Eden Hall


Eden Hall is this city's grandest historical building, a huge, ornate home with 13-foot ceilings and over 750 paintings inside. It was built in 1840 by Abraham Hivling, whose freed slaves made the bricks. In 1881 it was purchased for Colonel Coates Kinney by his in-laws. President William McKinley was a guest here, as was Secretary of State John Hay. This house is featured in Helen Hoover Santmeyer's novel And Ladies of the Club....

Weird lights move inside Eden House. Doors open and close by themselves. Cold spots travel at will. Children's footsteps are found in the dust, and on occasion mysterious music wakes guests up--waltzes and old-fashioned dance music--music accompanied by voices.

It's believed that members of the family haunt the building, especially an ill-tempered woman who was a character in Santmeyer's book who lived on the third floor. I believe that this building is available for tours.

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