Haunted Rotherwood

[East Tennessee Roots]

Rotherwood Mansion has long been a landmark in my hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee. To believers of such things, it's reportedly one of the most haunted places in Tennessee. It was built in 1818 by Fredrick Ross. He and his family inherited several hundred acres of land along the Holston River running from Bay's Mountain to almost the Virginia line. He and his family were very wealthy and highly respected. He was the founder of Rossville that was later merged with Christianville to become "King's Port" or Kingsport. After financial setbacks, Ross sold the mansion to his bookkeeper, Joshua Phipps (1801-1861) in 1847. Being as kind as Phipps was cruel, Ross freed as many of the slaves as he could, probably knowing what would happen with the rest. Those freed settled farther into Hawkins County from Rotherwood to a rural community still known today as "Zion's Hill". Several had taken their kindly former owner's last name of Ross. Some reportedly were the ancestors of the famed singer, Diana Ross. Phipps, on the other hand, was known even to white folks in his day for his malice, his cruelty, and irritable nature. He was very cruel to the remaining slaves, (numbering 15 in the 1860 census) and abused them terribly.

Reportedly a photo of Joshua Phipps, his second wife, Louise M BRADLEY, and their daughter.


Rotherwood has ties to the Civil War. Joshua Phipps son, Fredrick (or Francis) Leeper Phipps served as a Confederate Captain of Company A 12th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion. He was later promoted to Major. He resigned his commission in July 1863 after inheriting a good deal of land and slaves in Hawkins County from his recently deceased father.

Fredrick Phipps resigns from the Confederate Army.

Joshua Phipps married three times to (1) Abenaida LEEPER in 1830, (2) Louise M BRADLEY in 1837, and (3) Ann Peoples BACHMAN in 1852. Four of Ann's brothers were Confederate Soldiers. Jonathan served as Captain of Company G, (Sullivan County) 60th TN. Robert served as a Sergeant under his brother in the 60th. Samuel died of sickness contracted while with the Army at Cumberland Gap. John enlisted May 20, 1861, at Estillville, (modern-day Gate City, VA) into what would become Company D 37th Virginia Infantry. He took part in the Battle of Kingsport while home on sick leave recovering from pneumonia at his sister's home at Rotherwood. For a day and night after the Rebel's defeat, he hid in a small dark room on the mansion's second floor while the Federals searched for him.

Captain Jonathan W. Bachman Company G 60th TN. & his World War One Veteran Grandsons.

John Lynn Bachman 37th VA.

The Ghost Stories of Rotherwood (better than I could relate): https://www.dreadcentral.com/cold-spots/12474/cold-spots-rotherwood-mansion/

 

[JOHN42768]

Thanks for the post. What a history. From a whipping post in the house to being suffocated by a swarm of flies.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Thanks for the post. What a history. From a whipping post in the house to being suffocated by a swarm of flies.

No doubt !

While the "swarm of flies" is difficult to believe, the internal whipping post is not surprising at all.

No matter how much we think we know our "nice" neighbors, none of us really have a clue about what might be going on behind closed doors.

I never really thought about such, until I watched the early 90's film " Silence of the Lambs"

Great article @east tennessee roots !

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

I think Phipps got a reckoning with the WWII boys that lived there!

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

During renovations to the mansion in the mid to late1940s, A worker ran pale and screaming out of the house and into the work van and sped away. Later he returned and said he had felt as if someone was watching him. When he looked up, the worker saw a man materialize from a wall dressed in a dark suit accompanied by a large black dog with glowing red eyes, baring his teeth and growling. He said the man looked at him, smiled sadistically, and pointed directly at him. The black hound jumped towards the worker and chased him through the house and out to the work van.

 

[Seduzal]

Thanks for sharing this awesome article.

 

[donna]

Scary story. Thanks for posting. It is a beautiful looking house.

 

[farmerjohn]

During renovations to the mansion in the mid to late1940s, A worker ran pale and screaming out of the house and into the work van and sped away. Later he returned and said he had felt as if someone was watching him. When he looked up, the worker saw a man materialize from a wall dressed in a dark suit accompanied by a large black dog with glowing red eyes, baring his teeth and growling. He said the man looked at him, smiled sadistically, and pointed directly at him. The black hound jumped towards the worker and chased him through the house and out to the work van.

thatsa good'un!

 

[farmerjohn]

once saw a vision/ghost/spectral spirit on our way home one evening.to get home we have to go down this road thats known to be spooky/haunted. it has trees that make a tunnel like that grow together like a canopy. old road, been in use for a long time. anyways, its 10 o'clock and we are going past this one section where theres a small creek that runs close to the road. then is this fog/mist, in one spot in the middle of this a see a figure of a man. this figure looks to be holding something, which could be the reins of a horses bridlle. as i go past i could see him turning slowly towards us. i told myelsf i am not gonna say anything, bc all i will get is a , yeah right. but as we start to roll on down the road my wife speaks up and says , did ya see that??? i said yes, i figured she hadnt, so we both look at each other like holy ****!! we both saw him. i proceeded to turn around the car. but, no mist fog or specter. gone like a scent of parfume' in the wind. didnt take us more than 2 minutes to get back to the site of the sight. obtw did i mention this road is know n for hearing cries of ....... soldiers, raiders, cavalrymen?bc it is called rader road. been used for at least 175 years. used as a road by highwaymen and cavalry raiders during the civil war. one small battle was fought right below the hill our house sat on.