Historic Pelham

Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Did Google Maps Camera Capture the Ghost of the Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue?


Halloween is nearly here.  Today continues with another ghost story based on a legend that has been told by Pelham residents for more than one hundred years.  Today's posting has a modern technological twist.  It asks the question:  "Did the Google Maps Camera Truck recently capture an image of the ghost known as the Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House?"   

Legend has it that the beautiful home known today as the "Old Stone House" located at 463 First Avenue is haunted by the spirit of an elegant lady dressed in an old-fashioned gown. I have written about this legend of the "Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House" on a number of occasions.  For examples, see:

Bell, Blake A., Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends (Oct. 2002) (see section entitled "THE ELEGANT LADY OF THE OLD STONE HOUSE").

Wed., Oct. 14, 2009:  1879 News Account Provides Additional Basis for Some Facts Underlying Ghost Story of Old Stone House in Pelhamville.

Mon., Jan. 25, 2010:  Another Account of the 1879 Home Invasion Robbery of the Old Stone House in Pelhamville.

Fri., Mar. 17, 2006 1854:  Advertisement for the Sale of the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue in Pelham.

As I have written before, the legend of the lovely Old Stone House is a tale of romance, robbery and riches.  A man named Alexander Diack built the home in the early 1850s. On October 15, 1855, a man named James Parrish purchased the home. As the story goes, James Parrish had a business in which he employed a truckman named Adams. Parrish and Adams supposedly began an express business “as a sideline”. The business did well. When James Parrish died, his wife supposedly received dividend payments from the business paid in gold. 



"THE DIACK -- PARRISH HOUSE The Old Stone House --
Circa 1852 By John M. Shinn."  Oil on Canvas Painting
Hanging in the Town Council Room of Town Hall.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Masked men reportedly robbed Mrs. Parrish.  Indeed, contemporary news accounts confirm that Mrs. Parrish was the target of a harrowing home invasion during which she was bound to her bed and robbed in the middle of the night.  She reportedly began to hide the gold she received as dividends somewhere on the property. 

According to Lockwood Barr’s popular history of Pelham: 

"it is said that a million dollars in gold is hidden in the house, or buried in the gardens. Search has been made of the house, and grounds excavated, but without result. However, underneath a hearthstone in the basement kitchen, a hundred small coins of early date were found by one of the owners – but no pot of gold." 

Some say the ghost of Mrs. Parrish can be seen about the house, even in daylight, dressed in elegant clothes of the period, searching for misplaced gold.  There is also a story that a well-known actor who was a descendant of Mrs. Parrish, Edward Everett Horton, once visited the home, heard the ghost stories and said that the descriptions of the apparition resembled a daguerreotype he had seen of one of his great grandmothers.

Fast forward to modern times.  In August, 2012, the Google Maps Camera Car made its rounds through parts of the Village of Pelham, snapping thousands and thousands of photographs for the online database known as Google Maps accessible via browser.  As the Camera Car passed one side of the Old Stone House along Sixth Street, it snapped a photograph in which those who study paranormal activity might be interested.  The image seems to show in an upper window of the home an elegantly-dressed figure wearing what appears to be a long-sleeved and long-skirted white gown peering from the window beneath the eaves of the home.  

The legend specifically claims that the "the ghost of Mrs. Parrish can be seen about the house, even in daylight, dressed in elegant clothes of the period, searching for misplaced gold."  Could it really be that the Google Maps Camera Car captured the precise moment the ghost of Mrs. Parrish peered from the upper window in broad daylight in the midst of her never-ending search for the hidden gold?

You will have to judge for yourself.  The undoctored image appears below, with a portion magnified for ease of reference.



Judge for Yourself Whether the Google Maps Camera Car
Captured an Image of the Ghost of Mrs. Parrish Peering from
the Upper Window of the Home in this Image of the Side
of the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue Taken in
August of 2012.  NOTE:  Click Image To Enlarge.


*          *          *          *          *

I have collected ghost stories and legends relating to the Town of Pelham for more than fifteen years.  To read more examples that now total in the several dozens, see

Bell, Blake A., Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends, The Pelham Weekly, Oct. 25, 2002, p. 1, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., More Ghosts, Goblins of Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 43, Oct. 29, 2004, p. 12, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., Archive of HistoricPelham.com Web Site:  Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends (Oct. 2002). 

Bell, Blake A., Bibliography of Pelham's Ghost Stories and Legends (Oct. 2002).

Thu., Oct. 27, 2016:  Did Google Maps Camera Capture the Ghost of the Elegant Lady of the Old Stone House at 463 First Avenue?

Wed., Oct. 26, 2016:  The Ghost of the Murdered Traveler Who Wanders the Bartow-Pell Grounds.

Tue., Oct. 25, 2016:  The Suicidal Specter of Manger Circle.

Mon., Oct. 24, 2016:  The Fiery-Eyed Phantom of Pelham Heights.

Mon., Sep. 19, 2016:  The Dark Spirit of the Devil and His Stepping Stones: A Pelham Legend.

Fri., Oct. 30, 2015:  The Shrieking Ghosts of Execution Rocks: Yet Another Pelham Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 29, 2015:  The Apparition of Wolfs Lane:  Another Pelham Ghost Story.

Wed., Oct. 28, 2015:  The Shadowy Specter of James Street:  A Pelham Manor Ghost Story.

Tue., Oct. 27, 2015:  The Ghostly Gardener of Bolton Priory:  A Pelham Apparition.

Mon., Oct. 26, 2015:  The Ghostly Matron of the Manor Club:  Even a Ghost Whisperer's Nightmare!

Fri., Oct. 31, 2014:  Ghosts in Pelham! Yet Another of Many Accounts of the Haunted Cedar Knoll.

Mon., Sep. 08, 2014:  In 1888, The "Ghost of City Island" Upset the Town of Pelham.

Fri., Jan. 17, 2014: The Phantom Bell Ringer of Christ Church in Pelham Manor.

Fri., Jan. 30, 2009:  Article Published in 1901 Detailed Ghost Stories and Legends of Pelham.

Mon., Feb. 19, 2007:  Another Manor of Pelham Ghost Story: The Whispering Bell.

Fri., Aug. 18, 2006:  The Ghost Gunship of Pelham: A Revolutionary War Ghost Story.

Wed., May 03, 2006:  Another Pelham, New York Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 13, 2005:  Two More Pelham Ghost Stories.  

Wed., Oct. 14, 2009:  1879 News Account Provides Additional Basis for Some Facts Underlying Ghost Story of Old Stone House in Pelhamville.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

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