Ghosts of Georgia Investigation report
On September 10, 2016, GOGPI investigated claims of paranormal activity at Wheatlands Plantation in Sevierville, TN. The activity reported at the plantation is as follows: Shadow figures, disembodied voices and footsteps, apparitions, sound of cannon fire, being touched, to name a few.
Investigators & people present at investigation: Investigators – Ed Laughlin, Beth Peters, Melissa Foster, Chris & Christie Bradley, Larry & Melinda Conley
Moonrise, moonset and phase calendar:
| Meridian Passing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date
Sept 10, 2016 |
Moonrise
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Moonset
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Time
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Altitude
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Distance | Illuminated
68.7% |
Phase
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| (mi)
238,386 |
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Weather Conditions:
Weather history Sevierville September 2016
| Day | High
(°F) |
Low
(°F) |
Precip.
(inch) |
Snow
(inch) |
Snow depth (inch) |
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| 10 SEP 2016 | 95.0 | 64.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||||
| Average high temperature: | 9.2°F (normal: 83°F) |
| Average low temperature: | 6.3°F (normal: 58°F) |
| Average temperature: | 7.75°F (normal: 70°F) |
| Total Precipitation: | 0.21 inch (normal: 3.31 inch) |
| Total snowfall: | 0 inch |
| Highest max temperature: | 95.0°F |
| Lowest max temperature: | °F |
| Highest min temperature: | 66.0°F |
| Lowest min temperature: | °F |
Equipment used by Investigators:
Cameras: Two Canon Rebel digital cameras, Samsung digital camera, Fuji S602 digital camera, Tasco infrared trail camera, iPhone 5S Camera/Video, numerous IR Video Cameras connected to a J2000 DVR. Nikon Coolpix L28 Full Spectrum digital camera, Bell & Howell IR Camcorder, JVC Everio Camcorder, T700 Full spectrum Camcorder, DDV-2200 full spectrum video camcorder, Insignia full spectrum HD camera/video recorder, MagiCam Mini Camcorder, FLIR Bcam w/SD, set of full spectrum POV glasses.
DVR: Black HD-SDI H.264
EMF Meters: Electro Sensor EMF Meter, Cell Sensor, Digital EMF Detectors, Mel-8704R-KII, Mel-8704-R, several K-II Meters.
Audio Recorders: Sony P210 digital voice recorder, 2- Sony digital recorders, Olympus D-10 digital voice recorder, RCA digital recorder Olympus VN-4100PC. Spion Parabolic Dish.
Thermometers: Cen-Tech mini non-contact infrared digital thermometer and an Omega HH68K ambient thermometer. Mel-8704R-KII has ambient thermometer included.
Other: 2-P-SB7 frequency sweep radio( spirit box ), P-SB11 spirit box, Spirit voice receiver, Boo Buddy Bear, Laser Grid, Compaq Presario Laptop, Dell Laptop, Ovilus M, Altec speaker, 2- Rem Pods, various flashlights.
Condition of the home:
The house was built in 1825 and has gone through a renovation and is in good shape. The structure is sound, the utilities and up to date and in good working order. Some voices could be heard through the windows and they are subject to drafts.
Start DVR 9:12 pm, Start Investigation 9:50 pm – End Investigation 3:20 am, Stopped DVR 3:22 am
Base Readings – 7:45 PM
Front Foyer 78.7 temp, 0.1 EMF
Back Foyer 78.4 temp, 2.5 EMF
Parlor Right 78.4 temp, 0.0 EMF
Parlor Left 78.4 temp, 0.0 EMF
Door between Parlor & Dining Room 13.1-88.1 EMF when light switch is on.
Dining Room at Fireplace 77.7 temp, 0.4 – 8.1 EMF
Dining Room 78.6 temp, 0.1 EMF
Kitchen 74.4 temp, 0.0 EMF (4.1 EMF at Refrigerator)
Basement 74.1 temp, 0.0 EMF (25.1 at fuse box)
Furnace Room 73.8 temp, 0.0 EMF
Root Cellar 73.8 temp, 0.0 EMF
Summer House Kitchen 84.3 temp, 0.0 EMF (80.0 + EMF at outlet by stove)
Summer House Dining Room 84.0 temp, 0.0 EMF
Summer House Bathroom 85.0 temp, 0.0 EMF
Summer House Attic 87.7 temp, 0.0 EMF
After Base Readings and Equipment Set Up – Investigation Began
Investigation Began at 9:50 pm
Our investigation began with a walk through of the plantation grounds and buildings given by the owners. Several guests of the owners arrived to attend and go on the investigation with our Ghosts of Georgia team. With the number of guests who wanted to investigate the decision was made to change our usual style of investigation and to split into several groups. We investigated the main house, the summer house and the outside grounds in three different groups at the same time. We switched groups as we reported back to base. All three groups had a chance to investigate all areas of the grounds and buildings. We took meter readings, recorded EVP sessions, took pictures, and recorded footage with cameras set in different locations. Some of the personal experiences of the investigators are recorded below.
End Investigation: 3:20 am
Findings:
GOGPI was called in to investigate the above claims of activity. GOGPI investigated the main house, Summer house, barn, and cemeteries on the property. We set up stationary cameras in the houses and covering the cemeteries. EMF readings were within normal limits except around the dining room fireplace and the doorway between the parlor and dining room. Unable to determine the cause but we feel that it may be the wiring running through the walls in those locations. The temperature was in normal limits for the conditions.
We did not capture anything paranormal in our pictures or video. We did capture numerous EVP’s in the main house, summer house, barn, the cemeteries and grounds.
With the EVP’s, personal experiences, some experiencing the reported activity, and the accounts of activity by numerous people and other investigating teams we feel that Wheatland’s Plantation is haunted. We feel that some of the activity is residual energy and some intelligent haunting.
Ed Laughlin
Ghosts of Georgia Paranormal Investigations
Personal Experience summaries from investigators on the investigation
Ed:
When we went down to the cemetery area I heard a loud gunshot. There were five of us there and only Kristie and I heard the shot. Also while where the distillery use to be I saw a mist past by my light, Kristie saw it too. We tried to debunk it but not find a reason why there was mist there. While in the door way between the blood room and dining room doing an EVP session I heard someone whispering. I did not come from the spirit box and all other investigators said they weren’t whispering.
Christie:
While in the guest house with Melinda and Melissa I heard a click sound come from the dining room. When we walked into the dining room the door to the upstairs was open. I had just walked by the door twice (one time when I went into the bathroom beside the door to the stairs and the second time when I came out of the bathroom). The door to the stairs was not open on either pass. We also tried to debunk the door opening by going through the exact scenario we were performing when we heard the door open and we could not recreate it.
While investigating in the music room with Chris, Richard and Andy I heard footsteps from upstairs. The footsteps were so distinct I thought one of the owners was upstairs. After we finished the investigation I found out that there was no one upstairs. Both owners were outside during the entire music room investigation.
In the basement Richard and Andy performed a spirit box session in the far back room while Chris and I were doing a quiet vigil in the front room of the basement. We heard several tap sounds between us that we could not recreate. We also heard a loud thump sound from the middle room of the basement. When we spoke with Richard and Andy they said they had heard it also.
On the second sweep through the house I heard a faint growl in the music room. In the dining room I heard several more low growl sounds. In the dining room while working with the spirit box I could hear faint music. While Melinda and myself were investigating in the dining room alone I heard a very loud and long growl. I immediately asked Melinda if she heard it and she confirmed she did.
Melissa:
While doing base readings in the summer house/kitchen with Christie and Melinda, I heard a metallic click sound in the dining area. Christie, Melinda and I were in the kitchen standing at the closet under the stairs. When I walked into the dining are I noticed that the door to the upstairs room was open slightly. When I shut it then opened it again, it made the same click noise that was heard in the kitchen area. When Beth, John, Lee, Randy and I were in the blood parlor doing an EVP session, I was sitting on the couch and felt what appeared to be a hand go under the back of my shirt and touch me on my back. When Beth, John, Lee, Randy and me were in the kitchen doing an evp session, we had asked if one of the spirits could cook something for us. We suddenly could smell buttered popcorn. I could smell it strongest at the fireplace. While investigating the graveyard, I was looking up the hill at the bench by the tree and I could see a shadow standing to the right of the tree just behind the bench. I shined my flashlight at it but did not see anyone standing there.
Beth:
While investigating the summer house with Melissa, John, Randy & Lee – we heard several clear responses on the Spirit Box to questions we asked during the EVP session. While in the kitchen of the main house, I asked someone to cook something for us and actually had the impression of popcorn before anyone said anything. Then we all started smelling butter and popcorn from the fireplace & kettle. Nobody was told what I had “seen” before they started smelling it. Heard a few unexplained sounds throughout the investigation but nothing I could figure out or debunk. While in the graveyard with the same group outside, we had what appeared to be possible flashlight communication.
Larry & Melinda:
Larry – While walking to the grave yard we heard what sounded like a cannon. While investigating in the barn we heard a loud bang in the tack room, then on 2 other occasions we heard what sounded like footsteps.
Melinda – while in the summer house with Melissa and Christie she also heard a loud click which ended up being the door to upstairs opening. While investigating in the basement Melinda and dolly felt something touch their hair, but there was nothing hanging down from the ceiling. While in the house alone with Christie she heard a loud knock and several growls.
RESEARCH ON PROPERTY
Wheatlands is an antebellum plantation in Sevier County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The plantation’s surviving structures— which include the plantation house, a storage shed, and smokehouse— have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The plantation house has been called “the best example of a Federal-style building remaining in Sevier County.”[2]
Wheatlands, named after its large annual wheat crop, was established as a family farm by Revolutionary War veteran Timothy Chandler in 1791. Chandler’s son, John Chandler (1786–1875), inherited Wheatlands in 1819, and under his direction the plantation grew to become one of Sevier County’s largest farms, covering 3,700 acres (1,500 ha) by 1850.[3] Chandler’s freed slaves inherited part of Wheatlands in 1875, and formed the Chandler Gap community in the hills south of the plantation.[4]
Wheatlands is located at the corner of State Highway 338 (Boyds Creek Highway, sometimes called Old Knoxville Highway) and Cedar Springs Valley Road in the Boyd’s Creek community, about halfway between Sevierville and Seymour. The plantation was situated along the banks of Boyd’s Creek, which empties into the French Broad River at the Brabson’s Ferry Plantation about a mile to the east. This gave Wheatlands access to the nation’s interior waterways, allowing this shipment of its “Wheat Whiskey” to New Orleans.
State Highway 338 roughly follows what was once a section of the 18th-century Native American trail known as the Great Indian Warpath. In 1780, John Sevier followed the path across the French Broad River to engage and defeat a Cherokee force at the Battle of Boyd’s Creek, which took place at the future site of Wheatlands.[5] Early settlers also followed the trail into the Boyd’s Creek area, among them Timothy Chandler, a Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia, who moved his family to Boyd’s Creek in 1791.[2]
After Timothy Chandler died in 1819, his son, John Chandler, inherited the family’s Boyd’s Creek farm. The original Chandler farmhouse burned in 1823, and John Chandler built the present plantation house at the site to replace it.[2] By 1850, Wheatlands had become one of the largest farms in Sevier County, covering some 4,600 acres (1,900 ha) worth $7,000 (US$199 thousand in present terms[6]), and included fifteen horses, ten mules, forty cattle, fifty sheep, and three hundred hogs. Chandler and fourteen slaves produced 3,000 bushels of corn, 400 bushels of oats, 200 bushels of sweet potatoes, 12 bushels of buckwheat, 10 tons of hay, 150 pounds of wool, 200 pounds of butter, and 200 gallons of honey. The plantation’s distillery produced 6,000 gallons of whiskey, worth $4,500.(US$128 thousand in present terms[6]).[3]
Wheatlands was used as Winter Quarters for the Union by Tenth Regiment Calvary out of Michigan and the 8th division from Western Pennsylvania. They ran raids into Sevierville, Gatlinburg and Newport. They sent troops to the Brabson Plantation and took over their Ferry and occupied Bartley Chandler’s home in Sevierville as a prison. Two cannons were sent to “Battle of Fair Garden” and shot over the Rose Glen Plantation.[citation needed]
When Southern slaves were emancipated during the American Civil War (1861–1865), Chandler started paying his freed slaves to remain at Wheatlands. Upon his death in 1875, Chandler left his former slaves a portion of land along the south side of Wheatlands known as Chandler Gap. The Chandler Gap community remained a predominantly African-American community well into the 20th century.
In 2011, three Pigeon Forge businessmen purchased Wheatlands, and announced plans to restore the house, and possibly re-establish a distillery on the property.[7]
Original structures at Wheatlands include the mansion house (rebuilt around 1825 after a fire), a smokehouse, the summer kitchen with dining hall, and loom house. A second storage shed and barn have been added more recently. The distillery burned in the late 1930s. The original house, made of clapboard with a large front porch, burned in 1824, and was rebuilt in 1825. Wheatlands is a 2-story, 5-bay brick house with a 1.5-story kitchen and dining room wing attached to the rear to form an “L” shape. The house is designed in the Federal style, although a Queen Anne-style front porch was added as well as Queen Anne Windows in 1889. The brickwork on the house’s front facade uses a Flemish bond, and the brickwork on the sides and rear uses common bond. A brick cornice encircles the house.[2]
The interior of the house retains most of its original design elements, which include hand-planed railings and windows. The mantel designs were based on Adamesque models in patternbooks, and include hand-carved details and entablatures. The house is based on a central floor plan, rather than a parlor hall floor plan which was more typical of the period.[2]
A frame storage shed built sometime around 1825 still stands a few feet behind the house. The shed, which has beaded weatherboarding, may have once housed a distillery, an ice house, or a loom house. The smokehouse at Wheatlands dates to the first half of the 19th century, and is constructed of hewn logs with a board and batten door.[8]
- ^ Jump up to: a b National Park Service (2009-03-13). “National Register Information System”. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Robbie Jones, The Historic Architecture of Sevier County, Tennessee (Sevierville, Tenn.: Smoky Mountain Historical Society, 1997), pp. 203-204.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Jones, p. 24, 29.
- Jump up ^ Jones, p. 42.
- Jump up ^ David Templin, The Lesser Franklin. Retrieved: 2009-09-25.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. “Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–”. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- Jump up ^ Joan Brock, “Developers Plan Renovation of Sevier’s Historic Wheatlands,” Knoxville News Sentinel, 27 July 2011. Retrieved: 28 July 2011.
- Jump up ^ Jones, p. 311.
John Chandler — entry at Smokykin.com