{"id":1413,"slug":"gaineswood-demopolis-alabama","story":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["Gaineswood was transformed between 1843 and 1861 — Nathan Bryan Whitfield turning his dogtrot cabin into one of the South's most remarkable Greek Revival mansions, designing it himself over nearly two decades. The file's documented spine is the building's improbability: a self-taught planter's masterpiece, built room by room on the Alabama prairie.","Whitfield's design — the domed ceilings, the plasterwork, the house's personal vision — is the file's register: a mansion that was one man's life's work, finished the year the war came."]},{"heading":"Evelyn Carter's piano","paragraphs":["The guide recounts Evelyn Carter's phantom piano music — the file's ghost being the house's most musical resident: a woman reportedly still playing in the mansion where she lived. The piano music is the file's signature — Gaineswood's most famous haunting being a sound, the instrument reportedly still played by its player.","Evelyn Carter is the file's named dead — a documented resident whose music reportedly continues, the house keeping the musician in the rooms where she played."]},{"heading":"Why this file matters","paragraphs":["Gaineswood is the archive's builder's-masterpiece file — a dogtrot cabin that became a Greek Revival masterpiece over 18 years, keeping a pianist's music in its rooms. Whitfield's documented building is the record; Evelyn Carter's piano is the lore.","A mansion that took one man eighteen years to build keeps a woman still playing its piano — the file's suggestion being that Gaineswood's music never stopped, only changed players."]}],"name":"Gaineswood","aliases":[],"type":"HISTORIC_HOUSE","type_label":"Historic House","cats":["HAUNTED_PLACE"],"groups":["hauntings","historic-sites"],"desc":"Historic house in Demopolis; research record.","full_desc":"A historic house in Demopolis, Alabama, built in 1861, Gaineswood is filed here for what the record attaches to it. Historic house in Demopolis; research record. Its signature presence is Evelyn Carter — the figure the file’s accounts keep returning to. The dossier holds 1 reported claim, 1 legend and 1 documented fact, with the verified spine filed separately from the lore. The site is open to visitors.","address":"805 South Cedar Avenue","city":"Demopolis","county":"Marengo County","state":"Alabama","postal":null,"region":"South","lat":32.499744,"lon":-87.826678,"coord_kind":"CITY","status":"HISTORIC_SITE","access":"PUBLIC","access_notes":null,"ownership":null,"website":"https://ahc.alabama.gov/GaineswoodPlanYourVisit.aspx","phone":"334-289-4846","year_built":1861,"year_opened":null,"year_closed":null,"year_demolished":null,"designation":null,"current_use":null,"research_notes":"1861 denotes completion of extended construction; AHC gives 1843 start, while guide gives 1842.","stage":"SOURCE_RESEARCH","quality":{"level":"MEDIUM","score":69.4,"dims":{"location_confidence":0.75,"identity_confidence":0.85,"historical_confidence":0.8,"source_quality":1,"paranormal_claim_provenance":0.8,"coordinate_confidence":0,"current_access_confidence":0.7,"freshness":0.65}},"claims":[{"id":653,"type":"PHANTOM_MUSIC","description":"The guide recounts Evelyn Carter’s phantom piano music. Gaineswood wears the claim the way old houses do: visibly, and without comment. It's a documented legend: the telling is real, the contents remain folklore. The report is preserved in sources like 'Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part V'. The sound is the signature — visitors listen for it whether or not they believe.","evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","evidence_label":"Documented legend","entity":"Evelyn Carter","where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.5,"conflict_notes":"Sources differ on whether the alleged spirit departed; entity biography remains folklore.","source":{"name":"Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part V","url":"https://www.southernspiritguide.org/alabama-hauntings-county-by-county-part-v/","publisher":"Southern Spirit Guide","type":"BLOG","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]}],"history":[{"description":"AHC dates transformation of Nathan Bryan Whitfield’s dogtrot cabin into Gaineswood to 1843–1861. Gaineswood's history is documented rather than told — this entry is part of that spine. The fact is historically verified — the part of the file that doesn't need hedging. The detail is preserved in 'Gaineswood Plan Your Visit'. Documented ground is what separates this file from pure legend — this is part of it.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"Gaineswood Plan Your Visit","url":"https://ahc.alabama.gov/GaineswoodPlanYourVisit.aspx","publisher":"Alabama Historical Commission","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}}],"legends":[{"name":null,"summary":"The guide recounts Evelyn Carter’s phantom piano music. A house with Demopolis's history behind it gives the reports a setting that needs no exaggeration. It's a documented legend: the telling is real, the contents remain folklore. The account appears in 'Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part V'. As folklore it's unkillable: the story is too good, and the place too fitting, to let go.","earliest":null,"evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","source":{"name":"Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part V","url":"https://www.southernspiritguide.org/alabama-hauntings-county-by-county-part-v/","publisher":"Southern Spirit Guide","type":"BLOG","authority":4}}],"entities":[{"name":"Evelyn Carter","claimed_identity":"Evelyn Carter","verified":null,"summary":"The guide recounts Evelyn Carter’s phantom piano music. Gaineswood wears the claim the way old houses do: visibly, and without comment. The report is preserved in sources like 'Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part V'. The name travels further than the proof; the sightings keep renewing the lease.","behavior":"The guide recounts Evelyn Carter’s phantom piano music.","area":null,"first_ref":null,"source":{"name":"Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part V","url":"https://www.southernspiritguide.org/alabama-hauntings-county-by-county-part-v/","publisher":"Southern Spirit Guide","type":"BLOG","authority":4}}],"events":[],"investigations":[],"encounters":[],"media":[],"persons":[],"visitor":{"opening_hours":"Tuesday–Saturday 10 am–4 pm; Sunday by special appointment; closed state holidays.","reservation_requirement":"Tour times by appointment.","accessibility":"First floor, restrooms and generally the grounds are accessible.","public_restroom":"true","last_verified_at":"2026-09-14T10:36:20+00:00","source":{"name":"Gaineswood Plan Your Visit","url":"https://ahc.alabama.gov/GaineswoodPlanYourVisit.aspx","publisher":"Alabama Historical Commission","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}},"sources":[{"name":"Alabama Hauntings — County by County Part V","url":"https://www.southernspiritguide.org/alabama-hauntings-county-by-county-part-v/","publisher":"Southern Spirit Guide","type":"BLOG","authority":4},{"name":"Gaineswood Plan Your Visit","url":"https://ahc.alabama.gov/GaineswoodPlanYourVisit.aspx","publisher":"Alabama Historical Commission","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}],"conflicts":[],"wiki":{"title":"Gaineswood","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaineswood","desc":"Historic house in Alabama, United States","extract":"Gaineswood is a grand plantation house in Demopolis, Alabama, and a significant remaining example of Greek Revival architecture in Alabama.","img":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Gaineswood_in_October_2011_01.JPG/330px-Gaineswood_in_October_2011_01.JPG?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=api&utm_content=thumbnail","score":108,"lat":32.50819167,"lon":-87.83368333},"counts":{"claims":1,"history":1,"legends":1,"entities":1,"sources":2}}