Valley Mills, Indiana was a tiny hamlet miles from urban Indianapolis when the Nicholson Mansion was started in 1870. David Nicholson was a contractor hired to construct the new Marion County Courthouse in that same year, and he started building his family’s 24 room Gothic home at the same time, finishing both of them six years later. From 1903, into the 1960’s, the Rand family owned the home. Valley Mills had vanished as a town, and the house now sat in the ever-expanding suburban city of Southport. In 1997, the home had been sitting empty for a number of years, and was in danger of being swallowed up by this urban growth.
The Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana saved the house by having it moved from its original location at the corner of Mills and Mann Roads, a short distance to the corner of Southport and Mann Roads. Indianapolis Star newspaper photographer Mike Fender was there on that April day to take some public interest photos of the house being moved. While snapping away at the operation, he thought he had seen the image of a little blond girl in a blue dress standing at the center second floor window, watching the workers below. Mike knew, however, that this was impossible as the house was empty while it was being moved.
When the photos were developed, one of them showed a ghostly figure of the little girl stand at the upstairs window, as if supervising the tedious task of moving her house. Shortly after the picture was published in the paper, and lasting until this day, rumors have surfaced that the house is haunted by the ghost of a little girl that had died a tragic accidental death in or near the house. Recent research has not turned up any evidence of this accident, so the ghostly figure remains a mystery to this day.
