​​​​Spring Hill Paranormal Investigators

About The Boal Mansion & Columbus Chapel

Eight generations, centuries of history, and a chapel with roots in Spain.

For more than 200 years, the Boal Estate in Boalsburg was home to generations of the Boal family. Unlike many historic homes that have been reconstructed or furnished later, the estate retains buildings, furnishings, artwork, documents and personal possessions connected directly to the family that lived there.

The property grew and changed along with the family. One of its most notable residents was Colonel Theodore Davis “Terry” Boal, who traveled to Europe in the 1890s and married Mathilde de Lagarde. Through Mathilde, the family's story became connected to an even older piece of history: the Columbus Chapel. The chapel was brought from Spain to Boalsburg in 1909 and today houses a remarkable collection of artifacts associated with Christopher Columbus and the Columbus family.

Inside the mansion, generations of family history remain unusually tangible. The collection includes family furnishings and artwork alongside objects connected to much larger moments in American and European history, including documents bearing the signatures of U.S. presidents and a lock of Napoleon's hair. The estate itself remained in the Boal family for eight generations.

Between the mansion, chapel and surrounding buildings, the property contains layers of history spanning centuries and continents. For a paranormal investigation, however, our interest was closer to home: the people who lived, worked, gathered and died here, and whether any trace of them might still remain.​

The Boal Mansion

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