It’s known as The Castle in Beaufort. It’s a beautiful historic home located on Craven Street in downtown Beaufort. This is one of Beaufort’s most-well known homes. While it’s often called The Castle, it’s also known as the Joseph Johnson House.
I saw photos of The Castle on someone’s Instagram videos. And I knew then that I’d have to check it out the next time we were there. So, this past weekend, we took a day trip on the motorcycle to explore the downtown Beaufort area a little more.
Downtown Beaufort
While we’ve been to Beaufort and Saint Helena Island a few times now, we hadn’t spent a lot of time in the downtown area.
We started off our trip by heading to a little spot on the beach in Saint Helena. Because David said he couldn’t bring me that close to the beach and not let me put my feet in the water.
Next, we headed back into the downtown Beaufort area to check out the shops and find somewhere for lunch. We didn’t have any particular plans, because originally, our day trip was going to be going to Lake Joccassee (on the other side of the state). But due to the weather, that’s why we wound up in Beaufort.
We finally decided to check out Luther’s Rare & Well Done to grab lunch. I had my go-to order of a cheeseburger and fries. David ordered some hot wings. Overall, the food was okay, although my burger was a little too done for my liking. I will say, whatever they season their French fries with is really good!
After that, I decided to see how close we were to The Castle in Beaufort. And it turns out, we were less than half a mile away! So, we put the address in the GPS and headed over there.
The Castle In Beaufort
I’ll start by saying this home is absolutely gorgeous. And huge! Unfortunately, it’s considered a private residence… so it wasn’t like we could go explore. But I did have to look up some of the history of the place!
The house was built in the late 1850s, but was used by the Union Troops as a military hospital before construction was completed.
According to Explore Beafort SC, the home has 79 windows, 23 rooms, and 8 fireplaces. It’s a two-story home that features Greek Revival Style architecture.
The home is located right on the Beaufort River, which is almost like a moat. That’s part of what contributed to the nickname The Castle.
During The War
The house was used as a hospital, and the outbuilding behind it was used as a morgue. But the outbuilding also was a hiding place for Dr. Johnson’s valuables. He buried family silver and china beneath the floor.
Once the war was over, Dr. Johnson paid back taxes to reclaim his home.
But due to it’s history, there’s no surprise that it’s rumored to be haunted.
The Haunting
The ghost at The Castle in Beaufort is supposedly that of a dwarf named Gauche. He was apparently a jester who was brought to the area in 1562 by a French explorer.
Throughout the years, Gauche has been spotted by numerous people, even by Dr. Johnson himself. He’s been spotted inside and outside of the home. Even Dr. Johnson’s daughter would have tea parties with the ghost as a child!
There are many ways the ghost has made himself known, including opening and closing doors, moving furniture, and leaving handprints.
Another cool fact about The Castle: it was used in a movie starring Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock. The wedding scene in Forces of Nature was filmed in the front yard of the home in 1998.
Photos From The Castle
