HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Family-Style Restaurant in a 19th-Century Building on Old Route 52
135 W Main St, Morristown, IN 46161
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Family-style dining; menu pricing typical of full-service Midwest restaurants. Check current menu for confirmed pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Multi-room historic building with stairways; ells, porches and other additions have altered the original structure
Equipment
Photos OK
19th-Century Indiana Inn · Adaptive Reuse: Grain Elevator to Tavern to Restaurant · Indiana Culinary Heritage
The Kopper Kettle Inn occupies a building in Morristown, a small town in Shelby County, Indiana, on what was historically U.S. Route 52 between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Morristown farmers built a two-story grain elevator on the site in 1849 to serve the Junction Railroad; when that railroad was abandoned in 1858, the building became a tavern, later known as the Valley House hotel. The hotel was renamed the Kopper Kettle in 1923 after a collection of antique copper kettles its new owner had purchased, and the hotel operation ended in 1925. According to Indiana Foodways Alliance, the restaurant has served Indiana diners for more than 91 years, drawing visitors from across the Midwest for its skillet-fried chicken.
The interior reflects more than a century of accumulated decor. Niches throughout the dining rooms hold marble and alabaster statuary, Dresden china, and Chinese chests. The Indiana Memory archive holds a circa-1940 photograph of the reception room, documenting the layered ornamental style that remains a feature of the dining experience today.
The restaurant is family-operated and continues to serve a menu organized around the historic Hoosier fried-chicken dinner. The building remains a stop on the Indiana Foodways Alliance Here Fishy Fishy and other regional culinary trails.
Sources
Indiana paranormal aggregators describe the Kopper Kettle as one of the more frequently reported haunted restaurants in the state. The most repeated account concerns an elderly female apparition seen reflected in the dining-room mirrors. Staff have reported the figure most often when closing the restaurant after the dinner service, when reflective surfaces dominate the otherwise empty rooms.
Additional reports include phantom footsteps in vacant sections of the building, unattributed bangs and knocks, and faint voices in the kitchen and back-of-house areas. The lore is presented in Indiana paranormal coverage as character folklore rather than active investigation. The restaurant does not market the paranormal reputation; the dining service is the primary draw, with the haunted reputation surfacing through travel writing and word of mouth.
Notable Entities
Eat in a 19th-century inn known for its skillet-fried chicken, broiled steaks, and dining rooms displayed with the original owners' collection of European porcelain and Chinese chests. Staff and longtime patrons have reported phantom footsteps and an elderly female apparition glimpsed in mirrors.
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