Woodburn
Woodburn is a governor's residence in Dover, Delaware. Governors residence associated with published local folklore. Its signature presence is Charles Hillyard III — the figure the file’s accounts keep returning to. The dossier holds 1 reported claim, 1 legend and 1 named or described presence — all telling, no verified spine yet, and the file says so plainly. Access details are unverified — research before visiting.
· in your passport — stamped · open it
Is Woodburn haunted?
The record holds 1 claim, 1 legend, 1 named entity — filed as reported, not verified. The heaviest filing is classed documented legend. The archive documents the claim; it takes no position on the ghost.
The record — long form
Woodburn is the governed — the '1798' that's the house's year, the 'Hillyard' that's the builder's name. The 'preacher saw' is the guested — the 'Lorenzo Dow' that's the visitor's name, the 'powdered wig' that's the description's match. The 'wine left' is the tested — the 'empty glass' that's the morning's sign, the 'Jeanne Tribbitt' that's the governor's wife who tried.
The 'Penn grant' is the rooted — the '1683' that's the tract's date, the '3,000 acres' that's the family's land. The 'Patty Cannon' is the raided — the 'Entailed Hat' that's the novel's name, the 'kidnappers' that's the gang's trade. Woodburn is the state's — the '1965' that's the purchase's year, the 'eight governors' that's the residents' count.
The file keeps Woodburn: the governed house, the preacher's guest, the tested wine, and the raided lawn.
Woodburn is the archive's Delaware file — the governor's mansion with a resident ghost.
Why this file matters
Woodburn is the archive's Delaware file — the state house whose builder never left.
A mansion keeps its ghost — the file's suggestion being that Woodburn's hold is the official: the 'Hillyard' that's the apparition's name, the 'wine' that's the test's bait, and the 'governors' that's the house's living residents.
The record of claims
The official residence recounts an 1815 sighting attributed to Charles Hillyard III. Woodburn in Dover, Delaware carries the report the way old places do — as part of its identity. The story is documented as legend — recorded and retold, never verified as fact. Sources including 'The Woodburn Ghost' keep the claim in circulation. The figure remains the site's most-repeated sighting.
The official residence recounts an 1815 sighting attributed to Charles Hillyard III. Woodburn's file is thin on proof and long on persistence — the standard profile of American place-lore. It's a documented legend: the telling is real, the contents remain folklore. The legend does what legends do — it explains the place in a way the records can't.
Alleged entities
The official residence recounts an 1815 sighting attributed to Charles Hillyard III. The site in Dover, Delaware gives the account a documented setting: real place, real history, unresolved reports. The account appears in 'The Woodburn Ghost'. The lore has a face now: Charles Hillyard III. It remains the site's standing claim.
Sources on file
- 01The Woodburn GhostOffice of the Governor of Delaware · government · A1
Field notes & open questions
Discovery record. Coordinates, earliest legend source, independent history and current visitor rules require further verification.