The building at 214 Jackson Street in Anoka, Minnesota was constructed in the late 1800s by Charles G. Jackson, a Swedish immigrant whose name it still carries. In its early decades, the Jackson Hotel served as one of Anoka's more prominent lodging establishments, catering to travelers and serving as a venue for local events.
During Prohibition, a Mrs. Jackson — the relationship to the building's original owner is unclear from available records — reportedly operated the upper floors as an unofficial brothel, with the lower levels maintaining the appearance of a conventional hotel. This period of the building's history is well-established in local oral tradition, though court or city records documenting it have not been located in publicly accessible archives.
The account of Mrs. Jackson's death splits into two versions across local sources: in one, brothel patrons murdered her and stole her money; in the other, she died by suicide after losing the hotel. Neither version is corroborated by documentary evidence. The building later operated as a French restaurant before being converted to its current function.
Today Billy's Bar & Grill operates Tuesday through Sunday and has earned a reputation not only for its haunted atmosphere but for its food, which multiple regional reviewers describe as exceeding standard bar fare.
Sources
- https://www.billysbargrill.com/
- https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/best-haunted-bars-in-minnesota/
- https://www.yelp.com/biz/billys-bar-and-grill-anoka
ApparitionsShadow figuresObject movementEVP
The haunting at Billy's centers on Mrs. Jackson, the woman who ran the upper floors as a brothel during Prohibition. Her presence is reported primarily in the upper sections of the building — a shadow at the windows that visitors note from the street, a woman who walks through the dining area and does not stop.
Accounts note that framed photographs have been found repositioned on walls after closing, and that objects in the upper-floor storage areas turn up in different configurations than they were left. A generalized unease in the third floor is consistently noted in visitor accounts.
The ambiguity around her death — killed by clients or a deliberate act of her own — is reflected in the quality of the reported activity. Staff members have described what they interpret as unsettled rather than malevolent presence: movement, sound, the sense of being watched from above. City Pages, in a dining feature, called the atmosphere 'genuinely unnerving without being theatrical.'
Paranormal investigators have visited the property multiple times. Several EVP sessions in the upper levels have produced anomalous recordings, according to documentation published by visiting groups, though none have been reviewed by third-party evaluators.
Notable Entities
Mrs. Jackson
