HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
The Heritage Hill family home of John and Hannah Peck, poisoned with arsenic in New York City in 1916 by son-in-law Arthur Waite in one of the era's most sensational murder trials
345 Washington St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Private residence exterior viewable from public sidewalk; no admission. Ghost tours that include this stop charge separately.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Public sidewalk in Heritage Hill residential neighborhood; flat and paved
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1887 · Family Home of Arsenic-Poisoning Victims John and Hannah Peck · 1916 Peck Poisoning Case (crime occurred in New York City) · One of America's Most-Publicized Murder Trials of the 1910s
The Peck Building — a Queen Anne mansion in Grand Rapids' Heritage Hill historic district — was the home of John E. Peck, a prosperous Grand Rapids drugstore-chain founder, and his wife Hannah Peck. Both were poisoned with arsenic in 1916, but not inside this house: the killings took place roughly 700 miles away in Manhattan, where the Pecks were staying with their daughter Clara and her husband, dentist Arthur Warren Waite.
Waite had married Clara Peck the year before. Hannah Peck died at the Manhattan apartment on January 30, 1916; John Peck died there on March 21, after Waite dosed him with disease germs and arsenic and, when that proved too slow, smothered him. Investigators grew suspicious when Waite was found to have taken out substantial life insurance policies on both victims. Toxicological examination confirmed arsenic poisoning.
The trial, held in New York where Waite had been arrested, drew national press coverage. Waite was convicted of murder in the first degree and executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison on May 24, 1917. The case is documented in detail by Wikipedia's article on the murders, which confirms the names, dates, and manner of death based on court records and contemporaneous newspaper accounts.
The Grand Rapids mansion where John and Hannah Peck actually lived sits in Heritage Hill and remains a private residence. Local ghost-tour operators list it as the 'Peck Building' or 'Arsenic Murder Mansion' — it was the family's home, not the crime scene.
Sources
The paranormal accounts associated with the Peck Building center on the two confirmed victims of the 1916 poisoning: John E. Peck and Hannah Peck. Current and former occupants have reported seeing a couple in period clothing — consistent with the 1910s — in the home's interior. The figures are described as non-threatening but persistent.
US Ghost Adventures, which includes the Peck Building as a named stop on its Grand Rapids ghost tour circuit, documents the apparition accounts alongside the historical poisoning case. The tour stop provides the full context of the Waite murders before discussing paranormal reports, treating the historical record as the primary subject.
The building's notoriety locally comes primarily from its connection to the documented poisoning case rather than from dramatic paranormal incidents — the house appeared on the market in relatively recent years, and news coverage of the sale specifically referenced the arsenic murder case as part of the property's history, while noting the deaths themselves occurred in New York. Whatever is reported inside the house remains private to its occupants.
Notable Entities
The Peck Building, a Queen Anne mansion in Grand Rapids' Heritage Hill historic district, can be viewed from the public sidewalk. It is a featured stop on Grand Rapids ghost tour circuits covering the Heritage Hill neighborhood.
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This Grand Rapids tour includes Peck Building (Arsenic Murder Mansion) on its route.
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