Pickens County Courthouse

JohnHart · Mist Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 35

Pickens County Courthouse

Location: Carrollton, Alabama

History: The courthouse that currently stands as the county seat in Pickens County, Alabama is actually the third courthouse built at the crossroads of Highway 17 and of Highway 86. The original courthouse was burned to the ground on April 5, 1865. On that day, Union soldiers under the command of General John T. Croxton were sent from Tuscaloosa, where they had just burned the University of Alabama, to Carrollton to burn the courthouse.

The citizen of Pickens County vowed to rebuilt the courthouse and they did, even though there was resistance from the government installed by the federal government. The new courthouse stood for almost twelve year, but it too was burned to the ground.

On November 16th, 1876, two men, Henry Wells and Bill Burkhalter entered the courthouse to burn some legal documents that were to be used in a trial against Henry. The fire burned the new courthouse to the ground and the two men escaped. Once again the citizen of Pickens County rebuilt their courthouse.

Henry Wells was arrested two years later and returned to Carrollton; he died in February, 1878, from the effects of wounds received while attempting to escape.

Haunting: When Henry was brought back to the courthouse, he was kept in a large second floor storeroom, for his own protection. The local citizen were so enraged that they gathered on the street below in an attempt to bring about their own brand of justice. As Henry stared out the second floor window a thunder storm approached; lightning struck nearby and an image of Henry's face was etched in the glass of the window. The image on the glass has the appearance of a photo negative.

The window pane with the image of Henry Wells etched into it remains intact even though it dates back to the 1870s. Most of the other panes were destroyed in a hail storm but the famous pane was untouched. Over the years it has been scrubbed with soap and rubbed with gasoline, but the face remains unchanged. It can be viewed from the ground, from the spot where the angry mob had gathered.

Local legend says that on stormy nights when the wind makes weird noises around the eaves of the courthouse, and lightning is in the skies the ghost of Henry Wells can be seen peering out of the garret window on the North side of the courthouse.
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John Hart
Vintage Computer Collector