Haunted Pubs of New England Read online

  Published by Haunted America

  A Division of The History Press

  Charleston, SC 29403

  www.historypress.net

  Copyright © 2007 by Roxie J. Zwicker

  All rights reserved

  Cover design: Marshall Hudson

  All images courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted.

  First published 2007

  Second printing 2009

  Third printing 2011

  Fourth printing 2013

  e-book edition 2013

  Manufactured in the United States

  ISBN 978.1.62584.411.8

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Zwicker, Roxie J.

  Haunted pubs of New England : raising spirits of the past / Roxie Zwicker.

  p. cm.

  Includes bibliographical references.

  print edition ISBN 978-1-59629-281-9 (alk. paper)

  1. Bars (Drinking establishments)--New England. I. Title.

  BF1472.U6Z96 2007

  133.1’22--dc22

  2007026557

  Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  To my husband, Ken, thank you for sharing these experiences with me and for just being you.

  To my daughter, Miss Autumn Rose, thank you for your patience, hugs, smiles and love.

  I love you both.

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgements

  Preface

  Introduction

  CONNECTICUT

  The Pettibone Tavern, Simsbury

  MAINE

  The Captain Lindsey House, Rockland

  The Coach Stop Inn, Bar Harbor

  The Jameson Tavern, Freeport

  MASSACHUSETTS

  Blanchard’s Tavern, Avon

  Sun Tavern, Duxbury

  The Kimball Tavern, Bradford

  John Stone Tavern, Ashland

  Old Yarmouth Inn & Tavern, Yarmouthport

  Squire Doane Tavern, Yarmouthport

  Crocker Tavern, Barnstable

  The Duck Creeke Tavern, Wellfleet

  NEW HAMPSHIRE

  The Firehall Pub, Derry

  Hannah Jack’s, Merrimack

  Molly Malone’s, Portsmouth

  Country Tavern, Nashua

  Blaser’s Fireside Tavern, Hopkinton

  Ffrost Sawyer Tavern, Durham

  RHODE ISLAND

  Stagecoach Inn & Tavern, Chepachet

  The White Horse Tavern, Newport

  VERMONT

  Old Stagecoach Inn and Tavern, Waterbury

  The Norwich Inn, Norwich

  A TALE OF TWO TAVERNS

  Resources

  Bibliography

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Special thanks to Dee Ann Hassen and Christopher Bashaw. Thanks for being our road trip copilots and companions on this journey. And to my number one fan, Jen Murphy-Aubin, thanks for always being there.

  PREFACE

  You are about to take a journey into the fascinating history and legacy of New England’s historic taverns and pubs. To understand the significance and role of these taverns and pubs, I thought it was important for you to learn a little about each community and its residents, so I have provided brief background on the history of each city and town. Each location is truly unique, and every tavern or pub leaves an impression on visitors and locals alike.

  Visiting these locations has made for many memorable road trips throughout New England. No matter the season, the scenery was always beautiful, in seaport towns or quaint little villages. No matter the number of miles driven or hours spent driving, it was a real treat to arrive with camera and notebook in hand, knowing I was about to document intriguing history. Some places I visited for the very first time while others were regular haunts of mine, places where I dropped by as frequently as the ghosts did. It was wonderful to see how the communities evolved over the years and to see how the taverns have been part of that evolution. From affluent communities to working-class towns, there were some taverns still operating after countless years and others that have been transformed into lovely inns or private homes. A few taverns have seen dark days where lives were lost or locations were neglected and nearly forgotten for a period of time.

  There have been varying attitudes about the legacies of the taverns covered in this book. Some people I’ve met have been happy to share their stories and encounters—many for the first time—while others have been less than forthcoming about their haunted histories. However, I feel that it doesn’t matter if you’re being served your dinner on a white linen tablecloth or a well-worn wooden table. There is no denying the fascinating history that has been established at each place over the years. Certainly I don’t expect everyone to believe in paranormal activity or the existence of ghosts, but each of these locations has a background that lends itself to the telling of haunted tales.

  I have tried to include food and drink recommendations whenever possible, because I know that picking up a menu at a place you’ve never tried can sometimes be a little bit daunting, especially when there are a large number of selections available. Signature dishes and drinks have been sampled to provide you with a few ideas. Local points of interest have been carefully selected for inclusion in some chapters.

  My hope for you, reader, is that you will let this book be your guide through the mysteries of each of these taverns. Whether you decide to jump in your car and use this book as your traveling itinerary or whether you let the words and images in this book transport your mind, be prepared for your journey. I’ve written this book to show the true character—and characters—of New England’s historic pubs and taverns, their ghosts and their captivating histories. You will soon see that some stories are deeply emotional and others are lighthearted and playful, but all are memorable and need to be told.

  Find a comfortable chair, a frosty beverage and an illuminating light and the stories will work their charms. By reading these stories you are taking a role in keeping the history and the legends of New England’s remarkable taverns alive, and these taverns have spirited tales to share with you. Enjoy!

  INTRODUCTION

  Taverns in early New England were part of everyday life for the growing cities and towns. They served not only as a place to regulate the sale of alcohol to the community, but also as meetinghouses and country stores. Some accounts state that taverns were just as important to the community as they were to travelers. Taverns were also called public houses and ordinaries. In 1644, the Colonial Records of Connecticut ordered “one sufficient inhabitant” in each town to keep an ordinary. In 1656, the General Court of Massachusetts made towns liable to a fine for not sustaining an ordinary.

  The taverns offered the opportunity to hear news from other communities, as the latest newspapers and notices were posted in the taverns. In addition, stage drivers often brought news and stories from some of the larger cities in the growing nation.

  Many taverns had ballrooms or dance halls for socializing, while others cleared chairs away for music and merriment. Music was very important in taverns. In some New England taverns you would find a fiddler’s throne, a raised platform where the performer could be seen by the audience. If a professional musician was not available, visitors performed their own music and stories for their amusement.
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  Meals at taverns were family affairs. Entire families were responsible for the operation and maintenance of these busy places. The tavern keeper and his family typically lived on site and all members of the family were assigned tasks that were vital in keeping the tavern operational. The tavern keeper’s wife was typically the cook and had the overall responsibility for food preparation and housekeeping. Most taverns also manufactured their own varieties of ale. If children were old enough, sons managed the stable and cared for the horses while daughters waited on tables and made the beds. Otherwise, tavern keepers had to find help and bring workers to live in the household.

  Grog was a common and cheap eighteenth-century drink served at some taverns. It was made of rum and water and was invented by a ship’s captain to water down sailors’ daily liquor ration in hopes of ending drunken brawls. Grog has actually translated to a common saying today. One who consumes too many spirits may appear “groggy,” or mildly intoxicated. Also, a “rule of thumb” is a way to accomplish a task based on experience, rather than by theory or careful calculation. A Colonial brewer (without a thermometer) would dip his thumb into the brew to determine when the liquid was the right temperature for serving.

  The rooms in taverns were just basic sleeping areas. In the interest of space, several strangers often slept in the same room. Some rooms were divided into several small chambers for travelers. The rooms were mostly empty and there were simple beds. Some of the more upscale taverns offered a small table with basin, pitcher and towel for washing.

  Tavern barrooms were very basic. The walls often displayed an assortment of messages, advertisements and legal notices—placards of stage routes, woodcuts of enormous stallions in prancing attitudes and notices of sheriff’s sales. For modern-day travelers and diners, a stay at a New England tavern could be an experience both fascinating and distinctly uncomfortable. There are often interesting people traveling from location to location, including traveling phrenologists (who read the bumps on the skull to tell the future), magicians or the occasional snake oil salesman. In some taverns there were cramped quarters, scanty furnishings upstairs, dim illumination at night, (depending on how many candles were on hand), smoky fireplaces and sometimes a rowdy crowd in the taproom.

  Views of drinking were quite different in early America. Tavern owners enjoyed higher social status than did the clergy during part of the Colonial period. During the Colonial period, alcohol abstainers had to pay life insurance company rates 10 percent higher than those of drinkers. Religious services and court sessions were often held in the major taverns of Colonial American towns. In fact, the Colonial army supplied its troops with a daily ration of four ounces of either rum or whiskey, some of which was obtained from the local tavern.

  The role that taverns played in the American Revolution is undeniable, both on the side of the Revolutionaries and the British Loyalists. Many important decisions were made over mugs of ale, and many famous people in history visited and stayed at New England taverns.

  With the variety of people passing through the doors and the unique histories of each location, it should come as no surprise that these taverns have yielded quite a number of ghost stories. Some of the spirits relate directly to the tavern owners while others are of frequent patrons, and still some have yet to be identified. From the scenic shores of Cape Cod to the mountain valleys of Vermont, let us open the doors to the past and see what we can find.

  CONNECTICUT

  THE PETTIBONE TAVERN, SIMSBURY

  Just a short drive northwest of Hartford, Connecticut, is the town of Simsbury. Originally called the Massacoh Plantation, named after the Massacoe, the settlement was incorporated in 1670 as Simsbury. In 1676, a Native American named Metacom, known to the English as King Philip, led a group of his warriors into the village and burned everything to the ground. It is said that he sat in the large cave on Talcott Mountain to watch the total destruction of the town. Today this mountain range is known as the Metacomet Range.

  In 1705, a copper mine was discovered in Simsbury. It later served as the infamous New Gate Prison during the American Revolution, at which time one thousand Simsbury residents served on the side of the Revolutionaries, and one hundred of those fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

  I visited the Pettibone Tavern on an early spring day, and it was more than I could have possibly expected. The tavern wasn’t open for about another two hours when I arrived, but I decided to knock on the locked door and was greeted by two very friendly general managers, Richard Korfel and Eamonn Murphy, who offered to give me the grand tour and the definitive history.

  Literally located at a crossroads, the tavern’s significance during stagecoach days is easily imagined. Built in 1780, the tavern was the first stop outside of Hartford on the Boston to Albany Turnpike. Built for Jonathon Pettibone Jr., who was a son of a patriot killed in New York in 1776, the tavern played an important role for those fighting for their independence. The Pettibone Tavern was a meeting place to exchange news of the war and Captain Noah Phelps, one of the town’s most famous residents, used the tavern as a rendezvous with Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys. His spying on enemy forces led to the bloodless capture of Fort Ticonderoga.

  Pettibone Tavern in Simsbury, Connecticut, has rooms full of history and ghosts.

  It has also been said that George Washington stayed at the Pettibone Tavern. In fact, he and the tavern are linked in documentation of a Supreme Court case regarding the housing of troops. In John Adams’s memoirs, he wrote that he preferred the Albany Turnpike to the Boston Post Road that runs along the shoreline of Connecticut.

  The village was under attack by the Native Americans in 1800, and everything in sight was burned once again. All that remained of the tavern was the foundation. The tavern was rebuilt three years after the attack. Charred oak timbers are still visible in the basement of the building. Also in the basement is a small room made from brick and fieldstones, complete with a little window. The room was used as part of the Underground Railroad, and it was connected to a tunnel that connects to the old red Colonial home across the street.

  Of course there were also the legends of the tavern, and Pettibone’s did not lack fantastic tales. One of the most popular stories was about Abagail Pettibone. While her husband was away on sailing expeditions she regularly made sure that the tavern guests were well taken care of—sometimes a little too well taken care of. As it was, Abagail was caught in the act with one of the local men when her husband returned early from a whaling trip. It is said that in a complete fit of rage the sailor used an axe on both of them. Abagail was beheaded. Everything Abagail owned, including her clothes, was burned in a large pyre just outside the tavern. Notice the portrait behind the reception desk in the foyer of the tavern; it is a painting of a young Abigail and her mother. Take a close look and you’ll notice the large oval cutout in the canvas. Abigail’s likeness was completely cut out of the painting at one point, leaving a large hole in the picture. The family felt disgraced by her reputation and the murder in their home. In 1973 during a remodel, a rolled-up piece of canvas was found in the attic. It was the painting, the cutout portion of which was found in the basement. The pieces were finally assembled and put back together after 150 years.

  There is a small yellow room near the reception desk. It looks rather simple and plain except for the half door, which seems out of place. I was told that the closet in the room was used for storing dead bodies, and the rest of the room was used for wakes. The bottom half of the door was closed, and the mourners leaned into the room to view the bodies.

  I couldn’t wait to see what was downstairs in the basement. Peepholes in the wooden beams were used as lookout holes during the time the basement was used for the Underground Railroad. The numerous holes were plugged, but I could easily understand the role of the tavern. The actual room looked a bit creepy, and it was definitely unsettling to see that it was filled with a fair amount of sand from the devastating flood of 1955. As I stepped back from
taking pictures in the room, a tiny field mouse stumbled past my foot. I don’t know who was more scared—him or me!

  Speaking of scared—when I was told the ghost stories relating to the tavern, I couldn’t believe how utterly strange some of the tales were. The incredible number of encounters, photographs and investigations that were part of the tavern’s unwritten history was quite surprising. I was told that one morning a bottle of wine was discovered standing straight up in the center of the basement floor, and it was not there when the building was locked up the previous night. People have heard footsteps going up and down the stairs to the basement when no one was there, and some felt a spirit presence in the basement.

  Fireplaces have been known to relight themselves. Furniture has been moved about at random with no explanation. An antique chair that was said to be nearly indestructible was found smashed to pieces in the middle of one of the dining rooms. Candles, once blown out, have been said to relight themselves without explanation.

  In the ladies’ room on the second floor of the tavern, patrons have seen a woman, dressed as a tavern wench, in the mirror and walking straight through the closed door. I was told that the bathroom was an important location, as that is the area of the tavern where the murder of Abagail took place. It apparently had been a hot spot for sightings of her ghost. On the second floor there is a very interesting area of the wall that is worth a closer look. A section of the wall has been opened and covered with plexiglass to reveal the old wooden latticework. Behind it you can see hundreds of corncobs that served as insulation.

  On the third floor there are several layers of antique wallpaper, from a faded folk-art motif to an old English countryside design. I couldn’t help but wonder what these walls had witnessed. I was told that there were several psychics who felt there was a vortex or portal on this floor near the windows. People have mentioned feeling a strong pull of energy in this spot. Also, children from the neighboring day-care facility often wave at the third-story window. They’ve said that they saw a little boy looking out and waving back, although there has been no one there.