Peter Carnes is an Augusta enigma. We know where he is buried, and we know a bit about his life, but we really know little else.
Nothing gets historians into a kerfuffle more than trying to explain away what they do not know and can’t prove, and the story of Peter Carnes is a prime example.
According to local real estate agent Grant Sutton, a home located at 914 Milledge Rd., which is currently up for sale, was once owned by Peter Carnes and could have hosted President George Washington when he visited Augusta in 1791.
MORE: Something You May Not Have Known: Augusta’s water system
A local bar, the Indian Queen, located at 2502 Wrightsboro Rd., offers cocktails in a rustic setting meant to mirror the original bar owned by Carnes in Maryland, once upon a time, the bar owners say.
Meanwhile, local Augusta historian Erick Montgomery seemed to bristle at the name of Carnes even being brought up, making reference to people distorting history and finally admitting that no one really knows how the man made it into Augusta lore.
So, who was Peter Carnes and why does he matter at all?
Well, Carnes was a bit of a pioneer when it came to aviation. He experimented with balloons and successfully flew a balloon in 1784. He also operated a pub in Bladensburg, Md., where he eventually met his wife.
Apparently, Carnes was the barkeep at the Indian Queen pub in Maryland when the owner of the building died. Carnes ended up marrying the widow of the owner of the pub but then failed to pay his brother-in-law rent on the building.
Carnes and his wife then fled to Augusta.
The late historian, Ed Cashin, wrote in his book, “From Balloons to Blue Angels” that Carnes took off to avoid being put in jail.
“Jacob Witt’s brother sued him for back rent on the Indian Queen Tavern, even though Carnes had married Witt’s widow and assumed that the marriage excused him from rent. Unfortunately, the county judge agreed with the coldhearted brother and ordered the sheriff to seize Carnes for non-payment,” Cashin records.
So, Carnes came to Augusta, which was a frontier town in the late 1700s. He studied law and became an attorney. Carnes was in the greeting party that met President Washington when he came to visit during his tour of the original 13 states.
After that, the record concerning Carnes evaporates.
Carnes owned property on Walton Way, according to Montgomery, but never owned property in Summerville, adding that does not mean that he didn’t live in the house on Milledge Road.
“It was normal for people to move houses, entire houses, during that time, but I can’t say that the house on Milledge Road ever belonged to him,” Montgomery said.
Carnes and his family are interred in a private cemetery near what is believed to be his house.
The bottom line is we don’t know much about Peter Carnes. He died at age 45, but he must have been someone of good reputation in the community, or perhaps not. History does not give much of a guide.
MORE: Something You May Not Have Known: Famous yet largely unknown
Upon his death, The Augusta Chronicle wrote “Speak not his name; but that here the great Carnes lies, He needs no epitaph, who never dies.”
In terms of the house at 914 Milledge Road, former Augusta commissioner Joe Bowles once lived in the house and reports that he definitely feels the home is haunted.
“I saw some things in the hallways, my wife never did, but I did…But they never seemed threatening…it was just eerie,” Bowles said.
So, perhaps, Carnes is Augusta’s most famous ghost. He may have been a great man in life, or a total cad. We don’t know.
But the folks at the Indian Queen will be happy to mix up a martini with fresh fruit and talk about the enigma that is Peter Carnes.
…And that is something you may not have known.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
