1888 Quartzite Hotel in Pipestone Where a 1944 Valentine's Day Fire Death Keeps Room 308 Permanently Booked
104 W Main St, Pipestone, MN 56164
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Standard room rates; free continental breakfast included. Room 308 requires advance reservation. October Paranormal Weekend events priced separately by the Pipestone County Museum.
Access
Limited Access
Four-story historic hotel with stairs; original construction without elevator access noted in older reviews
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1888 · National Register of Historic Places · Pipestone Commercial Historic District · Richardsonian Romanesque Quartzite Architecture
The original Calumet Hotel was a wooden structure that burned on December 15, 1886, killing guest Reverend Alfred Stoddard Orcutt in the fire. A replacement quartzite building opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1888 with a capacity of 50 guests, designed by C. Smith and William Frost in the Richardsonian Romanesque style from the distinctive pink jasper quartzite quarried locally — the same stone used to make the ceremonial pipes that gave Pipestone its name.
The hotel expanded twice: a three-story southern addition in 1899 and a fourth story in 1913 brought the total to 90 rooms. The property housed a First National Bank branch and various businesses at ground level over the decades. A fire on February 14, 1944, destroyed floors in the south section; a guest was found dead in the hallway near Room 308. The hotel reopened the following April.
By 1978 the building had been condemned by the Minnesota State Fire Marshal. New owners undertook two years of extensive renovation and reopened the Calumet in 1981 as the Historic Calumet Inn. The hotel has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975 as part of the Pipestone Commercial Historic District. Today it offers 38 guest rooms with antique furnishings, claw-foot tubs, and complimentary continental breakfast.
Sources
The 1944 Valentine's Day fire is the event anchoring the Calumet's ghost stories. A guest — identified in some accounts by the initials C.E.H. and described as a surveyor — was found dead near Room 308 during the blaze. Room 308 has since become the most-requested overnight room for paranormal investigators.
Guest accounts collected in the hotel's binder over many years describe a presence that leans in doorways, makes phones ring, claps the toilet lid, nudges people, appears in mirrors, and writes in accumulated dust. Chairs have reportedly rocked without occupants; piano music has been heard when no one was playing. A second set of accounts involves the spirit of Reverend Orcutt, the 1886 fire victim from the predecessor building.
The annual October Pipestone Paranormal Weekend, organized by the Pipestone County Museum, centers the inn as its primary venue and draws participants from across the region. Summer Saturday-night ghost walks and spring investigator events provide additional access throughout the year.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Room 308 is the most-requested paranormal room at the Calumet Inn, associated with a guest who died there during the February 14, 1944, fire. The front desk keeps a binder of documented guest reports. Book directly through the hotel.
The annual October Paranormal Weekend organized by the Pipestone County Museum includes a candlelit walk-through of the Calumet Inn, cemetery tours, and ghost walks. The hotel offers a block of rooms for weekend participants.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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