Our haunted vacations: Jefferson Historic Hotel

3/8/2013 to 3/10/2013

The Jefferson Hotel124 W. Austin Street

Jefferson, Texas 75657

903-665-2631866-33HOTEL (866-334-6835)Fax : 903-665-6222124austin@sbcglobal.net

IEF HISTORY OF THE JEFFERSON HOTEL

At a time when steamboats plied the Big Cypress River from New Orleans and true Southern gentility was the order of the day a stately structure, now known as the Jefferson Hotel, was built. Once used as a warehouse to store cotton, this lovely building changed hands numerous times. At the turn of the twentieth century it was transformed into a hotel and has served as a haven for weary travelers since that time.

As you walk down the hallways and peer into each room, you'll get a sense of the comfort afforded Southern Belles and genteel men in days gone by. Close your eyes and you'll hear the rustle of long petticoats, the whistles of steamboats entering port, and riverboat gamblers trying their fortune.

Once known as the Crystal Palace in the 1920's, ragtime music

rang through these halls as couples swirled around the room.

Each room boasts its own theme and decor, all with antique furnishings.

Another addition to this lovely hotel are its local hauntings. Many a guest has regaled the hotel staff with stories of sights and sounds heard and seen in the night.

Whatever your pleasure, be our guest and settle in for a journey through time when 'the living was easy' and the era was golden.

Our evidence

Other Jefferson haunts

The Grove

The Grove (also known as the Stilley-Young House), located in Jefferson, Texas, is an 1861 historic home that is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, and is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. The house has also been called the most haunted place in Texas. The Grove’s history dates back to the 19th century, when the property was purchased and the house that became known as “The Grove” was built. The Grove has been featured in the television series, "If Walls Could Talk" on the cable channelHGTV^[2] and was chosen “as one of the top twelve most haunted houses in America”^[3] by “This Old House.” The Grove was also named as one of the "eight scariest places in Texas" by "Texas Monthly" magazine.^[4] The house was also shown in "William Shatner's Weird or What?" in 2012.^[5] Additionally, The Grove was featured on "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!"^[6] Texas Highways magazine has featured The Grove several times, including their articles "Haunted Places in Texas" from October 1997^[7] and "Haunted Jefferson" from October 2008.^[8]

One of the things about The Grove is that it has a reputation for being haunted. The ghost stories go back through many owners - Miss Louise Young, who lived in the house from the early 1900s until her death in the 1980s used to tell her friends about the "haints" that occupied the house with her. Somewhere along the way, though, the fun little ghost stories took a dark turn. In her later years, she was terrified of the spirits. She had a security light installed in the garden because she would see people outside walking around, who disappeared when she turned on the porch light. She called the police several times a week in her later years to report that someone was in the house with her, but the officers never found anyone else there. Finally, she moved into just a few rooms of the house, letting the rest of the place start to deteriorate.

Long before then, back in 1882, The Grove was sold to a man named T.C. Burke. He moved his family in, and they moved right back out, with the only explanation being that, "They couldn't live in that house!"

The Grove is featured on the cover of "A Texas Guide To Haunted Restaurants, Taverns, and Inns" by Robert and Anne Wlodarski. There are also stories about The Grove in the books: "Best Tales of Texas Ghosts" by Docia Schultz Williams, "Haunted Texas Vacations : The Complete Ghostly Guide" by Lisa Farwell, "Haunted Encounters: Real-Life Stories of Supernatural Experiences" from Atriad Press, "Ghosts of East Texas and the Pineywoods" by Mitchel Whitington, "A Ghost in My Suitcase: A Guide to Haunted Travel in America" by Mitchel Whitington, and "A Visitor's Guide to Texas" by Connie Sherley.The Grove ghosts have been described in "Texas Highways" magazine, "GMC Magazine", "The Dallas Morning News", "The Fort Worth Star-Telegram", "The Marshall News Messenger", "The Carthaginian", "The Kilgore News Herald", "The Austin-American Statesman", "Discover Texas" magazine, and probably several more that we haven't heard of yet. If you've seen The Grove written up somewhere else, please send us an e-mail!

Here are a few of the ghost stories from The Grove:

When the Grove family owned the property (the name is just a coincidence), Mrs. Grove reportedly brought a Bible to bed with the intention of praying for her and her husband, but she fell asleep. She awakened to a black swirling mass engulfing the bedroom. There were also unexplained voices, disembodied footsteps, sounds of objects being moved by unseen hands, and apparitions.
Sudden odors have appeared in rooms: the scent of a woman's perfume, or the smell of body odor, as if someone hasn't bathed for a long time.
When Patrick Hopkins, the former owner, was getting the restaurant ready to open, a lady dressed in white walked down the hallway, and into the ladies' powder room.
Heavy mirrors have fallen off the wall without explanation, and have landed without breaking or crushing the objects beneath them.
During its restaurant years, a waitress walked out of the kitchen into the hallway and was attacked by a black and white dog that knocked her to the ground. After quickly regaining her composure, she ran back into the kitchen, screaming for help. Patrick Hopkins searched the building and yard - there was no dog to be found. It simply had vanished.
During a Candlelight Tour, a couple visiting from Dallas took a picture of the Christmas lights on the neighbor's house to the east of The Grove. Their photo showed the Christmas lights in the foreground. In the background was a lady in a high-collared, puff sleeved white dressed surrounded by a ring of smoke.
While rehearsing a dinner theater, a light technician was on the front porch looking through the window. Suddenly she felt someone staring at her so she quickly glanced to the right. Standing on the east side of the house by the porch was a lady in white who began walking behind the east side of the house. Chasing the eerie-looking woman, the girl turned the corner of the house, and the woman had vanished. Ironically, at one time there was a door on that side of the house leading into the Blue Room.
On that same rehearsal night, the actress portraying the heroine came down the stairs. When she reached the bottom step she glanced to her right and saw a person in costume she was not familiar with, standing in the corner. When she began to ask the lady something, the woman disappeared.
Wet footprints have appeared in the middle of the hallway, even though it wasn't raining outside and there were no plumbing leaks. Drops of water have been found on the staircase, and on one particular mirror in the house, all when the atmosphere was dry.
A neighbor lady told a former owner, "Let me tell you what my sister and I have seen recently. My sister was standing on our porch one night around 9 o'clock when she called me out to see a glowing white figure across the street. She looked like she was inspecting the renovation of an old building. The figure came from the east side of The Grove!" She and her sister had witnessed this several nights in a row.
A renter lived in the garden cottage at one time, and he looked out its window to see a little girl playing out among the flowers. He went outside, and she looked at him, then disappeared.
A shadow-figure has been seen in the garden many times - striding quickly across it, or simply just hanging around.
Lights go on and off in the house, and the chandeliers have reported to sway, even with the absence of moving air in the room

And if you'd like to read the account of a night spent in The Grove back when it was a restaurant, visit Melodie's "One Haunted Night - A True Story"webpage.

The best way to stay abreast of the latest ghostly-goings on at The Grove is to check our ezine archives, and then sign up for our FREE monthly ezine where we tell the latest tales!

Experience electronic voice phenomena (EVP)recorded at the grove by clicking here!

You won't get the staff to addmint it but this hotel is very

haunted

The Excelsior House welcomes you as it has welcomed travelers since the late 1850's. Famous people registered at the Excelsior House include Ulysses S. Grant, Oscar Wilde, Rutherford B. Hayes and Lady Bird Johnson to name a few.

Southern charm graces this historic hotel with rich rosewood, cherry, and mahogany furnishings, Constructed of brick and timber, with lacy iron work gallery, The Excelsior House has become an antique lover's delight.

Today, with the beautifully appointed ballroom and dining room and the manicured grounds, the hotel excels in elegance and taste, including the well known Orange Blossom Muffins served daily at breakfast.