The ghost stories whirling around Monmouth’s Cumston Hall were nothing more than myths to caretaker Buddy Floyd.
That is, until a lonely Sunday afternoon in the palatial 111-year-old building.
“It was really quiet in here that day; nothing was running and I was all alone,” remembers Floyd. “Then I heard these footsteps walking down the front hallway at a fast pace. I knew I was alone, so I searched the building and found nothing. Plus, you can hear that front door slam from anywhere in the building because it’s so big and heavy. I never heard it shut.”
Floyd didn’t quite believe what he’d heard.
“It took me a couple of weeks just to process it,” said Floyd.
And then a visiting paranormal group came back with their findings, and he finally understood he probably had a ghost story of his own to tell.
It really is no wonder that a building as grand as Cumston Hall would have a few ghost stories associated with it.
Built in 1899 for $20,000, according to The Friends of Cumston Hall’s website, www.cumstonhall.org, the building was the vision of Dr. Charles M. Cumston, who wanted a local meeting house for the town.
Designed by Harry Cochrane, a local artist, it originally housed the town office (in what is now the box office for the Theater at Monmouth), a caucus room with a stage that was probably where the Selectmen sat, an opera hall with a ticket booth and concessions, and a library.
The building has been added on to over the years. The town hall has moved and the library has expanded, but Buddy Floyd and the Friends of Cumston Hall have worked to restore the building.
Floors have been refinished, stained glass windows repaired, and the mural in the opera hall is all but refurbished.
“I think I work on this place more than I do on my own home,” said Floyd with a smile.
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- Cumston Hall was built in 1899 with funds from Dr. Charles M. Cumston, and was designed by Harry Cochrane, who is buried in the cemetery adjacent to the landmark and whose headstone faces the building.
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- “We don’t know whose initials these are,” says Buddy Floyd, caretaker of Cumston Hall in Monmouth. “Maybe a builder, but we don’t know.” Custom Hall was built in 1899 for $20,000 and dedicated June 27, 1900, according to www.cumstonhall.org.
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- The tower of Cumston Hall was originally windowless, with a metal floor to keep the rain from getting in, according to caretaker Buddy Floyd. “But they learned quickly that wouldn’t work, so they added the windows,” said Floyd.
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- The old dressing rooms above the backstage area of Cumston Hall are no longer utilized in favor of the much larger – and sturdier – caucus room. This is the view from the platform next to one of the dressing rooms.
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- Cobwebs, broken furniture, and old town documents can be found in the basement of Cumston Hall in Monmouth.
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- The walls back stage and in the tower of Cumston Hall are covered with autographs of people who have either performed in plays or visited the landmark.
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- The original ticket booth for the opera hall in Cumston Hall is little more than a closet tucked away at the top of the stairs outside the main floor of the theater. “People must have been smaller in those days,” remarked Buddy Floyd, current caretaker of the 111-year-old structure.
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- Each of the window sills in the Cumston Hall tower is carved with a Roman numeral from 1 to 20, and the corresponding window is carved with the same numeral so whoever installed the windows could easily match them to their correct spot.
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- Cumston Hall’s original caucus hall is now used as a dressing room for the Theater at Monmouth.
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- An “Official Nominating Ballot for Monmouth” dated June 19, 1944, found in the tower of Cumston Hall lists Margaret Chase Smith as the only option for Representative to Congress.
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- Under the stage at Cumston Hall is a maze of wires and pathways leading to the trap doors on the stage.
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