Pickens County Courthouse
Overview
Carrollton, Alabama
Carrollton is a town in Pickens County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 987. The city is the county seat of Pickens County....
is a courthouse in west-central Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. It is famous for a ghostly image that can be seen in one of its windows, claimed to be the face of Henry Wells, who allegedly was falsely accused of burning down the town's previous courthouse and was lynched
Lynching in the United States
Lynching, the practice of killing people by extrajudicial mob action, occurred in the United States chiefly from the late 18th century through the 1960s. Lynchings took place most frequently in the South from 1890 to the 1920s, with a peak in the annual toll in 1892.It is associated with...
in 1878.
What follows is the commonly told story of how the face appeared in the window. For the actual events see the section "Origins of the Story," below.
On November 16, 1876, the people of Carrollton, Alabama watched helplessly as their courthouse burned to the ground.
Unanswered Questions
