Tennessee State Capitol

Tennessee’s legislature still meets in this Greek Revival statehouse on the hill above downtown Nashville. President Polk and his wife Sarah are buried in a tomb on the east lawn.

William Strickland drew the design and considered the Capitol his finest work. He died in 1854, 5 years before it was finished in 1859.

Strickland is entombed in the northeast corner and Samuel Morgan, the commissioner who oversaw construction, in the southeast. No other state capitol in the country holds burials in its walls.

The feud the haunting depends on is thin history. Historian Jeff Sellers says Strickland and Morgan got along well, and that the story of a bitter fight over costs is likely exaggerated.

Visitors and staff describe the 2 men still arguing in the halls after dark. One telling starts the quarrel near 9pm and has it audible from outside the building.

Guides tell of a man in dark formal dress near the Polk tomb after hours, a figure that is gone before anyone reaches it. The telling blames a grave moved 3 times.

Entry is free Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm Central, with 45-minute guided tours from the first-floor desk and self-guided visits within those hours. Expect security screening at a working seat of government.