100 Nicholson Street
The Peyton Randolph House is one of the oldest and most iconic houses in Colonial Williamsburg, if not the entire state of Virginia. Once home to the prominent Randolph family and two of its most famous patriarchs, it’s a must-see for history buffs.
Yet it’s also a must-see for fans of the paranormal – given the many deaths that have occurred here and the multitude of spooky and sometimes inexplicable occurrences that have happened under this roof for centuries.
All signs point to yes. Beginning as early as the 19th Century, guests and owners have witnessed objects moving on their own, heard voices, felt invisible hands grabbing and tugging on them, and seen a couple of ghostly figures wandering around the rooms upstairs.
Most spirits here are likely those of the adults and children who died within its walls, whether from an accident, illness, murder, or even the horrors of war.
One October night in 1824, French General Marquis de Lafayette was a guest of Mary M. Peachy and her family at 100 Nicholson Street. The General said that he felt fortunate to be staying in the home of such a great man as Peyton Randolph.
He had no sooner entered the foyer than claimed to feel a cold hand on his shoulder. He said that it nudged him as if to prevent him from entering. When he turned to see who it was, there was no one near him.
He also said that he didn’t sleep well during the two nights he stayed there, complaining of disembodied voices that kept him up.
Sometime in the previous century, two men staying at the house got into an argument that grew so heated that each drew his weapon. They both shot each other dead. Could one of their hands have been the one that tried to get the General’s attention?
It may have been their bickering voices that he heard while in bed also.
In the 19th Century, some of these Peachy children passed on. One of the boys fell to his death while climbing a tree. One of the girls fell to hers from a second-story window. Another fell ill and never recovered.
The furniture moving on its own, doorknobs turning, and the sound of children playing is probably the young Peachy kids running around.
Like the Wren Building on the College of William and Mary campus, the Peyton Randolph House was used as a hospital for soldiers during the Civil War – many of whose injuries proved fatal. Several staff members and visitors have heard great groaning and growling noises like men in severe pain.
The second floor is said to be the most haunted, with many reporting the feeling of being grabbed and shoved by invisible hands.
The spirit of Mrs. Peachy has often been seen up there, looking like a gaunt old lady in a flowing gown and lace cap. She’s said to still be grieving the death of her husband, wringing her hands and rubbing her face in the moonlight.
Another young man sometimes appears in various places upstairs. Though translucent and shimmering when looked at directly, he’s often mistaken for an employee at the briefest glance. No one is quite sure if he is a soldier or one of the Peachys or Randolphs.
One security guard had the basement door slam shut and lock behind him before finding his feet pinned to the floor by someone or something. Whoever or whatever it was finally let him go when another guard arrived and opened the door.
After a fire alarm went off in the East Wing, several security members came rushing. But there were no signs of a fire. Stranger still, they found the fire extinguisher on the floor in the center of very neat circles of foam, with the pin missing.
The original house was built by William Robertson in 1715. Six years later, it was bought by Sir John Randolph who built an entire new house on an adjacent lot to the east. Later, Peyton Randolph built a section in the middle to join the two houses into one.
Sir John was the 31st Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses as well as the Attorney General for the Colony of Virginia. Peyton, for whom the house was eventually named, was his second-oldest son, who served as the 33rd Speaker of the House of Burgesses as well as the First and Third President of the Continental Congress and played an important role in the development of the American Revolution.
When Sir John died in 1737 the house fell under the care of his wife Susannah until Peyton turned 24 and officially inherited it. His brothers Beverley and John Jr. wound up inheriting and moving into other properties in Gloucester County and South Williamsburg.
Other revolutionaries like George Wythe and Thomas Jefferson often met with Peyton at his house to discuss important matters.
After Peyton died in 1775, it was run by his wife Betty. Six years later, it became the headquarters for the French army under the command of General Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau.
In 1782 after Betty Randolph’s death, the house was put up for auction and went to the highest bidder a year later. It was opened as a boarding house by Mary M. Peachy between 1810 and 1836. In 1824, she hosted General Lafayette.
After the Battle of Williamsburg in 1862, the house was used as a hospital for wounded Civil War soldiers.
It was acquired by Merrill Ball and her husband Frederick in 1927 who sold it to the town of Colonial Williamsburg five years later in return for a lifetime tenancy agreement. Colonial Williamsburg began restoration efforts which were ultimately completed in 1967.
The house was open to the public for tours beginning exactly one year later.
Like most of the historic sites in Colonial Williamsburg, the Peyton Randolph House is generally open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday; tickets are available on the official website. Walking down Nicholson Street at any time is free of charge, however.
Check out this haunted 18th Century mansion next time you’re in town and you too might encounter the ghost that General Marquis spoke of – or any of the others.