Ghosts in Framingham? There are places where some say spirits appear to be present

FRAMINGHAM — With its long and winding history, Massachusetts is home to some of the most famous places said to be haunted. From the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River to the Salem Witch House in Salem, the state has plenty to offer for amateur ghost hunters seeking a fright.

While Framingham is not particularly well known for haunted sights, the city has plenty of old buildings and legendary sites that some claim have a spiritual connection. The Daily News spoke with members of the community and the Framingham History Center about locations where ghostly appearances have been noted and mysteries remain unsolved.

James J. McGrath Square

While there has been no published recent sighting of spirits around James J. McGrath Square, Susan Silva, a volunteer with the Framingham History Center, said legend has it that people had previously seen the spirit of McGrath himself.

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"James J. McGrath was the fifth resident of Framingham who was killed in World War I, and was the first from Saxonville," Silva said. "He grew up in Saxonville, I believe it was on Meadow Street. For years afterward, people reported seeing him, in his military uniform, walking around the square at night."

The square, at the intersection of Central, Concord and Elm streets, is right outside the old Saxonville Mills, which have their own mysterious history.

Saxonville Mills

At nearly 200 years old, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Saxonville Mills are steeped in Framingham history, and have left a few mysteries behind.

The mill property was built in 1824 and has been home to various textile companies over the years, including the Roxbury Carpet Company, which operated in the mill after merging with Saxonville Mills in 1917, and continued up until the factory closed in 1973.

Today, the mill is owed by Newton-based Creative Development Company, which has repurposed most of the space to accommodate small businesses. Tenants include numerous art studios, a coffee shop, a beauty spa and hair salon, a tattoo studio and other businesses.

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While most of the mill space has been repurposed, there are still areas of the 400,000-square-foot complex that are undeveloped. One such area is the "dryer room" — a large room that was part of Roxbury Carpet and contains a massive, ancient machine that served as an industrial dryer. In the room, construction workers mysteriously found old children's clothes and books.

"The books were old, they were not like new children's books, and nobody knows where they came from," said Margaret Stevens, a property manager for Creative Development.

Also in the room are child-sized handprints that have been stained on the inside of a door that would take workers inside the giant drying machine. While Stevens said she does not believe the room is haunted, and there have been no instances of mysterious noises or people seeing anything, the room does have an interesting vibe.

"The maintenance guys we think like to joke around and they talk about the 'little girl in the dryer' but nobody has ever seen anything," Stevens said. "There are the little handprints on the inside of the door, (but) we don't know how they got there."

A note to the curious: The Saxonville Mills are private property and trespassing is strictly forbidden.

Edgell Library

Perhaps the most spiritually active location in Framingham is the Edgell Memorial Library on Oak Street. Silva said about 10 years ago she was doing some volunteer work at the library at night when she saw what she believes was a spirit.

"I was working there late one rainy night, and it was getting dark and I was there all alone," she said. "I was working on something and I saw a flash in the corner of my eye, and right over there was a woman, a spirit. She was standing there looking at me, with her hands folded. She had a shawl and kind of a closed hat, and a long skirt. I looked away, there was another flash and she was gone."

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Built in 1872, Edgell was Framingham's first large public library. It served as the community's main library until the 1960s. Today it is home to the Framingham History Center.

Silva is not the only person who believes they saw something mysterious at the Edgell Library. Laura Rankin, director of programs and education for the Framingham History Center, said she also witnessed a spirit while there.

"I was in the building early one morning by myself," she said. "I had just finished something in the costume collection room and was coming down the stairs, and I saw a woman dressed in a black, Victorian-era dress coming around the corner toward my office. I called out to see if anyone was there, nobody responded, so I just quickly went back to work."

The description of the outfit worn by the woman Rankin said she saw matches that of what a librarian would have worn during the 1800s.

"There have been sightings of what people think are former librarians," Silva said. "They've reported seeing women with long dresses, and we have a photo that shows the clothing and we can see what they looked like."

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham locations where people claim to have witnessed ghosts