Townsend Home
Clermont, Florida
08/12/06
Townsend Home

History:

The house built by James and Sally Townsend in 1895. It was originally located between Crystal Lake and what is now State Road 50, it was moved to Clermont's Historic Village in 2002.

Originally farmers, the Townsends soon became the leading citizens of the growing black community, forming the first black church and the first black school. James owned and operated a general store, and Sally became 'Aunt Sally,' midwife to an estimated 1,000-plus babies in the area, both black and white.

Thank you to the South Lake Historical Society for giving us the opportunity to investigate and learn about the history of the home.
When we arrived at the home our initial opinion of the home was that is was well lived in home and truly loved by past residence and the historical society.
Duration - 8:00pm-11:50pm
Present - Scott, Sprout, Stacy, Phyllis, Lori and guests Mary, Louise and Bill.
Meter Readings
Temp - 84 to 90
EMF - .2mg
Tools -3 IR cameras
digital cameras
pyrometer
gauss meter
tri-field meter
audio recorders

History of Haunting:

* There is no known history of haunting at this location.
Personal Experiences:
* When Stacy entered the home she immediately felt dizzy, claustrophobic and felt like she was going to pass out. She had to remove herself from the home and sit down for a moment. Spirits have been known to make contact with people in this manner and we are still unsure if this is was what was happening or the fact that the temperature was in the 90’s and she was exhausted.
* Stacy also noted that when she was leaving, her camera decided to not work anymore even though the battery was full. After she walked back outside the home, she tried to take another picture and the camera was working again. It is thought that spirits drain energy from batteries to move about, manifest and communicate.
Evidence:
* We did not get any evidence on video, cameras or digital voice recorders.
* Psychic Impression: This is just another tool we use and this is what was experienced. A female spirit comes to the home to visit occasionally. She was not a resident of the home but came there to have a baby delivered by Mrs. Townsend. At age 23 she had a baby boy and she passed at the age of 27. The son she had still has living descendants but not thought to be in the area.

3 names came to mind. Charlie, Agatha and Denton.

Also a black man wearing overalls with no shirt and a straw hat was standing next to a garden cart full of produce. He had a big smile of pride on his face. Don’t know if he was related to the home or the property.