Tours of Nemacolin Castle in Brownsville offer history, ghost stories

Visitors to Nemacolin Castle have two options when choosing from current tours: curiosity about things that go bump in the night; or the lives and lifestyles of the only family ever to live in the Brownsville mansion.

The descendants of Jacob Bowman resided in the Front Street home until the 1959 death of Leila Bowman, widow of Jacob's grandson, Charles Bowman.

“Leila knew she wanted it to be a museum. She left all of the furniture. Some of the wallpaper and carpeting are original,” said Amanda Moser.

Moser is the Brownsville Area Historical Society tour coordinator.

The 22-room property is owned by Fayette County; the society is responsible for its upkeep.

Soon after the society became involved in 1962, and various repairs were made, history tours began.

Ghost tours have been held for at least the last 10 years, Moser said.

“It's the story of the house, it's the spirits of the house, it's the legends of the house,” said Colleen Rawson, a member of the society's events committee.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house began as a trading post, constructed when Jacob Bowman moved to Brownsville from Hagerstown, Md., in the late 1790s.

“Jacob and his wife had one bedroom above the trading post. It grew from there,” Moser said.

Their son, Nelson Bowman, added the tower and a formal Victorian wing in the 1850s, she said.

“Each generation did something or added on to the house,” Moser said.

Bowman's history includes establishing Brownsville's first bank and serving as its first postmaster.

“He had a lot of factories,” Moser said.

Bowman, his son Nelson, and Nelson's son Charles all served as magistrates, she said.

A well used during the French and Indian War, and which supplied the family with water, is still visible off the front porch, Moser said.

“The land itself has a lot of history,” she added.

Board members put together the ghost tours.

“Everyone was having so many experiences in the house. All of the stories (told during the tours) are true,” Moser said.

One eerie effect during the ghost tours is achieved by using only oil lamps for lighting.

Paranormal research teams have visited the castle, and some visitors, many of whom return year after year, are sure they see or feel something, Moser said.

“Cold spots are a big thing. We get tons of pictures emailed to us. We get a lot of orbs. A few years ago we got a good one. There was a shadow and you could see the outline of a person,” she said.

Other visitors have noted voices, footsteps and doors closing upstairs when no one is there, she said.

“I'm there a lot by myself. I hear footsteps upstairs in the main hall. I'm a little uneasy sometimes,” Moser said.

Nelson and his wife, Elizabeth Bowman, had four children who died before reaching adulthood, she said.

“The main apparition we get from people coming through on tours is that of a little girl. We think her name is Mary. She appears to be about 6 to 9 years old. She wears old-fashioned white clothing, like a nightgown, and has dark, curly hair,” Moser said.

Sometimes the girl is spotted in the nursery.

A rocking horse mounted on a spring is sometimes seen rocking.

“You'll go past the nursery and that thing is in there bouncing by itself,” Moser said.

Ghost tours will be held each Friday and Saturday in October from 6-10 p.m. Sunday tours will be held Oct. 18, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 from 6-9 p.m. Admission is $9 for adults and $4 for children under 12 years old. History tours will be conducted Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m., with admission $8 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under.

Mary Pickels is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-836-5401 or mpickels@tribweb.com.