The Spence-Moon House was built in 1834 on eighty acres of land for James H. Spence. Artisans from Connecticut and New Hampshire built this house and ten others on land that became available for settlement following the signing of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. The daughter of the next owner of the home, William W. Hill, moved in with her husband, Samuel Inge, in 1852. He was a politician who served in the state legislature in 1844 and the United States Congress in 1847. Another notable occupant of the house was W. A. C. Jones, an engineer who built the Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge that is now on the campus of the University of West Alabama. He lived here from 1888 until 1905. Martha Fluker, who was one of the last owners of the house, had fond memories of it in the early twentieth century. “Once father planted princess feathers in front of the house that grew to be at least eight feet tall. My sister and I pretended that we lived in a medieval forest.”
The Sumter County Historical Society now owns the Spence-Moon House. Today, it is used for special events by the community and the University of West Alabama. It is important from an architectural viewpoint because it is one of only five Federal-period homes still standing in the area. These elements include the applique of urns, garlands, and rosettes on mantelpieces, doors, and windows. The kitchen was moved inside the house in the late nineteenth century.
The home is maintained by university students who live in it and keep it clean.
One of these caretakers said that in 2011, he got up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom. While he was standing at the toilet, he felt someone breathing down his neck. He whipped his head around, but no one was there.
That same year, another young caretaker had a strange experience when he was spending the weekend alone in the house. Friday night, he was awakened by a loud noise coming from his friend’s bedroom. When he opened the door, he was surprised to find the television on. What was even more strange was the fact that it was tuned to the Home Shopping Network. The young man’s friend only watched ESPN. The next morning, he called his friend and was told that he was watching ESPN when he turned off the television and left. One of the boys said that the dis- turbances ceased after Susie Moon’s picture was moved to the north parlor.
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Haunted Alabama written by Alan Brown – Copyright © 2021 by Alan Brown