The 1927 'Mount Vernon of the Midwest' in Stillwater — Phantom Footsteps and Residual Hauntings at a National Register Hotel
102 N 2nd St, Stillwater, MN 55082
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Overnight stays in historic guest rooms; dining available at the inn's restaurant.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic downtown building; check with inn for specific accessibility accommodations
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1927 · National Register of Historic Places · Colonial Revival Architecture · Historic Stillwater Hospitality Landmark
The Lowell Inn's site has hosted travelers since 1861, when The Sawyer House operated as a boarding establishment catering to the St. Croix River lumber trade. By the 1920s that building had deteriorated, and local entrepreneur Elmore Lowell commissioned a replacement. The current inn, a Colonial Revival structure modeled loosely on George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, opened in 1927 and quickly became the most prestigious hospitality address in Washington County.
The inn was operated by the Palmer family for much of the twentieth century. Through mid-century, it attracted notable guests including Johnny Cash, Lucille Ball, Diane Sawyer, and Charlie Gibson — a tradition that reflects both Stillwater's accessibility from the Twin Cities and the inn's genuine reputation for quality. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its architectural integrity and historic significance to the region.
The building currently offers 23 restored historic rooms in the original 1927 structure plus 12 contemporary rooms in a newer annex. The restaurant operates with limited hours; fondue dinners, teas, and weekend fish fry remain signature offerings. The inn is located in Stillwater's commercial historic district, within walking distance of the St. Croix River and the town's collection of nineteenth-century commercial buildings.
Sources
The Lowell Inn's paranormal reputation is built on reports that have accumulated over decades of operation rather than on a single dramatic incident. The most consistent accounts describe auditory phenomena: footsteps in hallways when no guest is registered on a floor, voices heard in unoccupied rooms, and unexplained knocking late at night. These are categorized by paranormal researchers as classic residual hauntings — playback-style phenomena not involving interactive entities.
Electronic anomalies represent a second category of reported activity. Guests have described televisions switching on independently after being turned off and lights cycling without apparent cause. Cold spots in the common areas and a persistent sense of being observed in older sections of the building round out the documented claims.
The American Ghost Walks Stillwater tour, which has operated the route for years, includes the Lowell Inn as a featured stop. Tour guide Linda Lee has attributed much of Stillwater's paranormal reputation to the area's exceptionally well-preserved nineteenth-century built environment, noting that the entire downtown is considered active by the guide community. The inn's direct connection to the 1861 Sawyer House site — and its century of accumulated guest history — place it among Stillwater's most documented dark tourism stops.
The American Ghost Walks Stillwater tour includes the Lowell Inn among its stops, covering the inn's history of unexplained footsteps and residual phenomena alongside other haunted downtown sites. Tours run May through Halloween.
The original 23 historic guest rooms in the 1927 building are the most requested by guests seeking paranormal experiences. Upper floors and hallways near the older sections have the highest concentration of reported activity. Book direct through the inn.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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