantown corner building with a barred basement cell said to have held Civil War prisoners
High Street and Walnut Street, Morgantown, WV 26505
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
No charge to view the building exterior from the street. The basement cell is not open to the public; street-level tenants keep their own business hours.
Access
Limited Access
Downtown sidewalk corner; basement is below grade and not publicly accessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1852 · Civil War history · Jones-Imboden Raid (1863) · Historic downtown architecture
The Berman Building has stood at the corner of High and Walnut Streets in downtown Morgantown since 1852. The turreted brick structure is one of the older commercial buildings in the city's downtown and over its history has held a range of street-level tenants; in recent years the ground floor has housed the Dirty Bird restaurant.
The building's place in local history rests on its basement. Beneath the structure are remnants described as a wooden cell with bars, set among layers of older and newer walls. Local historians believe the cell functioned as a jail, and the prevailing account connects it to the Civil War. During the April 1863 Jones-Imboden Raid, Confederate cavalry moved through Morgantown, and the basement cell is said to have held prisoners taken in that period. Historian Barbara Rasmussen has noted that the town's reputation as a jailing place earned it a harsh nickname from Confederate sympathizers during the 1863 raid.
The exact original purpose of the cell is not settled. Researchers have suggested it may have served as an auxiliary jail when the county facility was full, or as a less conspicuous place to hold prisoners. The basement is not open to the public, and the structures remain largely hidden from view, which has helped keep the story in the realm of local lore even as the building itself remains in everyday commercial use.
Sources
The Berman Building's reputation as a haunted site grows directly out of its basement cell and the Civil War history attached to it. Because the cell is associated with the holding of prisoners during the 1863 Jones-Imboden Raid, local storytelling has cast the space as one charged with old suffering.
The building is presented as a stop on the Morgantown ghost tour run by Mountaineer Excursions, where guides describe it as the downtown building that held Civil War prisoners. On the tour the basement and its barred cell anchor the narrative, with the hidden, below-grade space lending the story its atmosphere.
Specific reported phenomena are limited and anecdotal, and no documented investigation has established a verified cause for any account. The interest in the Berman Building comes mostly from the tangible historical detail at its heart: a barred cell beneath an ordinary downtown corner, and the unresolved question of exactly who was held there.
Notable Entities
The turreted 1852 Berman Building stands at the northwest corner of High and Walnut Streets in downtown Morgantown. The exterior can be viewed from the sidewalk at any time. The basement cell tied to the building's Civil War story is hidden from public view; street-level tenants operate during their own hours.
The Berman Building is a stop on Morgantown's ghost tour, where the basement cell and the 1863 raid are part of the narrative. The tour operator has at times been temporarily closed, so confirm availability before planning a visit.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Morgantown, WV
The brick commercial building at 123 Pleasant Street dates to 1891. In 1982 Marsha Ferber opened the Underground Railroad nightclub here, which became a hub for live music and political events in 1980s Morgantown. Ferber disappeared in late April 1988 and was never found; the building now operates as the music venue 123 Pleasant Street.
LaGrange, GA
On December 24, 1896, Claude Dunson was shot and killed by Douglas Cooper at this corner in downtown LaGrange, Georgia. The dispute began over a bent dime — a trivial sum that escalated to fatal violence in the public square. The incident was documented in contemporary local accounts and is now a named stop on the Strange LaGrange ghost walking tour.
Hendersonville, NC
On July 18, 1872, brothers Govan and Columbus Adair were publicly hanged at this Henderson County location, convicted of the KKK-linked murders of the Weston family and documented in the New York Herald. The Henderson County Curb Market, established 1924 and built on the current site in 1935, now occupies the former execution ground.