The ghosts of Jefferson Texas their slogan is The Most Haunted Small Town in Texas and The Bed and Breakfast Capital of Texas.
Jefferson was completed as a town in East Texas in 1840 when the town was laid out 20 years before the Civil war. It is located on the Big Cypress Bayou, which historically was a navigable waterway that connected to the Red River allowing Steamboat traffic to reach Jefferson. The prosperity of Jefferson as a River Port was largely due to a natural log Jam in the Red River known as the great red river raft which raised water levels in the Big Cypress. In the 1870s this was cleared and all of the heyday of Jefferson’s steamboat traffic was over.
Haunted places in Jefferson. in all of the haunted locations in Jefferson Texas they have the same traditional and typical haunting activity. objects moving, fog or shadowy figures, orbs, disembodied voices, Phantom smells and of course the seeing of apparitions each building having their own particular ghost.
The Grove
Once a restaurant it is known to be the most haunted building in Jefferson. not sure when the house was actually built but somewhere around 1861. Several people have owned the home throughout the years. There are many different ghosts that are reported to be associated with this building.
Excelsior House
The Excelsior House is the second oldest hotel in texas. It was built during the Riverboat Hay Day and is in the district that was developed during the steamboat era. It too has had several different owners. In this particular building in addition to the regular hauntings there is supposedly a headless man wandering the halls.
The Hale house Bed and Breakfast
The Jefferson Hotel
Originally constructed in 1861 and it was not a house at all it was a cotton warehouse. When the steamboat era ended, so did the cotton warehouse. Throughout history the building has been many things: a cotton Warehouse as we just mentioned, a Chinese laundry, a flop house, and a hotel many times over.
The Clairborne House
Built in 1872 it was owned by one of the steamboat captains Mr Claiborne. It has had many owners through the years.
McKay House Bed and Breakfast
This house was built in 1851 by some of the original founders of Jefferson. It’s located in a residential area known as Quality Hills. It’s close to the riverfront and has been owned by many different families over the years. on this property is also a Sunday House.
Twin Oaks Country Inn
The original Twin Oaks burned to the ground in the 1890s. two other homes have burned on this exact same lot in the past.
White Oak Manor built in 1911. on the property is the largest white oak, over 200 years old, in Marion County. Many more families have owned this home over the years.
The Galley Restaurant
Built between 1862 and 1865, it too has had a history of many different businesses. The ghost in this building could have been from any of the previous businesses.
Lamanche’s Italian Restaurant
this restaurant is also in the Jefferson Hotel. and equally as haunted as the Jefferson hotel.
Living Room Theater
Originally there was a small house on this lot but in the later years this larger home was built. In 1983 it was remodeled and turned into a private townhouse with a Living Room theater. There too has been many different businesses and homes throughout the years.
Schluter House
Schluter was a wealthy landowner. and there have been a lot of oddly tragic events that have taken place in the vicinity of this building.
1854 Annie Stone was born into a family in Syracuse New york. she left home to be an actress at the age of 15. she soon became the Mistress of a man named moore. and not long after became a prostitute with the nickname Diamond Bessie. at the age of 20 she met her future husband. after they traveled the country Diamond Bessie and her new husband Abraham came to Jefferson in 1876. Witnesses watched one evening when they crossed the Footbridge and entered into the woods. later that afternoon her husband Abraham came back alone. when asked where was his wife he told everyone that Bessie had stayed across the Bayou visiting with friends. the next day Abraham went to cincinnati. where he tried to commit suicide in a saloon but he only managed to disfigure his face and shoot his right eye off. within a year Bessie’s body was found she had been shot in the temple. needless to say her husband was arrested for murder and brought back to Texas from cincinnati. and a very sensationalized trial ensued at the Jefferson Hotel. he was found guilty and sentenced to death. but somehow on a technicality he was freed and he left town. Diamond Bessie is believed to haunt Oakwood Cemetery where she is buried.
Oakwood Cemetery
Haunted by Diamond Bessie
Maison Bayou Waterfront bed and Breakfast
300 Bayou Street is closed.
