Stay In One Of The Oldest Inns In America At This Eastern US Destination

Calling all American history buffs! If you're interested in the American Revolutionary War and looking for a getaway, we've got the perfect place for you. Massachusetts is the home of one of the oldest inns in the country. The Colonial Inn in Concord, Massachusetts, has an incredible history. The building has been here since 1716. The likes of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Henry David Thoreau Shirley Temple, John Wayne, and J.P. Morgan have all stayed at the Colonial Inn, and it even boasts some ghosts and paranormal phenomena. 

A member of the Historic Hotels of America, the Colonial Inn has been a military storehouse, a hospital for wounded soldiers, a morgue, and, of course, an inn since 1889. Concord is where, in 1775, England ordered the governor of the state to seize the colonists' military stores. One of the first shots of the Revolutionary War happened here. Right near the Inn, Americans turned the British troops around and sent them on their way. Let's take a look at this historic inn, the haunted room inside, and the history you can explore in the area.

The buildings that would become the Colonial Inn were constructed in 1716 by Captain James Minot. Part of the structure, which comprised three buildings at the time, was used as a storehouse for food and weapons during the Revolutionary War. However, it was employed that way much earlier to store weapons in the fight against the Native American tribes in the region. When British soldiers were sent to Concord, one of Minot's descendants, Dr. Timothy Minot Jr., lived there, right where the establishment's Liberty Restaurant currently stands. He turned the property into a temporary hospital for soldiers, including Room 24, which is said to be haunted, and Room 27, set up as a morgue.

The building changed hands through the years and was a boarding house in the mid-1800s. In 1899, it opened as a hotel. Sitting right on Monument Square, you're close to the Old North Bridge. That's where one of the first shots was fired in the American Revolutionary War. It was the "shot heard 'round the world," as resident Ralph Waldo Emerson described in his 1837 poem "Concord Hymn."

You're also near the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and the home of Emerson, which you can tour. There are walking tours in the area that can give you a great idea of what took place here and why it's so important to the history of America. 

As we mentioned, some people have experienced paranormal phenomena at the Colonial Inn. If you want to stay in Room 24, the haunted room, you might want to call ahead as it's popular. As we mentioned, this second-floor room was once used as a place for wounded soldiers during the Revolutionary War, and many of them died there. The first reported ghost sighting was back in 1966 when a woman saw a figure-shaped form by her bed. Guests also book Room 27 on the first floor, which, as we mentioned, was used as a morgue. 

Incidents reported by guests and staff include lights and televisions turning on and off (though one wonders how ghosts from the 18th century would know how to work those), glowing orbs floating around, and voices from the closet. There is reportedly a woman named Rosemary, a nurse that people have reported seeing, as well as a young girl in a bonnet and wounded soldiers, to name just some of the sightings. Whether you encounter any ghostly residents or not, it's a fascinating place to stay, with access to centuries of American history.