Today’s Mystery Photo may be another which proves difficult. It’s certainly taken at a different angle, and aims at something historic. Figure out this masterpiece of photography and send in your answers to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown.
Only two sleuths recognized the Kehoe House in Savannah as our most recent mystery photo. It was sent in by James Butler of Winston, Ga. He told us when sending in the photo “Tom Hanks stayed there when he filmed Forrest Gump . And all the columns, dental trim and everything you would think is wood is really cast iron. No other house of that time was made that way.”
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. wrote: “The William Kehoe House is an award-winning historic B&B on Columbia Square in the heart of downtown historic Savannah at 123 Habersham Street. In 1892, this Queen Anne mansion was built by William Kehoe. Kehoe was an enterprising Irishman who made a fortune in iron and became one of Savannah’s most prominent businessmen. Kehoe spent $25,000 on the construction of this house, including making the home a true showcase of his iron trade. Much of the detail trim, such as the window casings and ornate columns, were made of iron. One of the most well-known and most often photographed from a ghost-tour-in-progress is The Kehoe House. The Kehoe family consisted of 10 children and rumor has it that two of them died in the house. This tale is completely unsubstantiated, but is repeated often on the Savannah’s haunted pub crawls and ghost tours.”
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas. contributed additionally: “It is a relatively large house as it needed to accommodate Kehoe’s large family of 10 surviving children. The home’s exterior stairways, window treatments, columns, fences and gates were all made of cast iron, a tribute to Kehoe’s iron foundry’s excellence in pattern making and casting.
According to a Savannah Morning News article (May 19, 2021), one of the more ‘spooky’ (albeit unsubstantiated) haunted tales involves the younger Kehoe twins who reportedly perished when they got stuck in the chimney. The boys were missing for days until their mother discovered a foul smell emanating from the chimney. Guests of the Kehoe House regularly report hearing children in the house or experiencing the sensation of small hands touching them from the bedside when they sleep. As for the foul smell? Well, that has been long superseded by the smells of the decadent morning breakfasts that are served daily at the Kehoe House B&B!”
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