A ghostly spirit haunts Chatham Manor in search of a long lost love

Editor’s note: We’re featuring the stories of some spooky hunts in our region during October. 

FREDERICKSBURG — Folklore tells of a spectral being that returns to Chatham Manor in Fredericksburg once every seven years to search for her lost love.

Robin Nimmo of Fredericksburg Hauntings Tours tells her story, as well as many other spooky stories, as she guides visitors on a 90-minute walking tour of haunted Downtown Fredericksburg.

Nimmo recounted the story. She said that Chatham is a plantation home built in the 1700s by William Fitzhugh, who knew George Washington. Because Chatham was such a big place to stay, when people were in traveling mode they would stay for weeks and months, sometimes years.

A gentleman was staying in Chatham from England. His daughter had fallen in love with someone who was a drysalter — someone who preserved meats. He was below her social status. He moved his daughter to America to keep her from marrying the drysalter.

Nimmo recounted that the odd way the young couple met. The young woman had a pet parrot that died and she wanted to have it preserved. A drysalter sometimes doubled as a taxidermist, and that’s how the two met.

The young man found out where his love was, but he was poor so he had to save money to get passage from England. Sometimes poor people would indenture themselves to make the passage. After six months he made enough money to come to Chatham. He came up with a plan and sent a note through a servant. On a designated night, she would come out of her window on a rope ladder and the two would elope.

On the night the young woman climbed down the rope ladder, rather than falling into her lover’s arms, she met with George Washington. Washington had learned of the elopement plan from one of his servants and helped stop the young couple from marrying.

Her father was furious. He sent his daughter back to England and married her to someone of a higher social status. She swore on her deathbed that she would find out what happened to her love.

A spectral lady in white is seen on the anniversary of her death every seven years. Some believe that she appears every seven years because that was the typical length of indentured servitude that her love may have served. The last sighting was in 2014.

Chatham does not allow the haunted tours on the grounds, so Nimmo tells the story as she shows tourists Chatham from across the river.

The lady in white is just one of the many local legends you will hear during a Fredericksburg Hauntings tour.

“We have a lot of stories to tell because we are so historic. Between the Revolution, George Washington and the Civil War battles that took place here, Fredericksburg is steeped in history and that always means hauntings. Ghosts stay because of tragic deaths or things left one done, said Nimmo. “This is one of the most haunted places in America.”

Tours run through Halloween. The tour is $12 for adults and free for children seven and under. For more information and the schedule of tours visit fredericksburghauntings.com. To book a tour call Robin Nimmo at 540-226-8378.