• Intro

Talmadge Brothers Funeral Home and Casket Company

Presented by the Ball Ground Fire Department

Address:

230 Gilmer Ferry Road
Ball Ground, GA
30107
United States

Tickets:

$10 suggested donation for adults, $5 for kids

Phone:

(404) 345-7004

Contact Email:

Website:

http://www.twistedtours.com/

About:

Came take a tour of the old and forgotten Talmadge Brothers Funeral Home and Casket Company in Downtown Ball Ground. This haunted house is presented by the Ball Ground Fire Dept. In 2003 Ball Ground Volunteer firefighters decided it was time to come up with a new fundraising idea. In October 2003 "The Haunted Hollow Hayride" was put together. The two following years the Haunted Hollow continued with great results. In 2006 we are bringing to you our newly designed indoor haunted attraction. Due to many issues dealing with the outdoor hayride we have moved indoors and have totally designed this years haunt. We hope everyone will come by and take a tour of the Talmadge Brothers Funeral Home & Casket Company. We want to thank everone who has visited us in the past and hope to see everyone this year....

History:

At the end of 1918, American soldiers were returning home to their wives and children after Germany signed an armistice ending World War 1 on November 11. Two of those returning soldiers were local Ball Ground residents Johnny and Charles Talmadge. The city was a place of jubilation for two solid weeks as parades, parties, and dinners were hosted in honor of Ball Ground's war heros. Several years later, on a bitterly cold winter night, Barbara Talmadge, Johnny and Charles' mother, passed away. Seeing as Johnny and Charles were the only living relatives, the Talmadge properties were divided equally amongst the two. Johnny inherited the Talmadge home and land, while Charles took hold of the Talmadge fortune. After purchasing a small home directly across from the Ball Ground train depot, Charles built up a sizeable furniture making business in a large building in the center of town. Rocking chairs, tables, desks, and book shelves were just a few of the products Charles offered to the community. Eventually. all of Charles' business started coming from local funeral parlors as he was commissioned to build caskets for prominent citizens of the community. Johnny, who had been watching his brother's business endeavors from afar, saw room for expansion In the spring of 1941, Talmadge Brother's Funeral Home and Casket Company was opened. the state-of-the art facility drew customers from as far away as West Virginia, and close as right next door. then, in Febuary of 1942, the doors were literally opened to the public as tours of the facility were conducted for curious passersby. However this didn't sit well with city officials and the tours were soon discontinued. Half of the facilities were reserved for funeral services, while the other half consisted mainly of casket construction. The factory section of the facilities never operated during funerals or viewings. Charles felt that it would have been disrespectful to the deceased. Johnny felt that it was a mistake Cremation became more and more popular throughout the 1950's. So, the Talmadge Brothers, never to fall behind the trends, installed two furnaces in the facilities in 1958. Business never slowed down for Talmadge Brother's Funeral Home and Casket Company. it continued climbing into the mid-60's. However, on a cold autumn night in 1966, Charles Talmadge was brutally murdered by his brother in one of the parlor's offices. In 2006, the Ball Ground Fire Department acquired the property for future office space. Upon entering the building, the funeral home was in the exact condition it was on the night police apprehended Johnny talmadge. In fact, Charles' blood still clings to the office's walls. During the month of October the Ball Ground Fire Department will be conducting tours of the facility, just as Charles and Johnny did over sixty years ago. Are you brave enough to enter Talmadge Brother's Immortal Tours?"