Gwinnett Historic Courthouse
Built in 1885 on the historic Lawrenceville square, the stately brick Gwinnett Historic Courthouse is the third to stand here after its two wooden predecessors burned, and it served as the seat of county business until 1988. The square it presides over carries a darker memory: in 1848 Elleck, an enslaved man, walked to the courthouse steps to report the death of his enslaver before being convicted and hanged at the nearby jail. Decades later a courthouse employee said she found a photograph dated April 11, 1911 of a man who had been hanged, captioned "Do not wake him," and that night a gust of cold green mist swept through her doorway carrying an angry, spiteful presence she demanded leave. Today the building hosts interactive paranormal investigations led by Southern Ghost Girls Tours, while the Aurora Theatre's seasonal ghost walk threads the same square with tales of suicides on the front porch and spirits lingering in the old jail.
📍 185 Crogan St, Lawrenceville, GA 30046, Lawrenceville, GA · Get directions