Orna Villa

The oldest house in Oxford and Newton County, built in 1825. Confederate soldiers were treated here during the Civil War — there's still a bullet hole in the stair banister to prove it.

Built in 1825, Orna Villa stands as the oldest house in Oxford, Georgia—and perhaps the most haunted in Newton County. This Greek Revival crown jewel of Emory Street was home to Alexander Means, a founding father of Oxford and Oxford College. Research indicates the home also served as a Civil War hospital.

The haunting centers on a family feud between Alexander and his youngest son Tobe. Headstrong and rebellious, Tobe stormed away from Orna Villa following an argument with his father over money, never to be seen again. His spirit apparently returned.

The first documented hauntings began in 1945 when E.H. "Buddy" Rheberg bought the house. Early one morning, Buddy heard footsteps on the gravel driveway. Expecting his handyman Walt, he called out for him to enter—but the footsteps merely paced back and forth across the porch. When Buddy opened the door, the footsteps stopped. No one was there.

Visitors have been awakened at precisely six in the morning by loud pounding on their doors, only to find empty hallways. Dr. Tanner once saw a lanky man in a long coat with ruffled shirt and string tie lounging in the hall—reddish hair, sideburns, visible for only seconds. After praying through every room, the sightings stopped for seven years.

Owners report ghostly green lights and the incessant squeak of a rocking chair. Yet the present resident maintains: "All the ghost stories notwithstanding, I have never felt safer or more at home than I have at Orna Villa."