HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
An 1852 Belleville residence turned restaurant, with lore naming a stagecoach driver and a schoolmarm nicknamed Effie.
318 East Washington Street, Belleville, IL 62220
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Restaurant dining; see venue for current hours and pricing
Access
Wheelchair OK
Indoor restaurant setting in a historic building
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1852 · 19th-Century Residential Architecture · Stagecoach-Era Illinois History
Belleville, Illinois, established in 1814, developed as one of the state's older cities, and its central neighborhoods retain a mix of vernacular and formal 19th-century residential architecture. The building that now houses Papa Vito's Restaurant was built in 1852, a period when Belleville served as a regional hub for overland travel before rail lines reshaped commerce in the region.
Samuel Stookey built the home in 1852 as his private residence. He gave it to his daughter Hannah when she married Enoch Primm in 1863, and the Primm family owned it until 1904, when it became the Evangelical Zion Lutheran Grade School. The building was later remodeled into a restaurant, housing Diamond Lil's, The Carriage House, The Belleville House and The Pasta House Co. before Papa Vito's opened its Downtown Belleville location here in 2011.
The building's years as a home, school and restaurant have contributed to its ghost lore. For many years, people have suspected a ghostly presence at 318 East Washington; employees and visiting psychics have reported unexplained phenomena, and Papa Vito's wonders whether it could be the spirit of a schoolmarm nicknamed Effie or a stagecoach driver named Charlie who made his last stop here. The restaurant presents both as local legend rather than documented history.
Sources
Papa Vito's own account names two possible presences at 318 East Washington: a stagecoach driver called Charlie, said to have made his last stop at the location, and a schoolmarm nicknamed Effie, recalling the building's years as a schoolhouse. Employees and visiting psychics have reported unexplained phenomena, and the restaurant presents both figures as legend rather than documented history.
Notable Entities
Have a meal at Papa Vito's in a building that has been a private home, a schoolhouse and a series of restaurants since 1852; staff and visiting psychics have wondered whether a presence they call Effie, a schoolmarm, or Charlie, a stagecoach driver, remains in the building.
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