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Heavily Investigated

Guests at the Franklin don't just check in — some say they're expected. On the upper floors, people report a lavender-gowned woman drifting with unhurried purpose; listen close and you might catch a melody no one can place. That's Lily, a 1920s figure whose Room 7 is still very much hers. Then there's Leo, once said to run the hotel laundry, who allegedly can't release his old message bell — visitors hear it toll from empty rooms. Furniture found rearranged by morning. The Victorian lobby holding its breath. People swear the building knows you're here before you've signed the register.

This corner lot hosted travelers since 1855, cycling through names — the Ashland House, the Rawson House, the Blake House — before closing in 1896. The current rounded brick building opened in 1903 for railroad passengers at Highways 3 and 13. It joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 under Criterion A for commerce and development. Owners Doug and Christine Schmidt led extensive restoration from 1989 onward, reviving oak millwork, iron porch beams, and the grand staircase. The hotel listed for sale in 2023 at $750,000 — the ghosts, one assumes, convey with the property.