The Hartness House Inn, located in Springfield, was built by James Hartness in the early 1900s. James was said to be an inventor and builder. Having found it difficult to concentrate on his inventions, he designed the house to include a series of underground rooms and tunnels in order to work on them in peace. The rooms included a workshop, a library, a bathroom, and a study. James and his wife Lena had apparently hosted many notable guests including Charles Lindbergh.
Upon their death, the home was bought by three machine tool companies who used it as a guest home. A Victorian Ballroom was added in 1954 in order to accommodate more guests and turn it into the Hartness House Inn. Other additions included the Governor’s Room, now a restaurant. 24 more guest rooms were added to the building. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was renovated again in 2013 but has been shuttered since late 2020.
Amongst the many rooms and tunnels, there have also been reports of unexplained paranormal activities. One visitor in early 2018, reports having experienced a spooky two nights in the Lindbergh room while celebrating her fiancé’s birthday. At around 1 am, they awoke to the sounds of the antique rocking chair rocking back and forth. Then the bathroom faucet suddenly began running water. The next day, they came back to their room to find that their suitcases had been moved around. When they asked the bartender about the occurrences, she explained that there had been other reports of strange things happening in the Lindbergh room. The next night was no different. Static voices came from her fiancé’s phone, the rocking chair began to move again, and the closet door had mysteriously opened when they were unaware. Needless to say, the couple was spooked!
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