GEORGETOWN – Whether it was a fraud or proof positive that spirits exist and can communicate with people on the earthy plane, no one can deny that the Spirit House in Georgetown is one of the most amazing architectural achievements to be crafted by an untrained hand.
Just north of the Chenango County line, in the Town of Georgetown stands a magnificent house that serves as a reminder of the vast Spiritualist movement that took place in the mid 1800s. The spiritualist movement was stronger in New York than in any other state, with New York claiming twice the number of Spiritualists as any other state in the country. In Georgetown, the movement was especially strong. Much of the spiritualist movement was based on the theory that certain people, mediums, can communicate with spirits.
Timothy Brown was a member of the spiritualist movement. A New Englander from Ryegate, Vermont, Brown moved to Georgetown sometime in the 1850s. One day, Brown announced that he had been called upon to build a house that would serve as a temple of Spiritualism. Although Brown was no architect, he soon purchased a piece of property in the center of town, and set out building the house under the direction of the spirits.
It took Brown 10 years to build the house. He used timber from local forests, and elicited the help of a master carpenter to erect the frame. The carpenter left the site surprised, and told the town’s people it was the best frame he had ever seen. To decorate the front and sides of the house, brown stacked 2 x 4 beams to create what resemble rounded columns on the front of the house. He carved each beam with elaborate scallops, and created a three tier icicle like design around the roof of the house.
In 1868, Brown’s house was built. So many people flocked to Brown’s Hall upon its completion, that more space was needed. In 1974 Brown bought a vacant Presbyterian church and moved it to the rear of the structure to provide additional space. At times, the village was so full of people, they were strained to find places for the visitors to sleep, but the town’s people didn’t mind as long as the visitors were paying customers.
Seances were held in one of many rooms in the house. The “temple” was a dark room without any windows. The medium would claim to be speaking to spirits and would give the names and information about the spirit in question. No precise records were kept about how many people attended the seances and were converted to spiritualism, but the number was high.
The people of Georgetown supported the Spiritualist movement for many years, but eventually they became tired of the constant influx of people Rumors began to circulate accusing Brown of being a fraud and the seances to be nothing but an elaborate hoax.
After one group of Spiritualists left town after attending meetings at Brown’s House, a notebook was found under a pillow in the room a visiting Spiritualist had occupied. The notebook contained cemetery information and facts from old county records like the names, dates and epigraphs of local people who had passed away. The town’s people took this as proof positive that Brown’s House was a fraud. The meetings in Brown’s House were brought to an end.
Timothy Brown passed away in 1885 at the age of 70. Although many in Georgetown still believe the events that took place at the Spirit House were all a hoax, no one was ever able to determine how an untrained hand built such a magnificent structure, unless he really was guided by the unknown.