The Curse of Lorenzo Dow

“ [Today] there are almost no traces of the once-growing populace [...]. Yet some say that on starlit, moon-filled nights you can hear the sounds of the once-raucous residents partying into the early morning hours, shooting off their guns, and yelling at the top of their lungs.””

— Don Rhodes, 'Georgia Myths and Legends'

A Preacher’s Curse…A Ghost Town

In 1952 the Georgia Historical Commission erected a marker to commemorate the ghost town of Jacksonboro, Georgia, that many believe met its fate as the result of a preacher’s curse.

Established at the seat for Screven County in 1797, it would be gone within fifty years. Known as a rowdy, lawless pioneer town the Jacksonboro, Georgia met its match in Lorenzo Dow, one of the country’s first ‘celebrity’ evangelists.

It was a community that bawked at the thought they needed spiritual saving and refused to let Dow preach in town. In response to their evil ways, Dow layed a curse on the town…Jacksonboro would wither and die from its wickedness. He was right.

Additional Links From This Episode:

Sources:

Brown, Alan. Haunted Georgia: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Peach State. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2008.

Dominey, Craig. “Lorenzo Dow’s Georgia Curse.” The Moonlit Road (blog.) Accessed November 22, 2022. https://www.themoonlitroad.com/lorenzo-dows-georgia-curse/.  

Federal Writers Project. The WPA Guide to Georgia: The Peach State. San Antonio, TX: Trinity University Press, 2013. 

Fitzhugh, Pat. Ghostly Cries from Dixie. Ashland City, TN: Armand Press, 2009.

Hollingsworth, C.D., Sr. “The Seaborn Goodall Home.” Briar Creek Chapter, NSDAR. Accessed November 22, 2022. Daughters of the American Revolution. http://briercreek.georgiastatedar.org/theseaborngoodallhome.php. 

Malone, Tom. Essentials of Evangelism. Greenville, SC: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1958. 

Rhodes, Don. Georgia Myths and Legends: The True Stories Behind History’s Mysteries. Guildford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2015.

Stuart, Bill. “Jacksonboro GA - A Cursed Town???” William L. Stuart (blog.) October 20, 2020. https://www.williamlstuart.com/jacksonboro-ga-a-cursed-town/. 

Wells, Jeffrey. “The Jacksonborough Curse.” Georgia Mysteries (blog.) April 27, 2008. http://georgiamysteries.blogspot.com/2008/04/jacksonborough-curse.html. 

White, George. Statistics of the State of Georgia. Savannah, GA: W. Thorne Williams, 1849. GoogleBooks.

The Curse on Barnsley Gardens

It would be the deepest disrespect to disturb the area…

In 1837 Godfrey Barnsley purchased 3,645 acres of land that had recently been opened for settlement by the state of Georgia. This and however, was taken by the state from the Cherokee people through the coercive Treaty of New Echota.

Legend says that the land Barnsley purchased and planned to build on was sacred ground for generations of Cherokee. Despite being warned of possible consequences, Barnsley built his family a grand mansion, known first as Woodlands, and later as Barnsley Gardens.

This unwillingness to respect the beliefs of the Cherokee people would be a tragic mistake that would lead to a series of unfortunate events for all of the Barnsley family who lived in the home.