The Haunted Pillar of Augusta, Georgia

This "haunted" pillar stands on Broad Street, Augusta, Georgia, at the site of the The Lower Market, once the center of the agricultural and livestock trade for the city. The original structure was destroyed by fire in 1829. The city rebuilt the market and topped it with a bell that could be heard throughout the city of Augusta.

In 1871, the newer market was destroyed by a cyclone. All that remained was this column which stands still today at the corner of Fifth and Broad Streets.

For more than a century, local folks have told and retold the story of an itinerant preacher who, upon being denied the right to preach in front of the market, prophesied that a great wind would destroy the place except for one pillar. The traveling "exorter" proclaimed that whoever tried to remove this remaining pillar would be struck dead. Many people swear that the prophecy has come to pass on more than one occasion.

The young lady in the photo works in a business next to the pillar. As I was photographing it we chatted a while. She told me that at least three people had died while trying to move the pillar. She agreed to pose for this photo, pretending she was trying to push the pillar over, but being very careful not to push too hard.