History & local legend
The former Anna George mansion stood on the Love family's farm at Ginger Hill in Washington County. Built for Major Robert Love, the white brick house later became the setting of a family story Anna told a young employee, Gilbert Balliard.
Anna kept a portrait of her brother Joseph in the yellow room. She said that each night Joseph stepped out of the picture and inspected the house to make sure everything was well. Balliard sometimes slept in the mansion himself, but said Joseph never appeared on those nights.
Investigators visiting in 2007 found the house in ruins. Its gravel drive, entrance steps and orange-and-white hallway tiles remained, preserving part of the setting of Anna's story.
Sources
- CPSI, Anna George Mansion Ruins, 2007 visit and family tradition tracing back to Gilbert Balliard’s Remembering Old Time Ginger Hill
- William J. Barker, 1856 landowner map of Washington County. The R. Love house on the approach to Ginger Hill post office is visible in the Library of Congress original
- Detail of the Love place and historical Ginger Hill post office
- Public crossroads in the Ginger Hill neighborhood
