Est. 1872 · Built 1872 by John Denham, son of Scottish immigrants who settled in Monticello · Italianate architecture listed on the National Historic Register · Licensed bed and breakfast since 1999 under owner Patricia Inmon · One of fourteen stops on the Historic Monticello Ghost Tour
John Denham was the son of Scottish immigrants who arrived in Baltimore from Dunbar, Scotland in 1832 when he was fourteen years old. The family eventually relocated to Monticello, Florida, where John established himself as a businessman. He married Caroline Ellen Marvin in 1848, and they had eleven children together.
In 1872, Denham commissioned the Italianate-style house at 625 N Jefferson Street in Monticello's historic district, four blocks from the town center. The house reflects the Italianate domestic architecture common in affluent American homes of the period: ornate bracketing, tall windows, and decorative details throughout. It is listed on the National Historic Register.
The property passed through various hands over the following century. Current owner Patricia Inmon has owned it for 25 years, completing a historically accurate restoration. The house was licensed as a bed and breakfast in 1999, operating as the 1872 Denham Inn. It offers six rooms — all with king beds and private baths — full farm-to-table breakfast at no additional charge, and 24-hour access to tea, snacks, and baked goods. Families and dogs are explicitly welcomed with no extra fees.
Monticello, where the inn is located, has been identified in regional press as 'the most haunted small town in the United States,' and the Denham House is one of fourteen stops on the Historic Monticello Ghost Tour.
Sources
- https://www.johndenhamhouse.com/
- https://www.johndenhamhouse.com/about.html
- https://www.wtxl.com/news/wtxl-road-trip-exploring-monticello-s-haunted-history/article_5aa285ca-54f7-11e7-bf3c-6b83ad0c5b6a.html
- https://southerngirldreaming.com/victorian-italianate-monticello-jefferson-florida/
Presence in Jefferson's Blue Room described by multiple unrelated guests without promptingInvisible hands pulling blankets tight around a child guestFigure identified as Sarah, described as a former schoolteacher
The haunting account at the 1872 Denham Inn centers on a single room and a single figure. Jefferson's Blue Room — named for the color of its walls — has produced a pattern that the current owner finds genuinely striking: guests who have had no prior contact with each other, and who have been told nothing about the property's paranormal reputation, have independently described the same experience. A presence they have identified as female, associated with children, and specifically with tucking children into bed.
Owner Pat Inmon told WTXL's news team that she learned about the haunting entirely from strangers who arrived, stayed in the room, and then described what they had experienced. The consistency across unrelated guests is the detail she emphasizes. One guest's son reportedly described feeling the blankets pulled snugly around him by hands he could not see.
The figure has been given the name Sarah by guests and the owner, and described as a former schoolteacher. No documented historical source has been located that confirms a schoolteacher named Sarah was associated with the Denham house.
Inmon characterizes Sarah as a 'fun and family friendly' presence: 'Every B&B should have a ghost or two, and we have a ghost or two.' The inn's position in Monticello's haunted-town identity — it is one of fourteen stops on the Historic Monticello Ghost Tour — means guests often arrive already curious rather than skeptical.
Notable Entities
Sarah (unnamed historic occupant described as a former schoolteacher)
