Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainThe 1843 hotel-turned-newspaper office where investigators have recorded full-body apparitions, shadow people, and unexplained physical contact
101 W Broadway Street, Harrodsburg, KY 40330
Research updated June 2026
Age
18+
Cost
$
Not a public attraction; access requires coordination with paranormal investigation groups
Access
Limited Access
Multi-story 19th-century building with stairs; active newspaper office
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1843 · Benjamin Passmore Hotel (1843) — antebellum Harrodsburg commerce · Located in Kentucky's Oldest Permanent English Settlement · Multi-use history from hotel to newspaper office
Harrodsburg holds the distinction of being the oldest permanent English-speaking settlement in Kentucky, established in 1774 by James Harrod and his company. The building at 101 W Broadway was constructed in 1843 as the Benjamin Passmore Hotel — one of the more substantial commercial structures built during the town's antebellum prosperity. The hotel served travelers and residents through much of the 19th century before transitioning to other commercial uses.
The property was later known as Mercer House, reflecting the county in which Harrodsburg sits. Through a succession of owners and tenants, the building eventually became the home of the Harrodsburg Herald newspaper, a role it continues to serve. The 19th-century commercial building sits on Broadway Street, the main commercial corridor of historic Harrodsburg.
The building's transition from hotel to newspaper office is characteristic of Kentucky's small-town commercial districts, where structures built for 19th-century travel and commerce have adapted through multiple uses while retaining their original masonry and framing. The Passmore Hotel name references Benjamin Passmore, though historical documentation of the building's early operation is limited in publicly accessible records.
Paranormal investigators have been granted access to the building on multiple occasions, establishing it as one of the more documented active sites in the Harrodsburg area.
Sources
The Harrodsburg Herald building has accumulated one of the more specific paranormal activity records among Kentucky's documented sites. Investigators from the Illinois Society of Paranormal Investigation (ISPI) posted their findings from an investigation session that captured evidence later shared within the paranormal research community. Their documentation included accounts of full-body apparitions — figures visible long enough to observe before vanishing — and shadow people moving through the corridors of the old hotel structure.
The Scare Factor, which documents haunted locations across Kentucky, records the building as one where investigators have reported physical contact from unseen sources: being touched and scratched during active sessions. Independent accounts describe doors opening and closing without mechanical cause, a phenomenon reported across multiple investigation sessions rather than isolated to a single team.
The multi-story layout of the former hotel — with its original 19th-century construction — has drawn groups back repeatedly. The building's long history as a transitional space (hotel, then commercial offices, then newspaper) means it has housed many different occupants across nearly two centuries, a factor paranormal researchers often cite when assessing reported activity concentration.
The 1843 Benjamin Passmore Hotel building — later known as Mercer House — is visible from Broadway Street. The building's paranormal reputation makes it a documented stop on informal Harrodsburg history routes.
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