Saloon, Georgetown, Colorado, between 1880 and 1910. X-1287
A Ghost at Georgetown, 1868
"Georgetown has a haunted house," proclaimed the December 26, 1868, issue of the Rocky Mountain News:
The Ghost of Bainbridge, who was hung by a vigilance committee, has returned to earth to vex and worry the people who lived in a house hard by the fatal tree. It opens doors that are locked and slams them in a way supposed to be natural to a house breaker. One citizen of keen perception has seen him with the rope still around his neck. The family has moved away. The Miner tells all about it.
Letter of warning by the Committee of Vigilantes (Georgetown, Colorado), 1870s. C MSS -M805
This article led me to question who Bainbridge was and just what he had done to have been lynched by a vigilante group.
By looking in the Western History Subject Index and then the Rocky Mountain News on microfilm, I learned that Edward Bainbridge was a murderer:
We learn from Mr. J. P. Waterman, who has just arrived from Georgetown, that a man named Ed. Bainbridge shot another by the name of Martin, yesterday evening. A dispute arose over a game of cards, when Bainbridge drew his pistol and deliberately shot Martin through the head, the ball penetrating his forehead. Martin died instantly. It was reported in Central that the murderer would be lynched, and our informant thinks he has been strung up ore [sic] this. —Rocky Mountain News, April 25, 1867, page 3
Reports of Bainbridge's gruesome hanging by an angry mob appeared in the Rocky just a few days later on April 29. This article also mentioned that Martin was actually still alive, but was not expected to recover.
Many books and web pages have been written about the ghost of Edward Bainbridge haunting Georgetown, but few can point to documented evidence about Bainbridge's life. Where was Bainbridge from? Was he a miner? Did he have a history of violence?
Can YOU fill in the details of this ghost story using the Western History/Genealogy department's genealogy resources?
Want to hear a ghost story? Several iterations of the Edward Bainbridge ghost story can be found in these DPL titles:
- From the grave : a roadside guide to Colorado's pioneer cemeteries by Wommack, Linda
- Georgetown : a quick history : including the Georgetown Loop by Jessen, Kenneth Christian
- Haunted places : the national directory : ghostly abodes, sacred sites, UFO landings, and other supernatural locations by Hauck, Dennis William
- Lynching in Colorado, 1859-1919 by Leonard, Stephen J.
Comments
You may want to get a hold of Becky Pentland. Edward Bainbridge was found to be haunting her cafe and the world renowned psychic, Peter James, visited and verified that he was haunting the cafe. Once, while working there, I turned around and the coffee machine was making coffee. I had unplugged the machine and it was still unplugged, but yet was making coffee!
That's the scariest coffee-related story we've ever heard! Thanks for posting, Kerry Ann!
Google The Full Circle Cafe Georgetown Colorado.
Thanks for the post, Becky! Our readers are undoubtedly Googling away now.
James Martin the guy that Edward Bainbridge shot actually did not die. Everyone just assumed that he would. After Bainbridge was lynched his ghost has been seen in Georgetown many times. One notable event happened at the Point of Rocks in the late 1800's. The card game was over a can of oysters. Bainbridge had also bragged that he was part of a Massacre in Utah. Bainbridge was the first person to die in Georgetown. His bones were later dug up and put on display at a Doctor's home in Georgetown. The house still stands to this day but the owners never allowed us entry. Sightings named Georgetown one of the most Haunted Places in America.
We found all of our information at the Denver Public Library.
Thanks for sharing your research, Becky!
Hello, I am the grand daughter of Hank Binder who has a history book from I believe from 1910 or earlier and it talks about the Murder and chase of this man Bainbridge, and my grandpa I believe has several more books relating to Georgetown with this subject in them. I say this with relevance of who I am and who my grandad is because I believe we're relatives of the man who bainbridge shot. He was the owner of a butcher shop (Martin?) and Bainbridge was an apprentice for him. That is about as much more info as I know. If you would like to get in touch with my grandfather or me, I'd be pleased to give further info.
I would love to talk to you or your grandfather!! Beckypentland@gmail.com
I don’t know if anyone is still active on this page but I really felt the need to say his ghost is STILL there. I went on a trip to Guanella Pass with my husband and a friend one night in 2019. We stopped at the scenic overlook right above Georgetown and my husband was taking photos. I am keen to more spiritual things in general and felt a presence violently disturb the calmness in the trees near the running car, and it wasn’t a presence all around us, it was a concentrated one, RIGHT ABOVE THE CAR. I could FEEL it in front of the car. All of a sudden I felt immense dread and the air was thick with worry for me. Now I had never been to Georgetown let alone known it existed until we drove through so I had no idea about the ghost.
I suddenly felt the feeling so strongly that I HAD to look in the direction the feeling came from and when I did I saw a pale emaciated man in old clothes hanging from a rope in the trees staring at me and the second I made eye contact he disappeared. I was terrified and told my company quickly “We need to go! Right now! I saw something!! I’ll tell you what I saw when we get in the car; NOW!” My husband knows that I can sense things as well and immediately threw the camera equipment in the car and we drove off fast.
I was absolutely panicked and told them as we drove down into the city what I saw. Our friend thought I was just joking but I knew what I saw. It was sinister. My husband was nervous as well. I couldn’t calm down and immediately Googled “Bad things that happened in Georgetown”. WHEN THE FIRST RESULT MENTIONED A GHOST WITH A NOOSE AROUND HIS NECK AND SKINNY THAT DISAPPEARS WHEN YOU LOOK AT HIM I FREAKED OUT. I KNEW that was who I just saw!! My friend thinks I already knew ahead of time about him but again, I am sensitive to things like rageful spirits unfortunately. If I had KNOWN about him, I would NEVER have set foot in Georgetown. That’s why I don’t go see the mines in Idaho Springs. My husband passed out from severe stress on the way home and my sister saged us and the car before coming inside to remove any leftover bad intentions or feelings.
This guy is real, for anyone who doubts it. Absolutely real and the dread and rage that I felt was just as real. I would love to speak to others who had an actual encounter so I don’t feel crazy!
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