The Many Ghosts of Sweetwater Mansion

I was lucky enough to be invited to do a book signing at Sweetwater Mansion this weekend. I had never been able to enter this house before, so this was very exciting for me. The house was opened up for tours this October by the people that are renovating it and trying to document its history. The tours include history and ghost stories and legends associated with this old house. All funds raised by the tours will be donated to the continued renovation of this beautiful mansion. The house is in significant disrepair and has seen much abuse. In the 1970's, a portion of the house caught on fire and in 2007 vandals broke in and stripped the mansion down to the bones. The renovators certainly have their work cut out for them and they have already worked so hard.
Jessica Penot
http://ghoststoriesandhauntedplaces.blogspot.com/

Phyllis White

My thanks to Sweetwater for inviting me to do a booksigning Halloween weekend. It was good to get to see the inside of this historical building which is such a part of Florence's history. I believe with new plaster and paint the old mansion will be well on its way to its former glory.
 The tour guides and story tellers did a great job in telling the history of Sweetwater as well as relating a few ghost stories.

 I got the unexpected pleasure of witnessing one of Sweetwater's ghosts when I was alone in the house. I heard a loud noise in the next room.  When I went to the door to investigate, I saw nothing, but as I turned to leave a long blue flash of light came from the edge of the ceiling and shot about 20 feet across the room. When I related to the guide later what I saw, she showed me a photo from 1936 of a ghost in Sweetwater mansion that looked exactly like what I saw.  It was pretty amazing.

Thanks again to Sweetwater for allowing me to promote my books and to join in the fun.
You are all doing a great job in working to preserve on of our best landmarks.

Phyllis White

Comments

We had such a great experience at Sweetwater on Saturday. It was so nice to see everything in the daylight and go inside of such a raw remarkable place. My daughter and I would love to volunteer at Sweetwater, whether its garden, pick up trash, whatever. My daughter is 14 and could really use the experience. It would be an honor to volunteer at such a magnificent place. Feel free to contact us any time. We especially would love to help with the gardening. Thanks so much!!
Kim P. and Abby

Hello,
I would be happy to help with upcoming events. I have spent the last thirteen months in Nashville helping my son open his law office. It is great to be home and find such exciting things taking place in Florence!
Please list me as a volunteer, I look forward to being at the meeting and helping in any way that I can.
Sandra M

Hi, my name is Barbara  and I would love to be a volunteer with your group. I'm currently working with the Friends of The Mound in an effort to do what the original deed called for, preserve and protect that sacred site from being destroyed and/or neglected. If you don't mind a rebel rouser on your volunteer list, count me in. I've also been on the City of Florence about the conditions in Florence Cemetery and keeping it up. I'm not afraid to speak up when the need is there.
Barbara

Hi, I am a retired school teacher with some knowledge of flowers and a love anything with a past. I am interested in helping with the SweetWater Garden Group. Late afternoons are good for me. Anyday of the week, but Wed. Here is my contact info-----
Carol

Hi, I was “lurking” on the posts on the Sweetwater gardens – about re-creating the grounds – and would love to help! I don’t know much about flowers but I will work hard.
I also was friends with Ms. Lettie Region when she lived in the house a few years ago. I visited her with her a lot in the mid-late 90’s and even helped her put in the garden on the west side of the kitchen building. She loved having cucumbers and squash and always had corn and some type of pole beans. I don’t remember much about flowers, of course, then the flower gardens were probably overgrown beyond recognition anyway.
I also spent time with Ms. Region just visiting and listening to her stories about the house and the grounds. She always said, “I only went to school through the seventh grade but I learned a lot in life”. She dreamed of Mrs. Smithson restoring the home and especially the old kitchen for Ms. Region to move into. She showed me the old piano and bed in the front rooms – always telling me, “don’t tell anybody these are here, they’re old and valuable”. She told stories of the piano playing all night and hearing sounds like a party. She also told about the funeral that was supposedly held in the foyer – and the scones on the wall lighting up. I was there one night when that happened and was terrified! I don’t know about ghosts or paranormal stuff, but I saw that for sure, myself!
I would love to help on the volunteer day and especially the gardening group. I can only work on weekends though – normal 8-5 job has to come first unfortunately.
Thanks for everything you’re doing to help restore this Old Lady to her grandeur.
LaDonna

Thanks

We had a successful month and after a little rest, we will be planning our fall garden. I already have volunteers who have signed up but for all you gardeners, who want to be a part of the continued beautification of the Sweetwater Mansion, please send your information to sweetwatermansion@comcast.net.

Also, thanks to all our volunteers and story tellers who did a GREAT job. Thanks to the owner of Sweetwater Mansion to allow us to open up this great home for all to see and for all the continued renovation she has done to be able to open this up to the public.

We are planning in the future more history tours, book signings, the arts, etc.

Any authors (history, paranormal, romance, etc.) who are interested in being a part of our future Book Signings at Sweetwater Mansion, please send your bio, pictures, etc. to sweetwatermansion@comcast.net. 

October 30th - Book Signing at Sweetwater Mansion

Penot will be signing copies of her book at Sweetwater Mansion on October 30th from 7:00-8:00 p.m.

Jessica a therapist and writer who lives in Alabama. Her work has been published in Nocturnal Ooze, Theatre of Decay, Cthulu Sex Magazine, Outer Darkness, and Byzarium. She also has a ghost story column in the Valley Planet and has written a horror novel, Circe,which will be released in August of 2011. Her book Haunted North Alabama is now available from History Press.

http://www.jessicapenot.net/haunted-north-alabama.html

Author, Jessica Penot, Haunted North Alabama, will also be from 5-6pm. at Cold Water Books in Tuscumbia along with local storyteller, Sarah Anne Maples that will present ghost stories for children.

White will be signing copies of her book at Sweetwater Mansion on October 30th from 7:00-8:00 p.m. ($10.00 per copy)

Phyllis has created her own cartoon series, has written many articles, short stories, co-authored two books, and in 2008, published her first novel, titled “Led by the Spirit.” Led is a work of fiction, based on a woman’s obsession and love affair with a ghost. Led exposes the paranormal and gives White’s perspective on the supernatural realm and gives her audience a view of how opening oneself up to ‘spirits’ can be destructive. This book is like no other book you have read and is described by most readers as a ‘page turner’ and ‘a book I couldn’t put down.’ Many are anxiously awaiting the sequel.

White’s unique style of writing holds your attention and she has created in “Led” a spine tingling book, not for the squeamish. It’s a book of good versus evil with many twists and turns and a surprise ending. This is a must read! Website: http://www.phylliswhiteart.com/

October 29th - Book Signing at Sweetwater Mansion

 Raynes will be signing copies of his books at Sweetwater Mansion on October 29th from 6:30-7:30 p.m

Brent Raynes, editor of Alternate Perceptions online magazine (http://www.mysterious-america.net/) , author of Visitors From Hidden Realms (2004) and On The Edge of Reality (2009), has been studying unexplained phenomena (i.e., UFOs, hauntings, Bigfoot, etc.) since 1967.
He is pictured and featured with some of his case investigations of mysterious humanoid beings in noted veteran author Brad Steiger’s just released book Real Monsters.

Raynes, along with other noted authority figures in the field of ufology and paranormal studies, will be delivering a presentation at the Association for Research and Enlightenment’s international UFO Conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia on November 12-14th. It will, in fact, be named after Raynes’ first book, Visitors From Hidden Realms.

For several months now Raynes, along with several other Tennessee investigators, have conducted investigations in which they obtained what they found to be convincing evidence that something “paranormal” was going on at various locations that they have investigated here in the state of Tennessee. Most impressive of all, they have actually recorded hundreds of what appear to be classic examples of what is commonly referred to as EVP (electronic voice phenomena), which they had recorded on standard digital recorders and from the white noise of AM radio frequencies. These voices were often extremely interactive and even read words and names we had written on index cards and sheets of paper back to us over AM radio! They even seemed to know things going on with us that no outsider should have known. While many seemed to identify themselves as so-called “spirits”, some even claimed to be “aliens” (two members of the team are what are commonly referred to as “alien abductees”).These anomalous radio contacts in the UFO field have been reported by various others since 1952, but few have ever investigated and sought to duplicate the techniques.

Raynes will include in his presentation at the Virginia conference in November the details of his latest investigations and play audio files of these mysterious “electronic voices” that he and his colleagues have recorded. Raynes, Bret and Gina Oldham, and Sandy Nichols presented their findings at the Arts Center in Fayetteville, Tenn. on Saturday evening, October 2.
Back issues of my magazine Alternate Perceptions (when it was in print; now collectors items) will be sold (and autographed if you want) for only $2.00 per copy.

Copies of my acclaimed Visitors From Hidden Realms (2004) will be available for $16.00 a copy, and of course I will gladly autograph them.
My latest book is On The Edge of Reality: Dream Weavers - The Mastering of Time and Space (2009), but unfortunately I'm all sold out. However, copies can be purchased from Amazon.

White will be signing copies of her book at Sweetwater Mansion on October 29th from 6:00-7:00 p.m. ($10.00 per copy)


Phyllis White is a local artist and author and native of Lauderdale County. She loves to create; whether it be with the brush or the written word. She is a member of the Shoals Artist Guild, and majored in art and English at the University of North Alabama. You may have seen some of her artwork displayed at the Kennedy-Douglas Art Center, at Arts Alive, the Renaissance Faire, as well as First Fridays.
Phyllis has created her own cartoon series, has written many articles, short stories, co-authored two books, and in 2008, published her first novel, titled “Led by the Spirit.” Led is a work of fiction, based on a woman’s obsession and love affair with a ghost. Led exposes the paranormal and gives White’s perspective on the supernatural realm and gives her audience a view of how opening oneself up to ‘spirits’ can be destructive.
This book is like no other book you have read and is described by most readers as a ‘page turner’ and ‘a book I couldn’t put down.’ Many are anxiously awaiting the sequel.
White’s unique style of writing holds your attention and she has created in “Led” a spine tingling book, not for the squeamish. It’s a book of good versus evil with many twists and turns and a surprise ending. This is a must read! Website: http://www.phylliswhiteart.com/

Sweetwater Historical Tours

Starting Sunday October 10th from 1:00pm till 5:00pm Historical Tours of Sweetwater Mansion !!

Fee:  $15.00

842 Sweetwater Ave, off Florence Blvd behind Chevron and new Residence Inn

Florence, AL

October 23rd - Gone With The Wind Night

October 23rd - Gone With The Wind Night

Gone With The Wind Night at Sweetwater Mansion

Come dressed as your favorite character.
Tours: 3:00 pm to 12:00

Prizes - Trivia - Movie

Sweetwater Mansion Historical Tours

Sweetwater Ghost Walk 2010

Starting October 1st - Ghost Stories and Legends from Sweetwater Plantation

Over 200 years of hauntings & ghostly sightings have been linked to this historic 1828 estate.  Come and walk down the wooded paths to the cemetary or tour the old mansion room by room as it is opened to the public for the first time in 40 years.

Monday Thru Thursday--3:PM Till 10:PM
Friday And Saturday 3:PM Till 12 Midnight
Cancelled if raining

Ghostwalk of Grounds & Cemetary-$10.00 * Mansion Tour Only-$15.00 or both for $25.00

All proceeds will go to the restoration of this beautiful historic landmark.