The Gravestone House
Since it’s almost October, and the trees are starting to put on their fall colors, our thoughts turn to stories about haunted places and spooky beings. A few year sago, I found an article1Philadelphia Inquirer – 10/15/1921 about a house that, by rights, ought to be haunted.
Phoenixville, PA., Oct. 14. One of the strangest houses in the world is now being built in Phoenixville by George A. Detwiler, a local marble and granite.
There are thousands of people who would never stay in this house, even one night, and many other thousands who would not buy it for “a song:” and many persons might be found who would never pass near it, even on a night when there were no owls hooting overhead or the wind was moaning in the treetops.
Detwiler’s new home is being constructed of marble and granite blocks that have been cut from posts, coping-stones, step-stones and foot-stones, from the graves in Morris Cemetery, one of the local burying grounds.
The article intrigued me so I looked for more information. An article in a magazine called Monumental News mentioned the house and included the photo. shown at right, of the house during its construction. I was able to find a number of articles about George and his family, indicating that they lived on Griffen Street in Phoenixville. There does not appear to be anything particularly scary about the Detwiler home, though.
Sources & Notes
- 1Philadelphia Inquirer – 10/15/1921