Two Rivers Mansion

The McGavock family built this 1859 Italianate mansion near the battlefield at Stones River. Ghostly music drifts out of the empty ballroom on quiet nights.

David McGavock built Two Rivers Mansion in 1859, combining Italianate architecture with the grandeur of the antebellum South. The McGavock family endured the Civil War on their property — the nearby Battle of Stones River in 1862-63 left thousands dead within earshot of the mansion. Family members helped tend to wounded soldiers from both sides. After the war, the mansion became known for its lavish parties and musical entertainment in the grand ballroom. Today, staff and visitors report hearing phantom piano music emanating from the empty ballroom, particularly in the evening hours. A woman in a Civil War-era dress has been seen looking out the second-floor windows. Doors throughout the mansion open and close on their own, and footsteps are heard on the grand staircase when the building is unoccupied.