The "Haunted" Pillar of the Lower Market
On this site stood The Lower Market. Fire destroyed an early structure in 1829. The rebuilt market, with its bell that could be heard throughout the city, was a center of agricultural and livestock trade. A freakish, cyclone blasted the structure in 1878 and local citizens moved the only column left standing to its present location at 5th (Central) and Broad Streets. According to local tradition, a wandering `exhorter` predicted that anyone who pulled down the pillar would be struck dead by lightning.
Although the city rebuilt the market, it no longer proved useful and in 1891, the market was dismantled.
Placed by the Reverend Pierre Robert Chapter
National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century
1996
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Ken Moser.