Constance Cox
The story of a little girl who fell from the front portico balcony has existed in the Dresden area for more than a century. The young girl was afflicted with a fever and wandered onto the balcony one cold night in the winter. She lost her footing and fell over the low railing to the hard sandstone steps below. We now believe that we can put a name to the mysterious child. Anna and William Cox adopted a young girl named Constance. She died at a young age and fits the profile of the child in question.
The story continues that the girl's body was not buried immediately as the frozen ground would not allow for the digging of a grave. The body was placed on ice in the basement in a pit originally designed as a refrigeration system for the home. Here the child remained until the spring thaw when she could be given a proper burial. Anna (the mother) grieved for her lost child and visited the body daily until the burial.
Today the ghost of Constance can sometimes be seen on the second floor near the door to what once was the portico balcony. Other observations of Constance have been made in the basement, the ballroom and the Upstairs Parlor (the room in which she was kept while ill) which is today the guest bedroom. Her image has been seen standing near the fireplace mantle in that room.