Bob Schofield, owner of The Willard in Franklin, walks down the stairs near the area where customers and employees have seen a ghostly figure of a woman in a long white gown.
Daily Journal Archives
News from around Johnson County as reported on Oct. 31 in the pages of the Daily Journal and the Franklin Evening Star from the last 112 years.
On this day in 2002, the main story on the front page of the Daily Journal was about residents talking of their brushes with county haunts.
One of the haunts featured was The Willard in Franklin. Some prominent local customers had recalled experiences of seeing a ghostly figure of a woman in a long white gown in a hallway near the bar that looks toward Main Street, owner Bob Schofield said.
The woman reportedly walks down the hall, and some restaurant patrons have been so startled by the experience they run to the stop she was standing on — only to find that no one was around.
“We definitely have some …. some things going on around this place,” said Schofield, adding that the phenomenon went on for some time before patrons told him of their experiences.
Rumor had it that two women who were active in the prohibition movement lived in the old home that was remodeled into its present-day structure. Some say that the spirit of one of the women haunts the restaurant as a way of voicing her objection to alcohol being sold in her home.
Customers and employees have never felt threatened, Schofield said, and are used to the experiences.
The Willard wasn’t unique in this regard. Residents and visitors have talked of some old — and some not so old — buildings being haunted.
The reports are typical of downtown Franklin’s historic character, said Kathy Harlow, a local ghost hunter an area representative of the American Ghost Society.
Johnson County — especially Franklin — has its shares of ghosts, hauntings and weird happenings, Harlow said. And most have their own legends that explain who the ghosts are and why they are here.
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Other memorable Johnson County stories from this day
2014
A planned GoodSports complex at Interstate 65 and County Line Road in Greenwood was in doubt.
1984
University Heights Hospital near Greenwood planned to X-ray treats brought in by trick or treaters.
1964
Edinburgh farmers were on alert for Halloween vandalism after an arson destroyed three barns and partially damaged an unoccupied home.
