Stone’s Public House was previously known as the Railroad House. The original owner, John Stone, had the building built in 1834 and named it after his own business, the Railroad House. Stone was fairly known throughout the area, but just a few short years later he became even more well known.
Stone’s Public House was in the small town of Unionville, and when the railroad announced their plans to move into the area, Stone was the first to take advantage of the situation. He had the building built to serve as a hotel for those traveling along the railroad. By the end of the year his hotel was up and running, and had become quite successful.
In 1836 Stone turned over the building to another man who continued to operate the hotel. According to reports, Stone leased the hotel to several different operators, but continued to live on the property with his family in a private home until 1858. The hotel itself was officially sold in 1868.
Stone’s Public House/Railroad House began falling apart throughout the years. It slowly turned into a place that no one wanted to stay at, rather than a gorgeous hotel. In 1976 a man by the name of Leonard Fournier purchased the building, and worked to rehabilitate it into something magnificent.
Fournier was the first to notice that something was amiss in the old building. He noticed that lights seemed to turn on and off on their own, and doors would pop open even when they had previously been locked. Ghost hunters quickly flocked to the area, and nearly every single one claimed to sense spirits, or have a paranormal experience.
These spiritualists and ghost hunters reported finding several spirits in the Railroad House. Many also claimed to feel a presence in the back of an upstairs room. Most of those who felt someone there, had no indication of what others felt or thought. One psychic even claimed to have identified one of the resident ghosts: a former patron by the name of Burt Phillips. The psychic claimed that Phillips was a drunk who died there during the later part of the 19th century.
Psychics are far from the only people to have an unusual experience at Stone’s Public House. Employees there have also had some odd experiences. Workers have felt someone staring at them, saw birdseed drp from the ceiling, and felt hands touching them. Guests there have also felt someone touch them, when no one else was in the room. Those who work in the bar area also claim to have seen the water turn on, all by itself.
Another psychic who visited the site in the 1980’s claimed to have found at least six different spirits in Stone’s Public House. He claimed to have contacted Sadie, the ghost of a former chambermaid. The spirit told him that Stone himself had murdered a boarder for cheating during a card game in 1845.
According to the legend, the boarder was a man named Mike McPherson from New York. McPherson entered into a poker game hidden upstairs. After winning several hands, the locals insisted that he must have cheated. Records have shown that this actually happened to a lodger, but also states that locals were told to leave him in the back of the building, not murder him. The psychic claimed that Stone coerced other men into hiding the body in the basement.
The psychic even claimed that he made Stone’s ghost enter the body of another man. While in his body, Stone’s ghost apparently screamed at those in the room, but did little to prove he was the man’s spirit. This psychic says that the ghosts of Stone’s Public House are the spirits of those workers who helped hide the body, Sadie included as well as the ill fated lodger.
There is also the ghost of a small girl who haunts Stone’s Public House. Visitors and guests have seen her in windows on the second floor, and in the kitchen windows. Some claim she is connected to a blood soaked dress in the attic. Many believe she is the ghost of a ten year old girl who was killed by a train during the 1860’s.
The story says that the girl was playing near the railroad tracks next to the hotel when she was hit by the train. Hotel workers and guests brought her inside, but she perished before the doctor could arrive. Somehow her dress ended up in the attic, even though her body was moved.
This place has long been rumored to be haunted, yet some believe that is more the atmosphere of the building than any real ghosts that scare visitors. After visiting the site, it’s easy why some people would feel this way. Along the second floor you will find antique portraits, full of eyes that stay focused on you. The building itself has an older feeling to it, same as any old building. Adding to that are the stories of a secret room.
According to local legend, workers found this hidden room when rehabing the building. Most people believe this is proof that the house was once part of the Underground Railroad. If it was, it seems as though it would have been hard to hide it from later operators of the hotel. In addition, some believe that there are hidden tunnels in front of the inn, so that railroad workers could move from the track to hotel without being seen. In all likelihood, this secret room is probably just the remains of an older building that once stood there, possibly staff quarters.
I’m sure that many people have had odd and unusual experiences here, but I find many of the stories hard to believe, particularly those involving the psychic. I think that if John Stone was still around, he would have better things to do than possess someone else’s body for a few minutes. Maybe someone who was there when it happened, has their own opinion.
Sources:
http://www.stonespublichouse.com/
http://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2005/resources_01232005.shtml
