History of Stone's Public House
Building commenced on Stone's Public House in 1832 by John Stone, who called his business the Railroad House. John was a farmer and a captain in the militia, but he was also a savvy businessman, owning most of the land in the center of what was then called Unionville. When he heard that the railroad was to be built through the center of town (on his own land) he decided to build a hotel right alongside the tracks. The Railroad House (the property also included a barn and a cow-yard and later a home for his family) opened on September 20, 1834 , to an enthusiastic crowd of (some say) 300 people.
John operated the Railroad House for less than two years (though he continued to live on the property), then leasing it to a long list of innkeepers. John died in 1858, and W.A. Scott bought the business in 1868.
Over the years the building fell into disrepair and disrepute. The man credited with helping to return the building to its former glory is Leonard "Cappy" Fournier, who bought the building in 1976. Cappy is also the man credited with first exploring the paranormal side of the building.
From a newspaper article in 1984:
Bizarre happenings at John Stone's Inn "began seven years ago when Fournier bought the old inn" with doors that will not remain bolted and lights that turn themselves on. A number of psychics and mystics poured through the 152-year old inn sniffing out spirits after Fournier went public about strange events at the inn five years ago.
While Fournier said the stories of each expert vary wildly, they all detected one thing in common. "When I bought them to the upstairs function room they all felt the strangest feelings in the back half of that room," he said. "Every single one said the same thing in that upstairs room. That's what made a believer out of me."
All the psychics perceived more than one spirit, mostly sullen male phantoms, Fournier said. Last week psychic Lee Sonnenfeld had the same peculiar sensation. A drunkard named Burt Philips may have died at the inn during the 1890s, she said. Now, Philips' spirit refuses to leave the inn because it enjoys the atmosphere there.
Whoever the spirit is, assistant manager Butch Adams said he won't be caught dead at the inn alone at night. One night while finishing floors in the building, Adams said he became scared, very scared. "For no apparent reason" a handful of birdseed fell through holes in the ceiling, rattling to the floor where he was working.
According to Fournier, bartenders are constantly telling of water taps that turn themselves on, and patrons have reported being tapped on the shoulder only to turn around and find no one behind them.
Also from 1984, an article about Ralph Bibbo, a professional hypnotist and founder of ECHO (Education Concerning a Higher Order), who visited the inn:
After several sessions, Bibbo said he has finally been able to unearth the ghastly tale that has kept between six and seven spirits roaming the inn for nearly 140 years.
After speaking to several of the spirits, including a chambermaid named Sadie, Bibbo said he was told that John Stone accidentally killed a New York boarder, Michael, after he accused the visitor of cheating in an upstairs card game that netted him $3,000.
The year was reportedly 1845. Bibbo said six or seven of the persons who witnessed the murder and helped Stone bury the body in the basement were bound together in secrecy to the owner? even in the spirit world. In one video-taped session in which Stone reluctantly entered the body of ECHO member Terry Pendleton, Stone angrily told the crowd watching the session to "get out of here. I want you off my premises!" Bibbo's theory is so convincing to Fournier that he is allowing Bibbo to dig up the basement in search of the phantom body. "I know we'll find a skeleton," Bibbo said. "It may take a couple more sessions to figure all this out, but we'll find it."
