The George Parkman House

Posted: 11.04.2019 | Updated: 02.01.2025

During every period and in every city, there has always been an upper class of society. Boston was no exception. The Parkman family was one of the richest in the city of Boston, and they aligned themselves with other upper class, wealthy members through marriage.

Tragic crimes sometimes shake a city to its core, leaving behind fear and shock. Such was the case with George Parkman, whose murder sent waves of terror through Boston.

Want to uncover the chilling details? Read more about this haunting tale, or better yet, experience it firsthand on a walking ghost tour with Boston Ghosts. Step into the past, explore the eerie sites, and immerse yourself in the story like never before!

Who Haunts The Parkman House?

The George Parkman House may look like just another elegant Boston mansion, but its past is far darker than it seems. This grand home is forever linked to one of the city’s most infamous murders—that of George Parkman, a wealthy physician whose grisly death in 1849 shocked Boston.

Though the house wasn’t the crime scene, many believe Parkman’s restless spirit still lingers here. Visitors and staff have reported eerie footsteps, flickering lights, and an unsettling presence that sends chills down their spine.

Could it be the ghost of George Parkman, still seeking justice from beyond the grave? Read on to learn more about its ghostly secrets!

Who were the Parkman’s?

Samuel Parkman had eleven children—five with his wife Sarah Rogers (Elizabeth, Francis, George, Samuel, and Daniel) and six with his first wife, Sarah Shaw.

As a wealthy landowner, he built his fortune through real estate investments in Boston’s West End area and rental properties. He even founded two towns and owned part of them, both named after him: Parkman, Maine and Parkman, Ohio.

His sons from his first marriage managed the Ohio properties, while the sons from his second marriage oversaw the Maine holdings. Samuel also ensured his daughters received their share of the family’s wealth.

George’s sister Elizabeth Willard Parkman, also had a prominent role in Boston’s elite society. Her husband, Robert, expanded the family’s fortune as a senior partner in a successful commercial firm, benefiting from China’s booming trade.

The Parkman children married into influential Boston families, including the Cabots, Blakes, Masons, Tildens, Sturgises, and Tuckermans, many of whom resided on Beacon Hil. Of all his children, Samuel entrusted only George with managing the family’s accumulated wealth.

George’s Early Life

George Parkman suffered from poor health as a young child, which led him to pursue a career in medicine. At just 15, he was admitted to Harvard’s Class of 1809, where he was selected to deliver the “Salutatory Oration.”

Despite being incredibly wealthy and set for life, it was a lecture by Benjamin Rush that inspired George to be concerned with the state of mental asylums, as they were then called.

Determined to make a difference, Parkman studied medicine at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. After returning to the United States, George then traveled to Europe under the charge of a former Bostonian, Mr. Benjamin Thompson, who sailed aboard the USS Constitution. Thompson was the one that introduced him to Joel Barlow, the US Minister to France. Barlow then presented George to the vibrant community of doctors in Paris.

While in Paris, George was able to see for himself the humane and pioneering treatment methods of two famous French psychiatrists, Philippe Pinel and Étienne Esquirol. The 70-year-old Pinel’s ideas much impressed George Parkman.

Parkman was able to work at the Parisian Asylum, under teachers like Esquirol and Pinel. There he learned techniques for the treatment of mental diseases and the French approach to the history of such illnesses. This experience set Parkman on his path in medicine.

Parkman returned to the U.S. in 1813. The War with the United Kingdom of 1812 pressed young men into service for their country. Parkman was commissioned as a surgeon in a regiment of the third brigade belonging to the first division of the Massachusetts militia. He also began his private medical practice in South Boston and simultaneously replicated the practices Parkman had seen in Paris with Pinel and Esquirol.

George’s Advocacy for Mental Health

Parkman had strong ideas about how mental health hospitals should be run. He believed that a residence-like setting in psychiatric institutions should provide an environment where patients could socialize and enjoy hobbies. This would allow them to participate in meaningful household chores, as permitted.

Parkman thought the French Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière a fine model of how it should run and he tried to convince the faculty of Massachusetts General Hospital that having access to a mental health hospital would benefit a great number of its current patients.

In 1817, he published two influential papers, ‘Remarks on Insanity’ and ‘The Management of Lunatics’ which were part of an effort to persuade the trustees that Parkman could supervise an asylum that the Hospital was contemplating launching. During that same year, he also pledged to help raise $16,000 for a new asylum, but the hospital trustees mistakenly believed he would fund the entire project.

When the McLean Asylum for the Insane was eventually established the trustees believed that Parkman holding a position did not look appropriate. George Parkman then retired, but his interest in mental health and medicine continued. He visited the patients and to entertain them supplied a mall organ. He even opened his mansions to treat patients during outbreaks of cholera and smallpox.

His later years

Parkman remained committed to the McLean Asylum and his work there was published in The New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery, a publication he helped establish.

When his father passed away in 1824, George inherited control of the extensive family estate across the East Coast of America. He expanded the family’s real estate empire, acquiring large sections of land in Boston and investing in densely populated apartment buildings.

His success in real estate significantly increased his wealth, yet he remained dedicated to public service. Notably, he sold Harvard Medical School the land they needed for the building of a new school, and the construction of the Charles Street Jail.

Parkman was a familiar sight on the streets of Boston. His daily walks were both business and pleasure, striding between his properties, where he collected his rents in person. George Parkman often wore a top hat, and by all accounts was a gentle person who worked hard and lived simply. He was most interested in helping the physically and mentally ill of society.

The Murder of George Parkman

On Friday, November 23, 1849, George Parkman vanished without a trace. After a week-long search led by the newly established Boston police force, a gruesome discovery was made on November 30. A janitor at Harvard Medical School found Parkman’s dismembered and partially burned remains hidden within the building.

His funeral, held on December 6, drew thousands of mourners who lined the streets of Boston to pay their respects. The case shocked the city, and the subsequent trial captivated the nation. John White Webster, a Harvard Medical School professor of chemistry and geology, was ultimately convicted of Parkman’s murder in one of Boston’s most sensational criminal trials.

The aftermath

The murder of George Parkman, and Webster’s trial and execution, was extremely distressing to Parkman’s widow and children.  In fact, this was one of the first times that forensic anthropology would be used in court.

They became virtual recluses in their home at 33 Beacon Street, and neither of their two children ever married. When their mother died in 1877, the children inherited the entire estate.

After his sister Harriet’s death in 1885, George Francis remained the sole heir to this considerable fortune. When George Francis died on September 16, 1908, the estate was valued at nearly $5.5 million.

Almost the entire estate was left to the city of Boston. Today the George Parkman house still stands at 8 Walnut Street in Beacon Hill.

How is the George Parkman house haunted?

The remains of George Parkman were stuffed into a privy that was located in Webster’s lab. Years later, the toilet in the Parkman house on the 3rd floor would overflow, causing water to rush down the stairs. It is said by many that George Parkman continues to haunt the Boston’s Parkman house to this day. Perhaps his spirit is still not at peace?

Parkman and Webster apparently had argued over money that Parkman lent to Webster. And although a court of law convicted Webster of the murder, some people were not convinced of his guilt. There were those in town who felt that the janitor who coincidentally discovered the dismembered remains of Parkman was the one who should bear the responsibility.

Haunted Massachusetts

George Parkman had the financial means to live a life of luxury. However, he was more interested in living simply and helping the mentally and physically ill. Unfortunately, he was brutally murdered and dismembered. Parts of his body were stuffed in the bathroom of the lab.

So, is it a coincidence that the toilets in his home overflow and water was seen rushing down the stairs?  It’s an interesting question. Perhaps next time you are visiting Boston you can check out the George Parkman house and try to decide for yourself.

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Sources:

1. https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/west-boston/samuel-parkman/
2. https://thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/west-boston/george-parkman/
3. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/bookviewer?PID=nlm:nlmuid-2566029R-bk
4. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/murder-dr-george-parkman/
5. https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/murder-in-the-medical-school/