JACKSONVILLE, OR – Jacksonville Haunted History walking tours continue on Friday, July 7, 2017, with a new tour route that takes in Jacksonville’s historic courthouse and jail. At 7, 7:15, 7:30, and 7:45 pm, costumed docents will lead 1-hour walks that include stories of brothels, epidemics, and hangings. These tales of woe, sorrow, and regret are among the events from Jacksonville’s pioneer past that have led to the ghosts and spirits now inhabiting Jacksonville buildings.
Tours leave from the Jacksonville Visitors Center at the corner of North Oregon and C streets and are limited to the first 15 people. They are not recommended for children under nine. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 541-245-3650 or e-mailing info@historicjacksonville.org. Tours cost $5 per person, with profits going towards HJI’s historic preservation efforts. Private tours for groups of 10 or more are also available.
“Here in Jacksonville, we take our history seriously,” says Kingsnorth. “These are not your typical ‘ghost tours’ with special effects! These are history tours about real hauntings resulting from past events. The stories—some scary, some benign—come from multiple sources, from people who have experienced these lingering spirits. These tours are our attempt to recognize and honor these restless souls.”
The Courthouse tour will be offered again on Friday, August 4, and Friday, September 1. In October, Historic Jacksonville will offer its original Britt Hill tour on Friday, October 13, and the Courthouse tour on Saturday, October 14.
“They will be part of what will literally be a month of events honoring the ‘spirits of Jacksonville,’” says Kingsnorth. “The Friends of Jacksonville’s Historic Cemetery will be offering their “Meet the Pioneers’ tours the first weekend; our tours will be the second weekend; Beekman House Museum ‘Victorian Mourning Customs’ tours will be on the third weekend, and the Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Haunted Trolley’ tours the third and fourth weekends.”
For Haunted History Tour reservations, contact info@historicjacksonville.org or phone 541-245-3650. For additional information, visit www.historicjacksonville.org.