Welcome to The Historic Jefferson Hotel, where history and mystery intertwine to create an unparalleled experience. Built in 1851, our boutique hotel is not just a place to stay, but an adventure waiting to be had. With over 13,000 square feet brimming with eclectic antiques, our establishment feels more like a living museum than a conventional hotel. Each corner of The Historic Jefferson Hotel is steeped in past tales and ghostly whispers, offering a unique and thrilling escape from the ordinary.

Our downstairs Victorian suites exude elegance and charm, providing an authentic glimpse into a bygone era. For those with a taste for the peculiar, our themed rooms – including the eerie Doll Room, the curious Mirror Room, and the mysterious Bigfoot Room – promise an unforgettable stay. The walls of our hotel are silent witnesses to countless ghost stories, whispers of untold secrets, hidden rooms, and a dark history marked with murder and suicide.

Staying at The Historic Jefferson Hotel is more than booking a room; it's embarking on an adventure. Each guest receives a guest house feel, with us, the owners, residing onsite to ensure every moment of your stay is extraordinary. We pride ourselves on delivering personalized care, making you feel at home while surrounded by the fascinating echoes of history.

Come, explore, and immerse yourself in the enigmatic allure of The Historic Jefferson Hotel – where every stay is a story, and every story awaits your discovery.

Immerse yourself in Texas history at The Historic Jefferson Hotel, the oldest building of all hotels in Texas. Built in 1851 by Jefferson's founder, Allen Urquhart, this grand Victorian structure began its life as a cotton warehouse.

 

Beginnings as a cotton warehouse in the 1850's to support the exploding cotton industry, the Historic Jefferson Hotel was also encircled by the long veranda where the hotels good time girls once advertised their wares during the early brothel years of the hotel.  

Come the era of Prohibition, The Jefferson Hotel became a roaring nightspot and speakeasy under the name The Crystal Palace. The hotels ballroom has born witness to many an evening of tipsy risk-takers gambling with their fortunes and couples dancing the night away to lively ragtime piano that has been reported being heard to this day. 

 

Is the Hotel Haunted?

We are known as "The most haunted hotel in the world". And we're not just saying that, we can back it up. Just look at our captures on Youtube that not only the hotel camera's have captured but also our guests. 

https://www.youtube.com/@thehistoricjeffersonhotel

Unlike many purportedly haunted locations where stories are passed down through word-of-mouth, The Jefferson Hotel prioritizes documented guest experiences. During its later years, a "Book of the Dead" was maintained at the front desk, where guests were encouraged to record their paranormal encounters in their own words. While one of the previous owners retained the original book, the Jones family, the current proprietors, have initiated a new one. As a guest, you can request this book to read past accounts or document your own experiences.

There are many reported specters of the Jefferson Hotel. So many in fact that we are known as "The Worlds Most Haunted Hotel™ " 

While every room in the hotel has had some sort of ghostly activity reported, here are some of the rooms with the most reported activity.

Room 0- Multiple guests have reported the bed in this room lifting up. Loud banging noises. Heavy objects thrown about, and a mans voice yelling "NO" witnessed by 5 people seemingly coming from nowhere. There are also Gemstones found under the floor of this room when remodeling was happening. 

Room 2- Full bodied apparition seen going through the bathroom wall. Objects moving around. Furniture has also been reported to move around by multiple guests. Disembodied voices and things being thrown around reported. 

Room 3- Little boy captured in this room looking out the door. Full video on youtube. Children's voices heard laughing. Shower turns on by itself. 

Room 6- Many captures of apparitions in the mirrors. Ghostly residue that appears and disappears on the bed. Scratching reported on the carpet and bed.  Bathroom knob jiggles. 

Room 9- Footsteps are heard walking around. Lights going on and off. Little boy was said to have drowned in the bathtub in early years. Shadows seen in the restroom. 

Room 10- Breathing heard in peoples ears. Objects moving. Little girl died in a fire in the Pride House named Jenny Brown and is said to roam this room now. 

Room 13- Original room where the bride hanged herself from the bed that is now in room 19. Table and lamp got thrown from one side of the room to the other. Pictures have been caught falling off the walls. Apparition caught outside the door. 

Room 14- Covers lifting up without anyone there. Several dolls caught moving on camera. Children heard playing. Footsteps heard walking around. 

Room 15- Shadows caught, banging heard coming from the restroom. 

Room 17- Message on the mirror changes from "Get out" to "Leave now" Voices heard having a conversation without anyone there. 

Room 19- Bride caught covering guests up. Loud banging heard above the bed. Water splashing in a dry bathtub. Disembodied voices, footsteps and shadows. 

See below for a few of the reported sightings you may experience during your stay. 

 The Child in the Dissapointments room. Never heard of a dissapointments room? Well we have one, and its original to the hotel in the late 1880's. While its off limits to guests, it has a dark history of a child that was once locked in the room located in the attic area. The little boy has been seen and captured many times. Here is a picture of him that was caught.. 

The Mill Children- Some of the most commonly sighted specters are a pair of children of about 7 years old, a boy in knee length britches and a girl in a pinafore. They are believed to be casualties of the buildings days as a cotton warehouse, but in spite of their laborious lives and untimely deaths, they're now some of the hotels most high spirited inhabitants, often hear laughing and chasing each other through the halls. Make sure to hold on to your keys and valuables in the vicinity of the Jefferson Hotel. The mill children love to play with small objects and pull pranks on guests, moving possessions around and turning lights on and off. A little boy with Red hair has been seen by many guests around the hotel. This may be one of the Mill children. 

The Vanishing Man- Described as a tall male figure in a long coat and high boots who comes and goes as he pleases. Though he makes no threatening moves, some guests have found him persistent, sitting or standing in their rooms throughout the night. Whoever he is, he is apparently the hotels most solid and hard to miss apparition. Some guests have even reported following him down the upstairs hall, thinking him to be another living guest, only to watch him vanish as he turns into one of the rooms.

Judy's Mirror- Room 19 is a particularly volatile hot spot of Paranormal activity, part of which seems to be connected with the anguished spirit of a teen girl. Though records of the hotels history as a bordello are understandably spotty, the girl is thought to be a prostitute who was stabbed by a client and left to die slowly in room 19's bathtub. She now appears in the mists of the hot showers and leaves messages on room 19's bathroom mirror. Sometimes the words seem to be warnings, other times are pleas for help. The name Judy has been seen among her scribbles, but its unclear whether shes introducing herself or calling out to some long gone friend. Below is a capture from a guest that shows a haunted reflection of a women. 

Libby in white- This beautiful young woman appears most often to male guests travelling alone, and she can be recognized by her bridal gown, golden hair, and feet that never touch the ground. Though shes been seen all over the hotel, Libby mainly seems to haunt a specific bed, rather than a location, following it around through multiple remodels. The bed is now located in room 19. The spirits exact identity is unknown but most believe it could be two people. Elizabeth and Lydia Grigsby were name of women that both stayed in the hotel almost 50 years apart from each other. Both women were jilted on their wedding days, and both were most likely pregnant at the time. It is reported from an old newspaper from around 1912 that Lydia Grigsby hanged herself from the unusually tall headboard of the bed located in room 19. Libby and the bed have inhabited room 12, 14 and now 19 at different times. Here is an apparition caught by our cameras of a ghostly shadow entering room 19 at the end of the hall. Full video on youtube. 

Here is a pic captured by a guest that shows the Haunted Bride in our hallway. 

Come join us and explore the beautiful Antique covered hotel, and maybe you can also have an unexplained experience. 

The Historic Jefferson Hotel

124 W Austin St 
Jefferson, Texas 75657

Text 901-468-3551