Apalachicola's 1907 grand hotel — renamed by the Gibson sisters in 1923, commandeered as WWII officers' quarters — where Captain Wood allegedly died of pneumonia and still plays piano in the empty bar.
51 Ave C, Apalachicola, FL 32320
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Hotel room rates start around $134/night. Book direct at gibsoninn.com for best availability and rates. Advance booking discounts available.
Access
Limited Access
Historic three-story hotel with wraparound porches. Classic structure without modern accessibility upgrades throughout.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1907 · Built 1907 as the Franklin Hotel at the peak of Apalachicola's lumber-and-shipping era; constructed with native heart pine and black cypress · Purchased and renamed by sisters Annie Gibson Hayes and Mary Ellen Gibson in 1923 · Requisitioned by the U.S. Army as WWII officers' quarters near Camp Gordon Johnston · Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
When the building that became the Gibson Inn went up in 1907, Apalachicola was at the center of a prosperous Gulf Coast economy built on lumber, naval stores, and the rich oyster harvest of the bay. The Franklin Hotel, as it was originally called, was a three-story Victorian structure with wraparound porches on the first and second floors, built with native heart pine and black cypress — materials that made it, at the time, one of the most substantial hotels in the Florida Panhandle.
In 1923, sisters Annie Gibson Hayes and Mary Ellen Gibson acquired the hotel and renamed it. The Gibson family became the inn's public identity for the next several decades. Mary Ellen, who went by the nickname 'Sunshine,' managed the property with her sister through years of economic change in Apalachicola as the lumber era wound down and the town's economy shifted.
During World War II, the U.S. Army requisitioned the inn as officers' quarters for personnel connected to the nearby Camp Gordon Johnston training installation on the coast near Carrabelle. The building returned to civilian use after the war and was eventually restored to operating condition. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2024–2025 the property was undergoing a renovation phase, though it has continued operating.
Sources
The paranormal traditions of the Gibson Inn center on two figures from its operational history. The more active, by report, is a guest known only as Captain Wood, who checked into the hotel and died there of pneumonia. His presence is associated specifically with the bar and dining room: staff and guests describe hearing piano music when no one is at the piano, and the sound of footsteps moving through the room with no visible source. Reports suggest these sounds recur nightly, rather than as isolated incidents.
The second presence belongs to Mary Ellen 'Sunshine' Gibson, the co-owner who ran the inn with her sister Annie from 1923 forward. The reports involving Sunshine are of a different character: guests have received phone calls placed to their rooms from the front desk when no staff member is at the desk and no one else is using the phone. This phenomenon has been described by multiple guests across separate stays.
Both accounts appear consistently in regional paranormal documentation of the Forgotten Coast. Neither has been verified through controlled investigation, and the identity of 'Captain Wood' has not been established beyond the hotel's oral tradition.
Notable Entities
Book a room in this 1907 National Register hotel and see whether Captain Wood still haunts the bar. The piano, footsteps in the dining room, and mystery phone calls to guest rooms are all part of the reported experience.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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