Bladon Springs Cemetery lies near the unincorporated community of Bladon Springs in Choctaw County, Alabama, close to the Tombigbee River and the site of the former Bladon Springs mineral-springs resort. The community grew in the mid-19th century around four mineral springs that became a popular spa; a large Greek Revival hotel was built in the 1840s, and the area attracted visitors seeking the waters’ supposed health benefits. The surrounding historic district is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. The cemetery contains graves of early residents of the resort community and local families. Among them is the grave of Captain Norman A. Staples (along with his wife and several young children). Staples, a native of the area who later lived in Mobile, owned a fleet of steamboats on the Tombigbee River. His largest vessel, the sternwheel steamer James T. Staples (nicknamed “Big Jim”), was built in 1908 at a cost of about $40,000 and could carry roughly 2,500 bales of cotton.
In late 1912 Staples lost control of the boat to creditors amid financial difficulties. On January 2, 1913, he died by suicide (shotgun) in Mobile. His body was returned to Bladon Springs and buried in the cemetery. Approximately one week later, on January 10, 1913, the James T. Staples was steaming up the Tombigbee under new ownership and a new crew when its boilers exploded while the vessel was docked at Powe’s (or Poe’s) Landing, roughly four miles from the cemetery—the nearest point on the river to Staples’ grave. Contemporary accounts reported 26 deaths and 21 injuries. Survivors were rescued by the steamer John Quill. The explosion was the last major steamboat disaster on the Tombigbee and entered regional folklore almost immediately.
Reported Hauntings and Folklore
The cemetery is associated with the legend of Captain Norman Staples’ ghost. Local accounts state that, in the days after his death and before the explosion, crew members on the James T. Staples reported seeing a shadowy figure (identified as Staples) near the boilers; some crew members are said to have quit. After the explosion, which occurred at the river’s closest approach to his grave, the story developed that Staples’ spirit patrols the cemetery grounds, keeping watch over the graves of his young children and looking toward the river where his boat was destroyed. The tale is regularly cited as the best-known ghost story of Choctaw County and appears in regional folklore collections and local newspaper features. These accounts remain oral tradition and popular retellings rather than the product of controlled investigation.