Newton Gold and Ghosts

[Gypsy Heart]

December of 1864, when word was received that Colonel Joseph Sanders and his army of bandits, misfits, and deserters was on its way to attack the village of Newton in Dale County, three of the towns leading citizens were selected to bury the box of gold coins in the courthouse which constituted the public treasury. Sanders attacked and was repulsed by the vigilant Newtonians, reportedly with only four fatalities being sustained by the townsfolk. Unfortunately, three of the four were the very ones who had hidden the box of gold, and the public treasury was never recovered.
NOTE* After I researched this story a little...I could not find three people who had died on the same day buried in the Newton Cemetary...I found three people died in 1864,but two were women.....So not sure how much truth is to the above.....

"Choctawhatchee River Bridge-Newton, Alabama: A shallow hole near the bank of this river is haunted. Locals say that even is the hole is filled with dirt during the day, by morning it will be empty and clean-swept. Highway workers once filled up the hole with dirt and pitched their tent directly on top of it, but the next morning the haunted hole was completely dug out again. The ghost of Bill Sketoe, former pastor of the Methodist Church, seems the likely cause. He was hanged on December 3, 1864, from an old tree that stood on the spot. A group of vigilantes accused Sketoe of being a traitor to the Confederacy. In fact, Sketoe was totally innocent. At the lynching, the tree limb holding Sketoe's body bent enough so that his toes touched the ground, and the men had to hastily dig a hole beneath his feet as the rope slowly strangled him to death. The six men soon started telling stories of meeting the innocent pastor's ghost, and eventually they all died violent deaths. For many years locals reported seeing Sketoe's vengeful phantom.

(Newton is in the southeast corner of Alabama, northwest of Dothan on Highway 123. The oak tree was located where the old bridge crossed the Choctawhatchee River on the road from Newton. The hole is still there, next to the new concrete bridge. It is about thirty inches wide and eight inches deep. Bill Sketoe's grave is in the Mount Carmel Cemetery.)"

[cstraiton]

I grew up very close to Newton, Daleville area in small town called Opp in Covington county and have camped at the hole that won't stay filled site many times. The reports of the hole are true and I have first hand knowledge as well as numerous of my friends. We actually filled the hole with sand and rocks and pitched our tent right on top of it. We stayed up really late and sat around the campfire telling various ghost stories and such finally we got tired enough to turn in for the night. When we crawled in the tent to go to sleep we noticed the floor of the tent had sank in. We moved the tent to get a better look, and to our amazement, the hole was back as it was before we filled it in. Several of our friends had similar experiences there. Back during spring break 1990 there was a big flood in the area. I was actually in Ft. Walton Beach at the time and could not make it back to Opp with all of the bridges that were out. We had to stay an extra 5 days at the beach, that didn't really hurt my feelings too much. Bridges were knocked out all over the area. Elba Alabama was devastated during this flood. The bridge on the Chocktawhatchee river where the hole that won't stay filled is was wiped out completely. From what I've heard from some of my friends that still live there, while rebuilding the bridge they inadvertently poured the concrete footing right over top of the hole that won't stay filled and it is still covered today by the bridge footing. I would love to go back there and see for myself. Maybe someone in that area could give us an update. Is the hole still there, or was it covered up by the new bridge.

[MZKITY62]

I went and detected around the old bridge a few weeks ago. I didn't find much but trash. The hole IS still there. I have seen it with my own eyes. I could take you to it. If you every get to the area, just contact me and I'll be happy to go out there with you.

[cstraiton]

Glad to hear that the hole that won't stay filled is still there. I wish I didn't live so far away now, I really miss the old stomping grounds. If you ever get a chance to go camping out there, try filling the hole and pitching your tent on top of it. We did that when we were kids and we were surprised to find it back in the original condition after sleeping right on top of it all night. There was a place we used to go arrowhead hunting when we were kids and found lots of old relics. It's in between Opp, AL and Brantley, AL just off of HWY 331 near the Conecuh River called Burnout. If you can find that area, there is a lot of old abandoned houses and an old popular swimming hole there called Burnout Beach to us locals. That would be a great place to go metal detecting. I found an old spanish coin there when I was a kid while arrowhead hunting without a metal detector. There are some more great swimming holes around Covington County that would be good places to go. A few off the top of my head that you could probably find without much help are Drip Rock, Red Oak, Blue Springs, and one I can't remember the name of that was on the Yellow River between Opp and Enterprise on HWY 84. We found lots of relics and arrowheads in all of those spots when we were kids. People have been hanging out in those places loosing stuff since the 1800's.

[MZKITY62]

Guess where I get to hunt on Saturday? Just the oldest homestead in Newton, and maybe the place where the gold was taken. It is a beautiful old home. I will try to get pics.

[chefrider]

Sure would like to join you guys down there. I am from Andalusia but did not get much chance to hunt down there before I moved to Cullman. Be sure to post photos when you can. HH..... George