The Old Court House Museum, a National Historic Landmark, stands on one of the highest hills in Vicksburg on land given by the family of the city's founder, Newet Vick. Located at Cherry, Grove, Jackson and Monroe Streets, the courthouse is adorned with four porticos supported by 30-foot Ionic columns bordering an entry on each side of the building. To this day, the building still has its original doors, shutters and iron grillwork.

Court House History   Construction of the Warren County Court House began in the summer of 1858. It was built by the Weldon Brothers who used skilled slave labor. It was completed in 1860 shortly before the Civil War began.

It was at the Old Court House that a local planter by the name of Jefferson Davis embarked on his political journey and became President of the Confederacy. Over the years, many prominent Americans have visited the Court House including Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

It was also at the Old Court House that the U.S. flag was raised and the Confederate flag lowered on July 4, 1863, when Vicksburg surrendered to Union forces during the Civil War. It was also used to house prisoners during the war.

Museum History    More than likely, the Old Court House would have been demolished in 1948 were it not for the efforts of Eva Whitaker Davis. Because of her strong conviction to see history stand through the ages, she, along with other Vicksburg residents prevented officials from destroying the building after a new court house had been built across the street.

Today the museum displays hundreds of artifacts that reflect the heritage of the area including an outstanding collection of Civil War memorabilia. The museum is operated by the Vicksburg and Warren County Historical Society.

Haunted History We did not find any records to indicate the Old Court House is haunted.

Our Findings    Saturday evening, October 5, 2002, Marlene and I left the B&B to grab a bite to eat. We were only a couple blocks away when we saw a building rising above the other structures, its’ dome roof seemed to shine over Vicksburg.  We wondered what the building could be but soon forgot about it because there were so many other things to see. After dinner, we decided to drive around the historical district just to take in the sites.

We were driving along the Mississippi River and looked up the rolling hills and again saw that same dome roof. Do you ever get the feeling that you’re being drawn to something? We both had that feeling so we wound our way back up the hill and noticed the building was at an intersection of four different streets. It had a retaining wall built around all four sides with stairs at the center of each side leading up to the building. I drove us around the building a couple times while Marlene took pictures. We weren’t thinking about spirit activity, we just wanted pictures of the building because its design was so remarkable. Imagine our surprise when the pictures she took yielded orbs. Well, we parked the Explorer in front of the building and discussed whether or not to get out and explore. It was getting late and we were in an area we had not first checked out in the daytime, which is our normal habit before a visiting a site. I mentioned that we both felt drawn to this place so that settled it, we were getting out. We prayed for Jesus to be with us and keep us safe and as always, He did.

We saw a sign posted that the museum gates were locked at sunset but they weren’t. Was this a sign that we were supposed to be there? We walked up the steps to the main entrance. Marlene was walking ahead of me and just as I reached the landing she backed in to me. I put my hand on her shoulder to steady her and she said that it felt as if someone had pushed her back. While we were recovering from that episode, a strange odor overtook us. It wasn’t there when we got out of the vehicle nor was it there when we went up the steps. It was a revolting odor and Marlene thought that it was perhaps from the river or from some industrial plant on the river. We were about to walk back down the steps when we heard a noise, turned around and saw a gray tabby cat approaching us. It kept playing around our legs and meowing at us. While playing with it, we noticed the odor that had been so bad just a minute before was suddenly gone. We were walking the grounds in front of the courthouse taking random pictures when out of a nook of the courthouse, a huge owl soared down in front of us and then was out of sight. The cat was gone but we didn't see him leave us. Had the owl frightened it?  Who knows.

We went down the steps and walked around the south side of the building, taking pictures as we walked. We didn't record any activity on this side of the building nor did we see the owl or the cat.

As we walked around the west side, the wind picked up, and the owl flew past us to rest on a light pole. It watched us as we stopped to examine the old brick beneath the plastered retaining wall. It watched as we took pictures and did not move when we took several pictures of it. We got quite a few orbs in this area also.

Walking up the north side, we got an odd feeling as if we were being watched, looked back and the owl that had been on the corner pole was gone. For some odd reason, we felt uneasy about walking up the steps on that side so we decided to walk back around to the front of the building. Just as we began walking again, the cat appeared and walked on the top of the wall along side us.  Our uneasy feeling had subsided.

When we reached the front steps we took some pictures of the cat and the cannons at the edge of the wall and got orbs in every picture. The cat was standing at the top of the stairs so we walked back up to pet it one last time. When we got to the top of the landing, we commented that we had not noticed the odor when walking around the building. Apparently it wasn’t from the river or the odor would have been stronger on the west side.

We walked up closer to the building to take a few more pictures when again, the odor overtook us and a couple more cats appeared. After the cats became comfortable with us, the odor disappeared. 

 What was the odor?  We don’t know.  Why wouldn’t the cat leave the courthouse grounds?  We tried enticing it, it would come half way down the steps then turn around.  What was the significance of the owl?  Perhaps none.  Why did we feel uneasy on that one particular side of the building?  Why did the feeling go away when the cat appeared?  Is this place haunted?  Who knows?

If you ever get the chance to visit the Old Court House, let us know what you think.

Report submitted by April.