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Photos by Heather Ziegler
West Virginia Independence Hall Site Director Debbie Jones is shown near a staircase that leads to an upper floor where juries used to deliberate federal court cases in the id-1800s.
Bruce Cooey moves quickly through the hallways of the more than 150-year-old West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling. A longtime employee of the hall, Cooey knows he's not always alone even if he's the first one in the door in the morning.
While he stops short at calling the place haunted, Cooey is among several people who have experienced something a bit on the ghostly side. "One time I was walking down the second-floor hallway and someone or something gave me a shove in the back, you know, like pushing me. But when I turned around no one was there. From then on I kind of jog through the place."
His interaction with the unknown has taken funny twists and turns. Cooey said one day a fire extinguisher flew off the wall and rolled across the floor. He said even the bracket screwed into the wall came out, landing on the floor. There was no real explanation for the event, he said.
Cooey recalled the late Lois Nickerson who had worked at the museum as someone who really had a connection with the spirits among them. Site Director Debbie Jones also had heard the stories about how Nickerson would not step foot in a corner room on the second floor of the building because she "felt bad vibes." The room was considered the restoration room as it contains displays of the various materials used in the construction of the building, such as cornices, tools and other items.
She was not alone with her thoughts. When a crew of psychic investigators visited the hall, their ghost detecting equipment "went crazy" when they approached the door of the restoration room.
Jones said there are indications that there had been some sort of closet in the corner of the room that is no longer there.
It was that area of the room that gave off the strange feelings. She said there is nothing to explain what may have happened in the room to bring about such reactions.
Cooey said another time while working on the main floor at the front desk, he heard someone running across the floor upstairs. The next thing he knew a man who had been visiting the museum came running down the stairs and across the main floor. He was so frightened that he nearly ran into a table before going outside. It was then that he said while in the restoration room, a man's hand reached out and "went right through him." It scared him enough to have him run out of the building with no intentions of returning.
The historic building, which served many purposes throughout its history, is considered the birthplace of West Virginia during the Civil War era. The office of Gov. Francis Pierpont is located on the second floor and has been known to put a scare into at least one woman who was cleaning the room. She reportedly was attempting to move the governor's chair at his desk to clean but realized someone was sitting in the chair. She could not see the person, only felt a presence that sent her packing, never to return.
Jones said she loves the building with all of its history and beauty. However, she too has heard some strange noises while occupying her upstairs office adjacent to the courtroom of the Civil War-era federal judge John Jay Jackson Jr.
Poking her head into the empty courtroom each morning, Jones said she offers a good morning greeting to the judge and leaves with a goodbye in the evening, just in case his spirit might be hanging around.
Sue Beth Warren who mans the phone and front desk at the museum, also takes on the role of tour guide complete with period costume. She said she has heard footsteps in the hallway when she is preparing for a tour only to see no one in the hall.
"I've known for an absolute certainty that no one was here and I still heard the footsteps," Warren said. "Sometimes the elevator will do weird things … come down from upstairs, the doors open and no is there."
But it was Nickerson who had the most chilling experiences including having a conversation with what others perceived to be a ghost. One day Nickerson was in the basement level and found an older woman sitting in a chair. She sat and talked with the woman and then excused herself to go to the restroom. When she came back the woman was gone and the other employees said no one had been in the building except the workers. Cooey said Nickerson was said to have talked to the ghostly apparition on several occasions. While she wasn't afraid of the woman, Nickerson still would not go into the upstairs restoration room.
Others have reported seeing a woman walking in the upper floor hallways. Some believe she is looking for her husband who was condemned to death in Jackson's courtroom and later hanged at the prison that used to be located across the street.
West Virginia Independence Hall is a treasure for history buffs and provides an interesting and important look into the beginning of the Mountain State. Each floor hosts a number of displays ranging from the various flags carried by soldiers of war to the replica office of Gov. Francis Pierpont whose imposing statue stands outside at the corner of 16th and Markets streets.
In its original state, WVIH was a federal Customs house built in 1859. It held the federal courtroom, a post office and other offices. Later it became the center of the Reorganized Government of Virginia (later West Virginia), and was where the Wheeling Conventions took place, which produced the new state.
In later years, the building was privately owned but then in the 1960s, the state purchased the structure and began a long and extensive renovation that has led to the museum of today.
The museum is operated in conjunction with the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Its employees are helpful and knowledgeable about the history and artifacts contained within the building. Group tours are available. Admission is free.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday.