dn english Tells Haunting Tale of Downtown Jackson
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A knotted, gnarly tree right outside the Madison County Court House has a gruesome story – one that dates back to a Wednesday evening in 1886. “The bells tolled from the church, the people came out,” said dn english, a folklore expert. “They came downtown. And all of a sudden, the mob had the murderess.” The murderess was a housekeeper, accused of poisoning the homeowner’s wife. “They threw a rope over the tree, they strung her up,” said english. “Then, after she’d been swinging for a while, five shots rang out. She was dead.” According to Jackson folklore, the maid may or may not have been innocent. “Arsenic was used for embalming in the late 1800s. And they swear the woman died of arsenic after a test was run at Vanderbilt,” said english. “Was it the embalming fluid, or was she really poisoned?” As the story goes, the housekeeper maintained her innocence to the end and beyond. “Now on Wednesday nights, when the wind is blowing, you can come downtown, and you’ll hear, ‘I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it,” said english. You can actually sometimes hear the bells ringing, and there are not bells downtown – not anymore.” “I think she wants to be vindicated. She didn’t do anything – in her mind,” said english. “Whether that’s real or not, we’ll never know. But she wants everyone to know she didn’t do it.” english invites West Tennesseans to decide for themselves whether or not the maid was the true murderess. “If you dare, come down. Come down to Jackson. When the moon is shining and the lights are low. See what you think. Just walk around the square.”
