A Civil War–era tabby-walled general store that survived the Union burning of Cedar Key and has housed at least 13 reported spirits since
373 2nd St, Cedar Key, FL 32625
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Room rates vary by room; check availability on the hotel website. Restaurant and Neptune Lounge open to the public.
Access
Limited Access
Historic two-story wood-frame building with original stairs; no elevator
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1859 · Civil War–era construction surviving Union burning of Cedar Key · National Register of Historic Places (1984) · One of Florida's oldest continuously operating hotels
The building that became the Island Hotel was constructed between 1859 and 1861 on the Gulf coast island of Cedar Key, Florida. Major John Parsons and Francis E. Hale built it as a general store — its walls are tabby, a coastal construction material made from oyster shells, lime, sand, and water, ten inches thick, with hand-hewn oak beams twelve inches wide. It also housed the Cedar Key Post Office and customs office during the 1860s.
Cedar Key was a strategically significant lumber and pencil-cedar port during the Civil War. Union naval forces burned most of the town, but the Parsons and Hale building was spared and used as officer quarters — whether Union or Confederate at various points is disputed; the town changed hands more than once. By the late 1880s part of the structure operated as a boardinghouse. The general store closed around 1910.
Simon Feinberg converted the property to the Bay Hotel in 1914, and its name changed several more times — Cedar Key Hotel, then Fowlers Wood — through the Depression era, when the building reportedly functioned as a speakeasy and hosted a brothel in some rooms. In 1946, Bessie and Loyal Gibbs purchased and substantially restored the property, with Bessie transforming the kitchen into a celebrated dining room known for fresh Gulf seafood. Hurricane Easy destroyed the roof in 1950; Loyal Gibbs died in 1962; Bessie retired in 1973 and died in a house fire in 1975. Subsequent owners maintained the hotel's character, and in the 1980s owner Marcia Rogers converted the lounge to a juice bar and Jimmy Buffett performed at the venue.
The Island Hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1984. The current owners, Bud and Laurie Adams, continue the policy of no televisions and no room phones in the ten guest rooms, preserving what repeat guests describe as a genuine step outside of the present.
Sources
The Island Hotel's ghost roster has been assembled over decades of staff accounts and at least one formal psychic investigation. The most documented figure is Bessie Gibbs, who owned the property from 1946 until 1973 and died nearby in a house fire in 1975. Staff report that Bessie — identified by room 29 as her particular domain — rearranges furniture, locks guests out of their rooms, and seems to resist anyone altering the character she spent her ownership preserving. A séance conducted to contact her reportedly confirmed her presence; investigators described room 29 as possibly functioning as a portal.
The murdered prostitute associated with rooms 27 and 28 is reportedly a friendly presence — guests describe a sensation of being kissed on the cheek. A small boy of about nine years old, said to have drowned in the basement cistern during the Civil War era, and a Confederate private who appears in uniform on the second floor at dawn are also in the reported roster. Simon Feinberg, who ran the Bay Hotel in the 1910s, is described as a wandering spirit who travels the building at night. Two Native American figures, a fisherman, and an unidentified tall thin man round out accounts that total thirteen or more, depending on the source.
In 1999, Fox Network filmed a segment for its program Haunted Inns & Mansions at the hotel, bringing the Cedar Key location into a national audience for its paranormal reputation. The hotel does not market itself as a commercial ghost-hunt destination but openly discusses its history on its website.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Ten individually decorated rooms — no televisions, no room phones — in a tabby-walled building that has stood since 1859. The hotel restaurant serves fresh Gulf seafood; the Neptune Lounge occupies the building's ground floor.
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