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History: Bryn Du Mansion is a beautifully restored 52 room mansion in Granville, Ohio. For more than a century the historic Bryn Du Mansion has dominated the landscape of the 52-acre estate just east of Columbus. Local businessman Henry D. Wright originally constructed a mansion on the site as an Italianate Villa type structure in 1865. It was constructed of sandstone quarried from the property. The property changed owners several times prior to John Sutphin Jones, who made his fortune in the railroad and coal businesses, purchasing the property in 1905. It was Jones who named the estate “Bryn Du”, Welsh for Dark Hills, and lived there with his wife and children. Jones hired architect Frank Packard of Columbus who managed the mansion renovation and construction of the outbuildings in the first decade of the 20th Century. This renovation took nearly five years and transformed the mansion into its Georgian-Federal style design.
Jones died in 1927 and his daughter, Sallie Jones Sexton, inherited the property, living on the estate while managing the farm and the Granville Inn. Sallie became a local legend, famous for breeding and training show horses, and for her vivid personality and colorful language. It was Sallie’s storied management style that led the estate into bankruptcy. The Village of Granville purchased the property on December 16, 2002 from the Longaberger Company. The property is currently managed by a commission established by the Village with a mission of historic preservation. The Claims: Claims were that anomalies were caught on film in the third floor trunk room, shadow figures were seen in the second floor hallways, sounds of men’s voices and little girls giggling have been heard, the sounds of doors closing were heard and the full apparition of a servant woman was seen. As for the history we were told that Sallie Jones, daughter of the previous owners, died in the home and was believed to haunt it. Our Findings: It was cold and had snowed the night we investigated but the mansion is used for special events and was heated – or so they said. Temperatures ranged from 42 degrees in the third floor trunk room to 64 degrees in the basement. It seemed like each room had a different temperature. With differences of 10 degrees or more between 2 rooms that were side by side. We did not verify the heat source so we need to chalk it up to a radiator or other single room heat source. As far as photographic evidence – we caught a couple of orbs. We also caught some EVPs most of which are so faint that we cannot tell what it is. We have shared several so you can judge for yourself. We did not see anything nor did we hear anything that is noteworthy. One note of caution however…I pride myself on not being afraid of dark, creepy old buildings and things that go bump in the night. However I will say that the basement of the Bryn Du Mansion actually scared me - the first time I can remember actually being scared during a hunt. We didn’t see or hear anything but got the distinct feeling that something was there and didn’t want us to be. I feared for our safety. So…if you visit the mansion be sure to spend some time in the basement….if you dare! |