Ezekiel Harris House

Recognized by The Smithsonian as "the finest eighteenth-century house surviving in Georgia," this Federal-style home was built around 1797. It showcases exquisite early American architecture and has a dark Revolutionary War legend.

The Ezekiel Harris House, built in 1797, is described by The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America as "the finest eighteenth-century house surviving in Georgia." Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and fully restored in 1964, this outstanding example of Federal architecture harbors one of Augusta's most chilling legends.

According to local lore, during the siege of Augusta, British loyalist Thomas Brown demanded that thirteen captured patriot soldiers be hanged from the stairwell on the porch—one soldier for each of the thirteen rebel colonies. Whether historically accurate or not, visitors today report disturbing phenomena on that same staircase: the creaking sounds of someone swinging from a taut rope, the moaning of unseen voices, and boots scraping against the floor.

The soldier's apparition has been seen by multiple witnesses, and some guests describe feeling an invisible rope tightening around their throats during their visit. Author Scott A. Johnson documented these accounts in "The Mayor's Guide to the Stately Ghosts of Augusta," noting that visitors continue to report the sensation of rope around their necks on the staircase.

A second spirit—a female apparition—has also been spotted, though her identity remains unknown. Tour guides tell stories of "the lady of the house" who is believed to haunt the property. Interestingly, historians later determined this house was mistakenly identified as the Mackay Trading Post for decades, meaning the hanging legend may have attached itself to the wrong building entirely. Yet the strange experiences persist.