HGB Ep. 635 - Haunted Whiskey Row

This Month in History - 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

In the month of April, on the 18th, in 1906, a massive magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck San Francisco, California, at 5:12am. What followed the 42-60 second earthquake was widespread devastation and destruction. The tremor emanated from a rupture of the San Andreas Fault line and traveled a spanse of roughly 275-296 miles. Broken gas lines and overturned stoves ignited fires that became known as, 'Ham and Egg Fires' which burned uncontrollably for three days. Broken water mains made fire fighting nearly impossible. Approximately 28,000 buildings were destroyed, affecting roughly 500 blocks in the city's center. Property damage  was said to be around $350 million in 1906 dollars. Over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed with nearby Santa Rosa and San Jose impacted as well. Although early reports cited lower numbers, it is now believed that over 3,000 people perished due to the earthquake and resulting fires and 250,000 people were left homeless. This natural disaster led to major developments in seismology and motivated the city to rebuild with better earthquake-resistant structures. 

Haunted Whiskey Row

Over the years, HGB has featured several Millionaire Rows from various historic city downtowns, and this is where the millionaires of old built their stone palaces. In Prescott, Arizona, there is a block that has been named Whiskey Row. Listeners won't be surprised to learn that this patch of rough and tumble was dotted with saloons and other forms of entertainment. Today, it is dotted with haunted locations. Join us for the history and hauntings of Whiskey Row.

The future Prescott was inhabited by the Yavapai (yah-vah-PIE) tribe living in their wickiups, which were small round or cone-shaped houses made of a willow frame covered with brush and dirt. Yavapai means "people of the sun" and they lived here for hundreds of years and still do on reservations. Their allies were the nearby Apache. When gold was found near the Prescott area, Ohio railroad magnates partnered to establish the Arizona Territory in 1863. Fort Whipple would be founded to be the territorial capital and settlers started moving to the new settlement. John NOble Goodwin was the Arizona Territorial Governor in 1864 and he initiated a tour of the territory. Fort Whipple was moved 20 miles away to a higher area and Goodwin decided to establish a new territorial capital on the east side of Granite Creek. A public meeting was held and it was decided to name it Prescott for historian William H. Prescott. Lots were sold and the new community began to flourish. Mining for silver and gold enriched it. This would remain the capital until November of 1867. Prescott would be the capital again from 1877 to 1889. Virgil Earp became the constable in 1878. Fires burned down the downtown in 1900, so it was rebuilt with brick. One of the places that was devastated with fire was Whiskey Row. 

The history of this area is a bit murky, but it is believed it started with a bar opened up by Isaac Goldberg. Other accounts say that this area was established closer to Granite Creek, but was moved because drunk people kept falling into the creek and drowning. Whatever the case, Goldberg got things started in 1864. 

Goldberg had been born in the late 1830s in Piotrkow, Poland. He followed his brother to the United States and started his new life in California. When gold was struck in Arizona, Isaac headed there and ended up in Prescott. People called him Lomo de Oro, which means "Gold Lion" because he spent all his free time prospecting. For work, he opened up that bar. And this bar wasn't much to look at. He set up a plank of wood and put a bunch of whisky bottles on it and then he added a little shanty over the top and he was ready for business. Isaac had this tin cup and for 50 cents, he would give a customer a dram of whiskey. Miners could pay in absolute gold. He needed help eventually and so he hires this Confederate deserter who was missing part of his nose to be a bartender. Goldberg made a $100 a month with his bar. Eventually, Goldberg opened a saloon on Montezuma Street. This street would be Whiskey Row. Whiskey Row would cover the block on Montezuma Street between Goodwin and Gurley Streets. Many other saloons would follow and attract the likes of the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. In 1897, Whiskey Row became the first section of Prescott to have exterior public lighting installed. Whiskey Row is still home to many bars and restaurants today and many of the historic buildings that were built after the Great Fire of 1900 still stand. Several of them have ghost stories.

Woman in White

Whiskey Row is anchored by the Courthouse Plaza. The first or original courthouse was built in 1867 and housed the jail and Sheriff ’s Office on the ground floor and a community meeting hall and courtroom on the second floor. Executions took place in the fenced yard behind the courthouse. Our first two spirits are found here. There is a woman in white seen along Whiskey Row where it is believed she died in the Great Fire. She is seen most often near Courthouse Plaza and she is seen in a long white period dress. People claim she remains because she is looking for a lost love who died in the fire as well. 

Mike the Ghost Dog

Next we have a ghost dog. This four-legged spook is named Mike and nobody knows how he ended up in town, but the city adopted him and everybody loved him. Patrons on Whiskey Row would order two steaks, one for them and the other for Mike. He was frequently running around the courthouse plaza. Mike lived from 1946 to 1960 and when he died in 1960, a plaque was put up in the square's northwest corner to memorialize him that reads, "In memory of our community dog, Mike. Self-appointed guardian of the plaza, official welcomer of visitors and general ambassador of good will. Mike was known and loved by all. Regardless of race, color, creed or station in life, he was a silent, tolerant, loyal friend. Take heed if you will: a moral life herein." A paranormal investigator and author Darlene Wilson claims that she has recorded a dog barking in the square when no dogs were present and also the voice of a male calling out, "Here, Mike!" 

Whiskey River Tavern

Whiskey River Tavern is the current business at 214 South Montezuma Street. This building has seen a lot of different iterations. There has been Rickety Cricket Brewing Company, Far From Folsom, Coyote Joe's, Annie's Attic, Cantina, County Seat Restaurant, Brick and Bones and Arizona Hotel. 

That last one was the original. The Arizona Hotel was a two-story brothel. There is a supernatural story going back to the time when Coyote Joe's was here. The owner's cousin told him that she had a visit from a young female ghost that told her that there was going to be a fire in Joe’s and two weeks later, indeed, there was a fire in the dining room. So the owner opened a separate nightclub upstairs and named it in honor of the name the ghost went by, Annie. So this became Annie's Attic. Spirits in the building like to gather in the kitchen and they play with burners and ovens, making it hard to get food cooked completely. Parker Anderson reports in Haunted Prescott, "One of the new bartenders was closing early one morning when the pans and utensils started flying across the room. He took off running, called the manager and said, 'I’m out of here, and by the way, someone needs to go close the front door and lock up.'" Anderson was also told by the owner of Rickety Cricket, Terry Thomson, "that during the renovations of the new restaurant many strange things happened to him and his staff. One night he was in the kitchen working when one of the spice containers went flying across the room. On another night, he and another employee were the only ones there. There were three raps on the wall, and Terry thought it was the employee trying to scare him. Terry was telling his employee to stop when he saw him outside, waiting for Terry. Then Terry heard the three raps again, only louder. Another employee is very familiar with the building; as a child, he used to play with Annie, not knowing that she was a ghost. Terry and his staff all believed some of the ghostly activity came from Annie."

The Grumpy Sicilian 

The Grumpy Sicilian is located at 126 S. Montezuma Street. This is another location that has rotating restaurants in it for the last 100 years. This has also been the Devil's Pantry and Adirondack (A der ron dak) Cafe. 

A previous owner had some patrons ask him what was above the restaurant, an apartment? The owner answered no, that it was his office. They asked if he had a secretary who worked in the office with red hair. When he said no, they told him that they had seen a red-haired woman come down the stairs. The owner checked upstairs, but there was no one up there. He later found out who this mysterious woman might be. A customer told him a few weeks later that she used to come into the restaurant as a little girl all the time with her grandparents. One day, they stopped taking her there and when she asked why, they told her a woman had been murdered there. This was apparently an Irish woman who was shot. The owner was stunned. He didn't believe in ghosts, but now he wondered if that murder victim was haunting his restaurant.

The Grand Highland Hotel

The Grand Highland Hotel is located at 154 S. Montezuma Street. This boutique hotel offers 12 historically themed rooms and they offer a wedding setting. This started as the Grand Saloon & Hotel, which opened in 1903. This two-story hotel was more than likely a brothel. 

In 1949, a curio shop opened on the first floor of the hotel. This was the Holiday Shop and it was run by Howard Hinson Sr. who moved from the east. Hinson saved up his money and he was able to purchase the building. The hotel at that time had 16 guest rooms, 3 shared bathrooms and an apartment for the manager. Hinson added to the hotel in 1971 by purchasing the building next door. A fire destroyed parts of the buildings in May 2012 and the empty space created the inspiration for the Holiday Courtyard. In 2021, Nick & Sara Medina, purchased the hotel from the Hinsons making it part of the Medina Hospitality brand. Kelly Bartholomew wrote on Facebook, "My husband and I stayed in the Big Nose Kate room July 4th weekend of 2020 and experienced a presence. First, I had my drink on the counter in the bathroom. It had been sitting there for awhile but when my husband and I started arguing the glass flew off the sink and shattered! We thought maybe it was just a fluke (but immediately stopped arguing!). Then, around 3:30 am, I was awoken by a strong sense of a presence, my heart was racing and I was frightened. When we woke up that morning, I shared the experience with my husband and he revealed the same thing had happened to him at the same time! We were both a little shaken and told the front desk attendant who confirmed others had similar experiences in that room. When returning home and looking at pictures from our visit, we noticed the outline of a woman in the tub in this photo. Perhaps Kate was there all along?" Adrienne Dillmore wrote on Facebook, "My husband and I stayed in room 201, Jan 23 2021. On the first night I suddenly fell sick and fell asleep early. The second night, I was awaken by the sound of someone walking by my side of the bed. (Closest to the bathroom) it sounded like boards cricking. Then I felt something sit on the bed next to me. My heart was pounding and I couldn’t breathe. I slowly tapped my husband to wake up, and told him what happened. He said that prior to him falling asleep he heard the handles on the dresser moving. As well as sounds coming from the wall behind our headboard. But there is no building there. I did ask the front desk if anyone ever reported anything in that room and he said no. I know what happened and it still freaks me out to this day." 

Hotel St. Michael

Hotel St. Michael is now a part of the Best Western family of hotels. Hotel St. Michael is directly across from the Courthouse Plaza. This started as Hotel Burke, which was opened in 1890 by businessman Dennis Burke and lawman Michael J. Hickey, who assisted in the hangings of two murderers, Dennis W. Dilda and Frank Wilson, in the late 1880s. Burke was also a military veteran and was a mayor of Prescott. He wanted to make his hotel more enticing than other hotels in town, so he advertised it as being fireproof. Only, it wasn't. So in the Great Fire of 1900, the Hotel Burke burned to the ground. 

Burke and Hickey rebuilt, constructing an even bigger hotel and adding a dining hall. They reopened in 1901. This new hotel had these new elements that were these types of grotesques but they were thought to represent local politicians, kinda like caricatures. In 1907, Hickey bought out Burke and renamed the hotel, Hotel St. Michael. He sold to Ed Shumate who sold to John Duke. Duke made several upgrades like telephones in the rooms and installing an elevator, the first in Prescott. Famous people who stayed here include Tex Ritter, Teddy Roosevelt and Barry Goldwater. Today, the hotel has added Fire & Sword, a new iteration of the hotel's original speakeasy on Whiskey Row. The speakeasy has a copper ceiling and original bricks and serves up craft cocktails. There is also the Bistro St. Michael that serves up comfort food and refreshing drinks. Guests claim to hear whispers and strange knocks, especially on the third floor. Lights also go on and off on their own. 

A guest staying in Room 325 was visited by a ghost named Mary. Mary was dressed in a period dress with a bustle skirt and corset. Other guests have seen her too and people have taken to calling her the "Lady of the Night." There have also been reports of the scent of cigars and perfume in rooms. At least 3 females have died here and 29 males. One of those males was John Opie who was shot and killed with a rifle. Another man unalived himself in 1935 by drinking cyanide.

Parker Anderson and Darlene Wilson write in their book Haunted Prescott, "Another story is about a couple who went for a weekend trip to Prescott, where they stayed at the Hotel St. Michael. They sat on the bed to watch TV. The man had his feet dangling off the end of the bed, and all of a sudden, he sat right up. He said that something cold had passed by his foot, and his foot was still tingling. Later that night, they were heading out, walking down the empty hallway, and they could smell the strong odor of a woman’s perfume. It was an old type of perfume, something the lady’s grandmother would have worn, like powdery lilac. In the middle of the night, the man woke up and said that, as clear as day, he heard a woman say, 'Show your face.' It sounded like it came from the end of his bed. He said that it wasn’t scary—almost playful, actually. Another couple reported that they stayed in room 228. They checked in at 6:00 p.m., and around 7:00 p.m., there was a knock on their door. He got up to open the door, but before he got there, a young lady opened it instead. She asked if there was a certain person in their room. They said that this person was not in their room. At that point, she closed the door. Jeff opened it immediately and looked down the hall, but she was gone. When they went downstairs shortly after that, they notified the lobby clerk that someone had tried to come in their room. The clerk in the lobby said that it was not possible since they had the only key. When they went back up to their room, the window was wide open, and the air conditioner was set at fifty-five degrees. It was the middle of January and freezing outside." 

Matt's Saloon

Matt's Longhorn Saloon is one of Prescott's last true Honky Tonks. The saloon is located at 112 South Montezuma and the building is officially known as the D. Levy Building. The name is in honor of the D. Levy & Company General Merchandise store that opened here in 1901 after the Great Fire destroyed a previous structure. 

This remained a mercantile until 1934. By this time, Prohibition had ended, so the building reopened as a saloon. Matt's Longhorn Saloon would open in the 1960s and has provided live music from country artists like Buck Owens and Waylon Jennings. There is dancing and the decor is mostly mounted game and skulls and there is a twenty-foot bar. Live bands play from the balcony to leave plenty of room for dancing. Steve McQueen hung out here when he was filming a movie in 1971. People claim to see shadow figures here and the apparitions of a Native American spirit and a duster wearing cowboy. An elderly male ghost likes to hang out in the basement and a little girl ghost has been seen in the women's restroom a few times asking for her mommy. Employees have thought she was a real little girl until she disappeared.

The Palace Saloon

The Palace Saloon is probably the most famous historic place in Prescott. This is located at 120 S. Montezuma Street. Historians claim it opened in 1883, but according to D.C. Thorne, his father, D.C. Thorne Sr. opened it in 1868. He wrote, "My father had the distinction of opening in l868, the famous Palace Bar, where the present Palace now stands on Whiskey Row (Montezuma Street)." Thorne did buy Lot 19, on Block 13 in 1867 and he owned it until 1883. 

The truth, however, is that it was opened by Nathan Ellis and Al Whitney. The original palace was burned down by a fire in 1883. The owner at the time, Robert Brow, built the new Palace, determined to make it fire proof by having a stone foundation and brick walls. The roof was made from iron. The interior featured a 20-foot bar with a beautiful back-bar. There were two club rooms and three gaming tables, crowned with three heavy chandeliers. Regular customers were Doc Holliday and the Earps and Prescott's own Buckey O'Neill. Buckey got his nickname because he liked to go up against the odds or buck the tiger in the game of faro. He was born in Missouri and came to Prescott in 1881 to work as a court reporter. He would later become a probate judge, sheriff and owner of the stockman's paper "Hoof and Hor." He was also mayor of Prescott in 1898 and helped sign up men to fight in Cuba during the Spanish American War. Buckey himself  was the captain of A Troop of the United States Volunteer Cavalry in Cuba. He lost his life there at the foot of Kettle Hill on July 1, 1898. O'Neill was the only regimental officer killed from among the Arizona volunteers.
 
The Palace Saloon was refurbished in 1897 and expensive fixtures were added. The owner, Bob Brow, wanted this to be a first-class restaurant and saloon. Just three years later, the Great Fire of 1900 destroyed it. Many of the interior fixtures and the alcohol were saved by residents. The oak bar was carried across the street to the Courthouse Plaza. The liquor made it over there too. The local barber saved his chair and implements and brought them to the plaza. The locals drank as the town burned down and the following day, the barber was doing haircuts in the plaza and gaming and drinking was happening there too. Soon, tin buildings and tents were erected to keep business going while the town was rebuilt. 

Bob Brow was committed to rebuilding, but it would be tough. Ben Belcher and Barney Smith had owned the saloon next door, Cabinet Saloon, and they were in the same predicament. The three men decided to pool their interests and they put up a new building that was second to none. This would be the new Palace Saloon. The Arizona State Inventory of Historic Places says of the saloon, "The Palace Hotel is a two story masonry structure 75 feet wide and 125 feet deep. Construction materials included native grey granite, iron, and pressed ornamental bricks.  An interesting feature of the front facade is the central pediment.  It carries the great seal of the Territory of Arizona and on either side figures of a mountain lion and a bear.  One of each animal had been given to each of the Arizona contingency in the Spanish American War by Robert Brow for use as their mascots." The entrance was made up of massive double doors of solid oak with beautiful frosted plate glass having the words "Palace" lettered in them. The interior was carved oak everywhere, much of it golden oak. The front bar was 24 feet long, made of solid oak with polished cherry top and has the finest French plate glass oval top mirrors. Electric fixtures were added to it. There were women who worked the bar singing and dancing and probably some other things. A glass of beer was five cents. A law passed by Arizona put the kabosh on hostesses and gambling. World War I made things tough and then there was Prohibition. But the Palace managed to survive. The food was great, as was the entertainment, but eventually the place fell into disrepair. Dave and Marilyn Michelson saved it in 1996 when they leased it and restored it. They matched it back to the 1901 look.  

This also happens to be the most haunted location on Whiskey Row. The reason why is that there were murders here. A working girl named Jennie Clark was beaten to death by Fred Glover, her lover, inside the saloon. After beating her, he stomped her as well and this was in front of a bar full of people who did nothing to stop him, including a candidate for sheriff. Glover was sentenced to death but the Governor commuted his sentence to life in prison and he was eventually released in 1890 and disappeared. Bar employees claim that they’ve had the stays pulled out of their corset uniforms and the female workers have been attacked in the bathroom. People believe that both Jennie and Glover haunt the Palace.

Parker Anderson and Darlene Wilson share in Haunted Prescott, "The owner had a beautiful porcelain mannequin dressed in period clothing at the top of the stairs. Located upstairs are the offices of the owner and partner now, but this used to be where two 'ladies of the night' had their rooms. One day, the owner came into work and found the porcelain mannequin shattered on the floor below the stairs, having fallen over the railing. So he went out and bought “Annie,” the mannequin seen now at the top of the stairs. Time passes, and the owner came to work to find that Annie had been turned completely around; he thought people were playing a joke on him, so he installed cameras. Time went by, and he came to work and noticed that Annie had been moved again, but this time her head was turned, as if watching the patrons below. The owner went through his surveillance video and saw Annie moving and her head turning, but no one is there moving her—at least no one he can see." 

Ghost Adventures investigated in 2016. The crew captured an EVP saying "Get back." They heard disembodied bootsteps, unexplained bangs and children screaming. Zak felt something touch his hand. The Ovilus gave the following words: "INCLUDE", "ALICE", "MASTER", "PREACH", "JACKIE." The SLS Camera picked up a figure standing next to the bar. Jay felt like something stabbed him in the leg and he also felt pulled back when he went into the crawl space in the basement. 

Closers have had glasses jump off shelves and land on the floor, not breaking. The owner was once nearly hit by a falling brass planter. The apparition of a former mortuary owner named Frank Nevin is seen and it is thought he sticks around here because he lost that mortuary in a poker game to the Sheriff at the time. Bottles and chairs have gone flying across rooms. A group of teachers was waiting on their lunch one day when they suddenly jumped up screaming and ran for the front entrance. Their waiter asked what was wrong and they said the condiments on the buffet had come flying out and were thrown at them. And like so many other places, the women's bathroom is haunted. Stall doors bang on their own and will get rattled when occupied and the person comes out to see they are alone in the bathroom. An employee who had a job that kept her in the basement most of the time, was moved to an upstairs position. She had to go down into the basement for merchandise a couple weeks later and as she climbed the stairs, she felt pain on her chest and stomach. Something had scratched her. This happened another time as well. Employees figured that a spirit in the basement had missed her not being down there and had possibly grabbed her to get her to stay downstairs. 

Whiskey Row has a very interesting history since this was definitely the seedy side of town. Is it possible that some of that previous history has carried over into the present era? Is Whiskey Row haunted? That is for you to decide! 

HGB Ep. 591 - Haunted Sault Ste. Marie

Moment in Oddity - The Effigy of Sarah Hare

There is a most unique effigy that can be found inside the Hare Chapel of Stow Bardolph's Church of the Holy Trinity in the United Kingdom. The effigy is a bust made of wax in the likeness of a 55 year old spinster. She died in 1744 from blood poisoning after pricking her finger on a needle. Her name was Sarah Hare. Her will that was dated August of 1743 stated: 'I desire to have my face and hands made in wax with a piece of crimson satin thrown like a garment in a picture, hair upon my head and put in a case of Mahogany with a glass before and fix’d up so near the place were my corps lyes as it can be with my name and time of Death.' It is believed that Sarah's effigy is dressed in her own clothes and that perhaps the brown curls upon her head are from one of the wigs that she owned. It is unknown whether her replica was created pre or post mortem. Did Sarah Hare have a premonition of her death? It was said that her early demise was punishment for sewing on Sundays which was her habit. Her disturbingly life-like wax effigy is the only one of its kind in England except for those located at Westminster Abbey which certainly makes this unusual bust odd. 

This Month in History - The Birth of George Richard Strauss

In the month of June, on the 11th, in 1864, composer George Richard Strauss was born in Munich, Germany. Richard was a musical child prodigy. His father Franz was a principal French horn player and was renowned for his talent. Franz began Richard's musical education at a young age. Richard began learning the piano at age four and the youngster began to compose his own musical pieces at the mere age of six. Richard may have studied musical theory and composition formally, but it was his father's love of the works of Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert that heavily influenced his musical developement. Franz provided his son with advice, comments and constructive criticism. His father also featured Richard's compositions in performances by the Wilde Gung'l, an amateur orchestra Franz conducted from 1875-1896. When Strauss traveled to Berlin, he learned the art of conducting by observing Hans von Bülow during his orchestral rehearsals. Although Strauss is known for many operas and tone poems, his most widely known operas include Salome, Elektra, and Der Rosenkavalier, and his tone poems titled Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration and An Alpine Symphony. George Richard Strauss's accomplishments are too numerous to detail here. The talented German composer and conductor continued creating new pieces all the way up until a year prior to his death in 1949 at the age of 85.

Haunted Sault Ste. Marie (Soo)

Locals call it "The Soo." Sault Ste. Marie is the name of two cities that sit across the St. Mary's River from each other. One in Michigan and one in Ontario, Canada. For Michigan, this is its oldest city and was established by the French in 1671. The Upper Peninsula almost seems to be in a different world when it comes to the state of Michigan as it is separated from the mainland of the state by not only water, but also the island of Mackinac. The paranormal is strong here. For 16 years, the Michigan ParaCon was held in the Soo and the hosts of that continue to run paranormal events there. That's because there are several haunted locations here. Join us for the history and hauntings of Sault Ste. Marie!

The Upper Peninsula was home for centuries to a variety of indigenous groups. These included the Dakota, Lakota and Nakoda Sioux, also known as the Seven Council Fires. The Ojibwe migrated from the East Coast into the area starting in the 1300s and they pushed out the Sioux. The rapids of St. Mary's River inspired them to call what would become the Soo, Baawitigong, which means "at the cascading rapids." The first Europeans to settle would be the French and they changed the name to Saulteaux (soul toe), which means "rapids" in French, which developed into Saults de Sainte-Marie. (souls de sont marie) The first major structure was a Jesuit mission founded by French missionaries Claude Dablon and Jacques Marquette in 1668. That makes this city one of the oldest in the country. It IS the oldest permanent European settlement in Michigan. In 1671, French officials conducted an elaborate ceremony that proclaimed France's appropriation of the territory around Lake Superior in the name of King Louis XIV. They invited a bunch of tribes to witness this. We're sure they were thrilled. 

The fur trade would take hold in the 18th century through the British-owned North West Company. The most influential European settlers at that time were the Johnstons. John Johnston was a Scots-Irish immigrant from Belfast who came to the Upper Peninsula to fur trade. He arrived in 1790 and after a while, his men abandoned him, so a prominent Ojibwe chief took him in. While there, Johnston noticed the chief had a beautiful daughter. He wanted to marry her, but the chief knew that these European men would abandon their native wives, so he told him to come back the next spring and then he could marry her. So Johnston did just that. Her name was - oh boy, clutch your pearls everybody as we try to pronounce this - Ozhaguscodaywayquay. (Oz hag us coe day way quay) Later she was baptized and took on the Anglicized name Susan Johnston. History would remember her as the Woman of the Green Prairie. The family would gain prominence with all parties in the area including Native Americans, First Nations, and Europeans from both Canada and the United States. The couple would go on to have eight children who learned fluent Ojibwe, English and French. 

Later, the Soo would come under British colonial rule. After the War of 1812, a US–UK Joint Boundary Commission came together to figure out what would be Canadian and what would be American using St. Mary's River. Through this, the United States banned Canadian traders from America. That kind of separation lasted through to the end of the 19th century when American and Canadian communities in Sault Ste. Marie were each incorporated as independent municipalities. The US built Fort Brady in 1822 to help protect the locks. In 1866, this old fort was abandoned and a new one was built upland and completed in 1893. During World War II, the fort was used to train troops in cold weather battle. After the war, the fort became surplus so it was sold to the Michigan College of Mining and Technology. In 1966, Fort Brady became the site of the Lake Superior State College of Michigan Technological University. Today, it's known as Lake Superior State University.

The locks have become a tourist attraction, but also serve a very important purpose. The falls of the river became a choke point for trade through shipping. Ships would have to be portaged around the rapids to get to Lake Superior. This was a long process, so then it was decided to just take the cargo itself around the rapids. So a ship would be unloaded, cargo portaged and loaded back onto another ship. Then it was decided to build a lock. This first American lock was called the State Lock and it opened in 1855. That lock has been expanded over the years and is known as the Soo Locks. The locks move nearly 86 million tons of cargo every year and allow freighters to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. The Canadian side built their own passage way in 1895, the Sault Ste. Marie Canal. The locks at this canal were the first in the world to run on their own power station. The Canadian Pacific Railway came through the city to help bypass the locks as well around 1888. The Canadian Sault Ste. Marie incorporated as a village in 1871. The Michigan side incorporated as a village in 1879. The two cities would join forces during World War II to protect the locks from Nazi attacks. 

The twin cities not only share a history, but they share a haunting reputation. Here are some of the haunted locations on the Michigan side of things:

The Second Childhood & Adults Too Shop

This was a thrift shop that was located at 221 W. Portage Avenue, but is permanently closed now. Portage Avenue got its name from the need for an overland portage around the rapids and is part of the Sault Ste Marie Historic Commercial District, which contains a total of 150 buildings. These are buildings with Italianate, Late Victorian, Richardsonian Romanesque and Commercial Brick styles. This is from the National Register of Historic Places Application, "Sault Ste. Marie was a roaring frontier river
town catering to crowds of sailors, laborers, Indians, and tourists looking for exciting times, and cheap liquor flowed like water. Then in August of 1886, following a hot, dry spell, fire broke out in a pile of wood chips next to a bakery and quickly spread through the wooden structures. When the conflagration was finally put out, most of Water Street lay in charred ruins. Merchants rebuilt, though some relocated to Portage and Ashmun Streets. Exactly a decade later, in August 1896, a gasoline stove in a restaurant blew up. Within hours, the flames, fanned by gale force winds, raced down Water Street consuming nearly every structure on the south side, over- half the businesses in town. That finished Water Street-as the City's commercial center and the businesses moved to Portage and Ashmun Streets. At this point, a narrow thoroughfare known as Plank Alley formerly ran south to Portage Avenue. Lined with saloons and paved with two inch planks, sixteen feet long, it comprised the main route to Water Street in the early days." So that's how Portage Street became a prime spot and clearly fire was an issue in the heart of the city. The original structure that is now the thrift shop is believed to have been built by a sea captain and his family ran a store out of it. That captain's spirit is said to haunt the place and his disembodied footsteps have been heard often on an upper floor. There was a doll dressed as a Christmas caroler that got moved to different locations in the store overnight. 

Palace Saloon

The Palace Saloon is a three-story stone building located at 200 W. Portage Avenue and serves up Mexican and American cuisine. The building was built in 1903 and was originally The Brunswick Hotel. The name came from the bar that was installed. Apparently Brunswick was a company that made pool tables and bars and this was brought in by the railroad. This was a speakeasy during Prohibition. A man named Sam was the first owner to start the Palace Saloon and it passed through his family.This restaurant has activity throughout the building from the basement to the top floor. A full-bodied apparition of a man in black who has a wide brimmed hat has been seen sitting in one of the booths, #3, many times. A lady with a big hat in 1920s attire is seen sitting with him sometimes. Employees said that contractors working in the basement ended up leaving because footsteps walking above them when no one was in the building were so unnerving they couldn't take it. A waitress was so scared when she was there one night and heard lots of footsteps that she actually called the police to come because she thought someone had broken in. And people have been touched on their back. An employee was really spooked after something he couldn't see brushed past him on the stairs. Some people believe that the owner Sam is a spirit here. 

The Hotel Ojibway 

The Hotel Ojibway is said to be the finest building in the city and has stood here since 1927. The hotel sits overlooking the Soo Locks. The hotel originally had and Egyptian architectural style and decor and was a luxury hotel offering the finest in amenities at the time with a barber shop and beauty shop. It opened with a grand gala on New Year's Eve in 1927. The pollen-free air blowing in over Lake Superior brought hay fever sufferers looking for relief. In 1947, a couple who managed the hotel, Leon and Beatrice Deglman, bought the hotel. Leon eventually passed and Beatrice took over managing by herself until her death. Famous people like boxers Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis have stayed here as well as President George H.W. Bush in 1992. Today, the hotel is run by Wyndham and features over 100 guest rooms. There seems to be several spirits here. One of them is the spirit of a tall man wearing a top hat. Guests and employees have reported seeing this full-bodied apparition wandering through the lobby area. He is always very well dressed and some people think he is Leon. The most haunted location is Room 616 and guests see and hear a woman in this room. People believe that this is Beatrice. Other activity includes doors opening on their own and housekeeping gets some help. Rooms are sometimes made up when the maid arrives to turn over the room after a check-out. Guests report their suitcases unpacking themselves. Michigan Paranormal Soul Tribe investigated in 2022 and they said, "During our short Estes Method session at the Ojibway Hotel, we believed we were speaking with a male and female couple. While trying to ask questions about who they were, the man tried to silence the woman by talking over her multiple times."

Antlers Restaurant

The Antlers Bar & Restaurant is located at 804 E. Portage Avenue and is kind of an odd looking building. It looks like it is tall enough to be two stories, but there are only windows at the bottom of the building on the front. On the side of the building there are what look to be windows on the second level, but they are all closed up. It looks as though an addition was added to the other side at some point and this is just one level. The outside is covered in stone. The interior gives a log cabin vibe and has 200 mounted animals. The original name of this location was The Bucket of Blood Saloon and it was built in 1903. During Prohibition, this became a speakeasy and brothel hidden behind the front of an innocent little ice cream parlor. The owners were arrested when the police realized that a lot more money was being made than what an ice cream shop would be pulling for revenue. The history of the restaurant goes back more than four generations. Owners include Tony Rogers, Jack Brulle, Al Lelievere, the Kinneys - who were two cops from Detroit and are the ones to accumulate most of the taxidermy - the Cunninghams and finally the Szabo family who still owns it today. There are thought to be two spirits here who are female. They are not named, but one is believed to have been a lady of the evening who may have been murdered here and the other was either a bartender or waitress. The activity usually involves electronic devices that turn on and off by themselves, like the televisions, and one night the jukebox turned itself on and started playing "The Star Spangled Banner" after the place had shut down for the evening. The spirits also open and close doors, cause the lights to flicker, and sometimes even push unsuspecting visitors on the stairs. A & E featured this location on an episode of "My Ghost Stories" in 2012.

The Satisfied Frog Pub 

The Satisfied Frog was located at 209 W. Portage Avenue, but is permanently closed now. It looks like that happened in March 2025. We're not sure what it is today. The building was built in 1897. Reported activity here includes nickels turning up on a formerly vacant bar. The most well-known spirit here is of a little girl. She has been heard and seen and likes to hang out towards the back of the building. A picture taken several years ago featured a picture of a young woman who had a gnarled, disembodied hand gripping her shoulder, but there was no other woman in the picture. Nobody knows where this hand came from.  

Museum Ship Valley Camp

The Museum Ship Valley Camp is located in the downtown area. The Valley Camp is an actual 550-foot long freighter that worked for 50 years before being parked in the marina and reopened as a museum.  The ship was built in 1917 and never had anything happen aboard it that would lead to haunting activity, but it does have several artifacts on board that could lead to activity. Two lifeboats from the tragic sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald are featured in a display at the museum. The Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship to sink in Lake Superior. Gordon Lightfoot wrote and composed the song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in 1976. Verse 4 goes: 
"When suppertime came the old cook came on deck sayin'
"Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
"Fellas, it's been good to know ya"
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
And Verse 5:
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters   

The bulk carrier got its start when the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin contracted with Great Lakes Engineering Works to make the ship. The keel was laid on August 7, 1957. The name Edmund Fitzgerald comes from the President of Northwestern Mutual at the time. The ship had three central cargo holds and the interior was said to be fairly luxurious with deep pile carpeting, tiled bathrooms, drapes over the portholes, and leather swivel chairs in the guest lounge. Passengers had two guest staterooms to choose from. Even the crew quarters were nicer than most ships with air conditioning and a large galley and fully stocked pantry. The pilothouse was outfitted with "state-of-the-art nautical equipment and a beautiful map room." On the day before the sinking, November 9, 1975, the Fitzgerald was carrying a full cargo of taconite ore pellets. She embarked from Superior, Wisconsin and was heading to a steel mill near Detroit. A severe storm blew up the next day with near-hurricane-force winds. This caused larged waves that reached as much as 35 feet high. The Fitzgerald began to sink a little after 7pm near the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and she sent out the message, "I have a bad list, lost both radars. And am taking heavy seas over the deck. One of the worst seas I've ever been in." This didn't include a distress signal. The Captain of the Fitzgerald, Ernest M. McSorley, sent one last message that read, "We are holding our own." But they were not. All 29 crew members perished. No bodies would ever be recovered and the cause of the sinking was never known. Those who have studied the wreck have reasoned that maybe she was just swamped too much or ran aground on a shoal or a combination of things. Many new regulations were put in place after the sinking. 

Visitors and investigators have reported hearing coughing sounds and have seen shadowy figures along the decks of the Valley Camp at night. Maranda Crawford, the Sault Historic Sites Office Manager, recalled in an article by UP Matters, "One time I was up in one of the coal passer’s bedrooms and it was before we were open for the season, we were cleaning the room and stuff, and one of the lights was blinking. So, I unscrewed it and set it on the bed and not touching anything on the bed, it lit up and went out and I have never been back in the room since." Tim Ellis of the Upper Peninsula Paranormal Research Society told the Course of Horror Blog, "Over the years we have had the chance to investigate the Valley Camp and during those times witnessed a number of weird and unexplainable things.  We have witnessed what are known as shadow figures twice on the ship.  Once in the theater room walking back and forth, and the other in the galley area where the workers would have eaten their meals.  It was standing in the doorway and then gone as fast as we saw it.  One member had a piece of coal thrown at him in the coal room area, when no one was behind him that could have thrown it.  But our biggest catch there was the Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) we captured.  Two of our people were down in the coal room area asking questions and doing an audio recording.  On playback you hear a cough in the background and you hear one of our guys say….”Did you hear that?  Some just Coughed.”  Then the other person says, “or it sounded like someone coughing.”  And just as she is saying that, we captured a male voice saying right over the top of her words, 'I am coughing.'" 

Haunted House 

Jade wrote about a home that she lived at located at 408 Dillion Street, "I no longer live in the home but after moving out all of my family slowly started to let out strange things that happened to us while we stayed there. My brother had the most experiences, one where he was even carried downstairs in the night by something he could not see. He also saw what he thought to be a soldier in the basement while he was sleeping and heard his name being called out from the basement multiple times. I myself never saw anything but I always had the feeling of being followed or watched when I was in the basement or in the kitchen (specifically if the door to the basement was open) We also since moving in had seen lights flicker and dim for no reason and experienced it still until the day we left. I have heard from many friends and people I knew that the house is indeed haunted and is known to be. I have never been able to find any history on what could possibly be residing in the home and as I no longer live there i can not find an investigator to help. But if there is any information about this house that would be helpful my family and I would very much appreciate it."

Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario has its haunted locations as well. Paranormal Survivor shared a story in Episode 3 of Season 2 about a psychic who used a Ouija board in her home with a group of friends and unleashed nightly shadow figures and one of her friends started speaking in a strange tongue. She even claimed that spirits dueled on her lawn. The psychic told "The Sault Star" that it was the scariest experience of her life. There are haunted locations here too. 

Windsor Park Hotel in Ontario

The Windsor Hotel on Queen Street was built in 1895 by the architects Findlay and Foulis. The hotel was expanded in 1919 and again in 1931. That addition raised the hotel to nine stories and made this the tallest building in the city until 1974. This was a luxury hotel until bankruptcy shuddered its doors in 1996. Dr. Lou Lukenda bought the building and opened it as the Windsor Park Retirement Residence. In 2010, Algoma University bought the building to use as a student residence, which they had to sell for a bargain in 2015 because of declining enrollment and a tight budget. This next owner restored the building to be used as senior residences again. An anonymous woman wrote, "About nine year's ago a friend of mine and her mom were working there as maids. They got me, my sister and my mom jobs there as maid's. I was told about the hotel's history my first day working there, but like most people, didn't believe it at first. As part of the job, we had to push large metal stands full of sheets and towels and cleaning stuff. My first day on the job, I was told about the second and fourth floor of this hotel. The second floor had one large suite called the Victoria Room that was used for large meetings. It was said that a young woman was killed in there and that her spirit never left. I was told that no matter how hard the hotel tried to rent that floor out, no one would stay on it. The 4th floor was famous for a ghost everyone called Joe. I was told shortly after the hotel was built that he had stayed on the 4th floor and died from a gas leak in his room. I was also told you could tell when he was nearby because you would be able to smell heavy cigar smoke and hear whistling whether it was on the floor or in the room or in the elevator. Once again I didn't believe it. My first shift I had to clean the fourth floor. There were only four rooms on that floor and not one guest in any of them. In all the time that I worked there, I had cleaned the room where Joe died. I had experienced the heavy cigar smoke, the whistling and once I couldn't get the door to open even though it was not locked and there were no other people on that floor. When I finally got ready to leave, I was told everyone that worked there went thought the same thing I had. And that it was very rare when someone agreed to take a room on the 4th floor. The elevator also sometimes has a mind of its own and goes to the 4th and 5th floors on its own. A security guard who worked here in 2015 when the building served as an Algoma University residence, claimed that the fifth floor gave him the feeling that an eerie presence was there at times and he even said that a CCTV camera caught a flash of a fast-moving incandescent person.

The Algonquin Hotel

The Algonquin Hotel is located at 864 Queen Street East and was built in 1888 by local politician and businessman William H. Plummer. This is the only large hotel from the Victorian era that survives in the city. The hotel stands four-stories and the architecture features a central tower with a conical roof and was designed by architect J.B. Sweatts. This is a smaller hotel with only nine rooms. Ghost lore connected to the hotel claimed that a young man died in a fire on the third floor and that his spirit still wanders the building, mainly the basement. He sometimes appears on the top floor as well. Pilar Fiser, who has worked at the Algonquin since 2009, told the Penticton Herald in 2024 that she had "an unexplainable incident that occurred while the bar was closed due to COVID. Around 3 a.m., the alarm — designed to trigger only when something significant activates it — rang out. Upon checking, she found that all the doors to the bar were securely locked and there was no one inside, prompting her to review the security footage. The footage revealed something white moving back and forth in the bar. 'It was like a – I don’t know how to describe it – almost like a hollow,' said Fiser. 'It was nothing from outside, no light coming in through the windows.'" Fiser also said that she sometimes feels a presence in the basement and she thinks that it is a lost soul, but a good one. 

Sault Ste. Marie Canal

The Sault Ste Marie Canal we mentioned earlier was designated a National Historic Site in 1987 and this includes all the buildings that go with the canal, many of which were constructed from red sandstone excavated during the construction of the canal. In 1897, the Superintendent’s Residence was built. Also added was the powerhouse, the Administration Building, the Canalmen’s Shelter and Stores Building. The website Northern Ontario Travel reports about the canal, "The Superintendent’s Residence and Administration Building are both known as a hub of paranormal activity. The ghost of a young girl, in a frilly dress and with a cute-as-a-button smile, has been seen within both. Sometimes she giggles and disappears, other times she is a silent witness to a world that is no longer her own. Some have reported hearing a crying child, the sound so despondent that it rends the heart. Ghost hunters and lovers of the paranormal can visit, if they dare."  

An anonymous person shared, "A place where I lived from age 5-6 was on Wallace Terrace here in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. We lived in the upstairs apartment, which had a long stair case on the back roof that lead to the ground and one inside the apartment that lead to the front door and one small apartment downstairs. My mother used to tell me I would tell her of people in the closet crying. Later she said she had heard that a man had killed his two small children in my closet and then killed himself in there. I had lived in this place again many years later and I moved out not too long after moving back in. This place has now been turned into four apartment all in the same house.

The twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie harbor history and quite possibly some spirits. Is Sault Ste. Marie haunted? That is for you to decide!