The Legend of Tillie Smith

Since I have been taking photos of the local surrounds these past few days I thought I would continue with this one & the story that accompanies it.

Tillie Smith - Union Cemetery, Hackettstown

On April 9, 1886, Tillie Smith, an 18 year old domestic who lived & worked at Centenary Collegiate Institute (now Centenary College - photographed 3-6-12), was raped & strangled; her body left in an open field in plain view. The murder of Tillie Smith shocked Victorian Hackettstown.

On April 28, 1886, James Titus, the man responsible for maintenance at the college, was arrested & formally accused of Tillie's murder.

Titus' trial began on September 28, 1886 in Belvidere, NJ & while the evidence against him was circumstantial, he was convicted & sentenced to hang.

Titus escaped the hangman's noose, suddenly signing a 'confession' of guilt several months after his conviction.

Titus served 19 years for murder before he was paroled by the Court of Pardons & released from prision on December 27, 1904. For the nearly fifty years that followed, he lived, ironically, in Hackettstown, amongst the same neighbors who championed his conviction.

Titus died in June 1952 and is also buried in Union Cemetery. Unfortunately, no one will ever really know the truth about happened that night or if justice was truly served.

Remembering Tillie Today

The story of Tillie Smith lives on today, more than 120 years after her brutal demise. The monument to her memory, pictured above, stands in Hackettstown's Union Cemetery, constructed with the generous donations from local & national benefactors.

Ghost Stories

Along with many other alleged 'ghost sightings' in town, staff & students at Centenary College have said they have witnessed Tillie's spirit roaming the halls of the college today.

-Karen