The Anchorage

If you like old houses that are haunted, well I have the perfect place for you!

Marietta is the oldest city in Ohio and while there are plenty of beautiful old houses in town, one caught my attention about ten or so years ago. The Anchorage, also known as the Putnam Villa, is a beautiful 22 room Italianate style home that was built in 1859 and sits proudly on a hill overlooking Harmar Village in Marietta. The house was built by Douglas Putnam for his wife Eliza and is built from native oak and sandstone. Eliza planned the homes design to suit her personal style and it took ten years for the home to be complete. Unfortunately, Eliza did not get to enjoy her grand new home for long, she died only three years after it was finished. 

Following the Putnam family, other prominent families owned the house over the years. After the last owners, Eddie MacTaggart and his sister Sophia Russell passed away, the house was turned into a nursing home which operated until the 1980s. After the closure of the nursing home, the house sat vacant for many years. Today the home is owned and being restored by the Washington County Historical Society.

I first knew of this home's reputation for being haunted, and that led to the initial visit years ago to see this it for myself. I have never investigated here, but stories of spirits that roam her halls abound. According to Hidden Marietta, the tour company that operates tours of the home, some 20 individuals have died inside the Anchorage over the years, including past owners, their family members and nursing home residents. Some of the reported paranormal activity includes hearing audible disembodied voices, shadows and apparitions and even the sensations of being touched. Up in the tower, the homes original owners, Eliza Putnam and her husband Douglas has been seen. 

I recently booked a tour of the old house to see it inside instead of just the exterior. Due to Covid-19, the only tours that were being offered were self-guided. We (my husband and myself) received a short summary of the history before we started. I was excited to see the inside of the house, although a fully guided tour would have been great, we ended up with the chance to roam the halls alone. I can't say that I was disappointed, this was a perfect opportunity to take lots of photos without having to wait for other tour guests to clear out of an area before I could snap photos. Trust me, I have done quite a few tours and typically hang toward to back in order to get plenty of pictures. 

During our tour of the home, I took notice of all the beautiful architectural details throughout the house, no doubt Eliza hand-picked them herself. The downstairs has been mostly restored, but the restoration process is ongoing. I walked throughout each room, simply admiring the work of art this house truly is, and with the restoration work, I can only imagine how much more beautiful it will become. The upper floors are still in need of restoration, but nonetheless, it is still beautiful, even with peeling paint, wallpaper and exposed boards. 

Having the old house almost completely to ourselves allowed for ample observation for any paranormal activity. There was an option to include a small investigation into the tour, but I just wanted to explore and if we happened to encounter any ghosts during our time, that was fine. Unfortunately, we did not have any experiences, it felt comfortable and calm inside the house, nothing out of the ordinary happened. We were told by one of the guides that a girl from the tour the previous day had her hair pulled by something unseen, which is another seemingly "normal" paranormal event that has been reported in the house.

On the second floor, it is still evident that the house was used as nursing home. The stairway was enclosed during the time the nursing home operated there, but if you look close you can still see some of the original character on the old steps. There are seemingly hidden rooms and rooms that connect to other rooms, which is pretty typical for houses built in the 1800s. This house has a section that was used as servants' quarters. The attic area is huge, and it is believed that the children liked to play up there.

The final spot we visited in the house was on up beyond the attic, and into the tower, also known as a campanile, or Italian bell tower. The tower has a breath-taking full view of Marietta. The winding staircase to the tower looks to be in original condition and it has a feel of being straight out of a fairy tale, or creepy haunted house movie, or perhaps just a combination of the two. I imagine this spot in the house was probably a favorite. I can envision children laughing and playing in the tower and running up and down the stairs. I can imagine Eliza and Douglas watching over their town below while having a quiet moment of reflection from their little castle on the hill. I can even picture the faint apparitions of the spirits that wander the halls of the Anchorage, peeking out from the tower windows and keeping watch over the house. 

Want to learn more about the house, take a tour or even book a ghost hunt? Visit Hidden Marietta for more information or to check out other haunts in the area.

Want to see more of my photos from inside the Anchorage? Visit Ghosts of Guyandotte on Facebook and check out my photo album. 

All photos on this site and in this article are property of the author, Melissa Stanley, unless otherwise noted. 

Traveling the Appalachian Backroads

The backroads of central Appalachia have intrigued me for years and it was long-past due for me to head back out and start exploring rural forgotten and historic places again. I love taking photos and this year, I needed something. I needed time away from my busy world at home, something to ease stress and forget about my worries. I have this nice camera that doesn't get much use, I thought it was time to get back out there to look at the world through that lens again. So, I started new, seeking and searching out new places to document as well as old.

It was during the rare times that my family would travel the backroads of WV and KY,  that I started to take notice of all the beauty of the backroads. We always drove the back roads, mainly because it was quicker and also because it was the route they knew well. Driving those winding, curving two lane roads, I took in many sights. Some of my favorites were the old abandoned houses, driving alongside the railroad tracks and watching the trains, and the occasional train bridges. I recall watching a train coming across a bridge and thinking what an awesome photo that would have been.

It was exciting to see new places. I really had no idea at the time how rich with history these backroads locations were. The remnants of the past are everywhere you look when you travel the backroads. Some towns are like a trip back in time, almost unchanged in a century or more. Being able to see these places gives me a better understanding and a visual of stories told to me from older family members, some of which are now gone.

Now that I am an adult and have traveled on my own to many more places, I still feel excitement in visiting new areas, particularly places that harbor lots of history. My plan is to continue to travel the back roads every opportunity I get, to take those roads less traveled and document the places that may fade into time and return to nature, before they are gone.

I have had others tell me that photographing abandoned places, cemeteries, and searching and driving the back roads has been therapeutic for them, and I will have to agree. I think in a busy, stressful world, taking a nice weekend drive is an excellent way to clear your mind, slow down and run away for a moment. It may not be for everyone, but it has been one of the most enjoyable hobbies I have over the past 14 or so years. I am happy to live in a place where there are lots of back roads for me to explore and I am excited to be documenting these places once again and sharing them with those of you who read here.


Photos on this site are property of Melissa Stanley unless otherwise noted.