THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The former site of Montgomery Female College is closely associated with the infamous "Black Sisters" of Christiansburg: Virginia Wardlaw, Mary Snead, and Caroline Martin. The sisters became known for dressing almost entirely in black and wearing heavy veils while operating the school in the early 1900s. After the original college building was demolished, later generations using the site as Christiansburg High School and Christiansburg Middle School reported unexplained activity including footsteps in empty hallways, whispering voices, lights turning on and off by themselves, doors moving or slamming, and dark shadowy figures. Local legend holds that the spirits of the Black Sisters still walk the property, sometimes appearing as women dressed in black before vanishing.
Montgomery Female College operated on this College Street property beginning in 1860. Virginia Wardlaw became principal in 1903 and was joined by her sisters Mary Snead and Caroline Martin. The college closed in 1908. The original building was later demolished in 1935 to make way for a Christiansburg High School building, which subsequently served as Christiansburg Middle School. The property is now used by Montgomery County Public Schools.