HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
An 1880 limestone banker's mansion built over Abilene's first settler dugout, where a previous owner was reportedly committed to an asylum and paranormal investigation nights are open to the public.
106 N Vine St, Abilene, KS 67410
Research updated September 2026
Age
18+
Cost
$$
American Hauntings ghost hunt events are ticketed; check bumpinthenight.net for current pricing and dates.
Access
Limited Access
Multi-story Victorian mansion with stairs; basement access for paranormal investigations.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1880 · Built in 1880 by Abilene banker Conrad Lebold over the site of the 1857 Hersey settler dugout · The Hersey dugout (1857) was Abilene's first permanent structure · One of the more significant Victorian limestone residences surviving in Dickinson County
Conrad Lebold arrived in Abilene during the early settlement period and established himself as one of the city's primary banking figures. The limestone mansion he commissioned in 1880 was built directly over the site of a dugout shelter constructed in 1857 by Timothy Hersey, a New York emigrant who is credited as Abilene's first permanent settler.
Lebold's choice of limestone — the predominant building material for durable 19th-century Kansas construction — reflected both the local geology and the ambition to build a lasting institutional family home rather than the frame structures that had characterized the cattle-trade boom years. The mansion's construction in 1880 coincided with a period of relative economic stabilization in Abilene after the cattle trade had shifted west to other Kansas towns.
Subsequent ownership history brought the mansion a darker chapter: a later owner is said to have been committed to an asylum while living there, a claim documented in regional paranormal accounts through KC Ghosts and American Hauntings, though the specific individual and institutional records have not been independently verified in the sources consulted. The mansion was later identified as a viable paranormal investigation venue and is now operated under event arrangements by American Hauntings.
Sources
The haunted reputation of Lebold Mansion centers on a specific and verifiable type of misfortune: a previous owner reportedly deteriorated mentally while residing in the house and was eventually committed to an institution. The claim is documented by KC Ghosts and referenced in American Hauntings' event materials, though the name of the individual and the specific asylum are not identified in the sources consulted, and should not be assumed without primary-source confirmation.
American Hauntings — a national paranormal investigation events company — has operated 'A Night at the Lebold Mansion' events at the property, which places this among the more formally commercialized paranormal venues in central Kansas. The 2023 ghost hunt event documentation confirms that the mansion was accessible to ticketed participants.
KC Ghosts, which aggregates Kansas and Missouri paranormal locations, treats the asylum-commitment story as the central historical anchor for the haunting, supplemented by general accounts of unexplained activity in the mansion's upper rooms. No specific entity is named in the available sources.
Organized overnight or evening paranormal investigation through American Hauntings at the Lebold Mansion. Participants explore the full mansion with equipment and guided access to historically documented areas.
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