My Experience: The Ghost in the Counting House Museum

 In Yesterday's blog, I told you about the historic Counting House, a building used for the financial records of a cotton Mill that once stood nearby in South Berwick, Maine and Rollingsford, New Hampshire. Today's blog is about the ghost I encountered and fun with friends who visited.

(Photo: Second floor of the Counting House where Rob sensed the male ghost. Credit: RG)

 The Ghost in the Counting House Museum

When I explored the exhibits on the first floor of the Counting House and spoke with the 3 volunteer docents, I didn't sense any ghosts who had stayed behind. I took the time to read about the exhibits and thought nothing of ghosts. I was more interested in the history. It wasn't until I took the stairs to the second floor, when that all changed.

(Photo: Clock in the corner of the 2nd floor of the Counting House. Credit: RG)      

 (Photos: Two paintings of men who managed the counting house. Credit: TC)                                                                                                                                                  

FIGURING OUT THE GHOST - As a medium, the first thing I can usually sense is if the earthbound ghost is male or female, which was definitely a male. The second floor was used  as a ballroom for events when it wasn't being used as offices.I tried to connect the male ghost with someone who worked at the Counting House, which is a logical conclusion.  

While walking around on the second floor, I clearly heard the name "Abbott." Then I heard the male ghost say "George." So, either the ghost was George Abbott, or he was a Mr. Abbott and he was calling for "George." 

PHOTO TEST -   Tracey and Rob sent me photos of paintings that hung in the Counting House and asked me if the ghost was either of them, but he was not. 

A SURPRISING ANSWER TO PONDER- When I returned home to write this blog, I did a search through the "Old Berwick Historical Society" website for the name George Abbott. What I found surprised me. George W Abbott passed as an infant and was the child of Nicholas and Mary Ann Abbott who lived on South Portland Street in Berwick, Maine. 

IDENTITY QUESTIONS REMAIN - There are 2 solutions to the identity of this ghost. 1) The ghost is that of Nicholas Abbott, the father, who remained earthbound and cries out in pain after losing his son as an infant. OR 2) The ghost is George Abbott, the infant (who appears as an adult - because they can) who followed his father to the Counting House, got lost and distracted and remained behind. 

CONCLUSION:  Because I can't be certain until I go back and ask more questions, I would bet that the ghost is the father of the infant, who stayed behind.

ABOUT THE DATABASE:  This cemetery database is based on Old Berwick Historical Society archives, particularly "The South Berwick (Maine) Record Book," a 1967 survey by John Eldridge Frost, with updates by historical society volunteers.  Records here reflect inscriptions on graves in Old Fields Burying Ground, Portland Street Cemetery, Freewill Baptist Cemetery, Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Woodlawn Cemetery, and many small burial plots scattered throughout South Berwick.  

Local History: What is The Counting House Museum?

Today's blog is about our trip to the Counting House Museum. It's a building where the financial books were kept for the textile mill that used to be down the river from it. When our friends Rob, Tracey and Jordan visited southern Maine, we took them to the adjacent park and waterfalls and then visited the museum. Today's blog will give you a look inside. 

(Photo: Rob and Tom visit the Counting House! Credit; R.G.)

LOCATION -  The Counting House Museum  is Located at 2 Liberty Street, South Berwick, Maine 03908 and borders New Hampshire (on the other side of the river).  The Museum is open June-Oct on Sundays from 1pm-4pm, and by appointment. Admission is free, and donations are gratefully accepted.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM - The Counting House Museum, built circa 1830, is located on the banks of the Salmon Falls River, beside a mill dam that powered the looms of a nineteenth-century cotton textile factory.

There were a lot of displays from the cotton mill, like a giant spinning wheel, thimbles and a loom.  

The Counting House is the last remaining building of the Portsmouth Manufacturing Company. It provided office space for the company's agent and paymaster and their staff. 

Samuel Hale was mill agent until 1869, when he was succeeded by his son Frances. Grandson Samuel Hale ran the corporation through the 1880s until the mill's closure in 1893. 

A MUSEUM IN THE 1960s - The Counting House has been owned and maintained as the Counting House Museum by the Old Berwick Historical Society since 1964.

 (Photo: The Counting House Museum. Credit: R.G.) 

ABOUT THE 2 FLOORS - The first floor was office space for the Company's Agent and Paymaster, now contains changing exhibits as well as about 10,000 historic records and photos of South Berwick and the surrounding area. 

AN ACTUAL BALLROOM UPSTAIRS! -  Upstairs is one of northern New England's last textile mill ballrooms, now used for the permanent exhibit, Village Voices, as well as for meetings and programs. Years ago, the mill entertained dancers each autumn when gas lamps were illuminated for a "Lighting Up Ball." The Counting House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of South Berwick Historic District.

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