A Founding Father's Home with Colonial Ghosts
304 Daniel Webster Hwy, Merrimack, NH 03054
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Dinner entrees $20-$35. Lunch daily 11:30am-4pm; Dinner Sun-Thu 4-9pm, Fri-Sat 4-9:30pm. Call-ahead list at (603) 429-3463; no online reservations.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved, restaurant interior
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1797 · American Revolution · Declaration of Independence Signer · Underground Railroad · Colonial-Era Architecture
The structure at 304 Daniel Webster Highway dates to approximately 1794–1797, its earliest incarnation as a property belonging to Edward Goldstone Lutwyche, a Loyalist whose estate was confiscated during the American Revolution. At auction, the land passed to Dr. Matthew Thornton, a physician from Londonderry who had signed the Declaration of Independence as a New Hampshire delegate. Thornton gave the property to his son James as part of his inheritance.
James Thornton operated the building as a tavern for several decades. On July 5, 1817, the Farmer's Cabinet documented his death: 'In Merrimack, 3d inst. Capt. James Thornton, aet. 53 — (suicide from derangement.)' Genealogical research confirms he hanged himself in the dining room. Both Matthew Thornton and his wife Hannah Jack Thornton — for whom the tavern was eventually named — are buried in the Matthew Thornton cemetery, directly across the street from the building.
After James Thornton's death, the property passed through various owners across two centuries. Charles Mulch purchased and renovated the structure in 1977, renaming it 'The Signer's House' in reference to its revolutionary-era provenance. In the early 1980s, a subsequent owner renamed it Hannah Jack Tavern, honoring Hannah Jack Thornton, who had been born in Chester, New Hampshire in 1742. The tavern operated under that name until 2004, when The Common Man restaurant chain acquired it and integrated the property into its New Hampshire portfolio.
The basement corridor has been identified by former staff as a likely passage connected to the regional Underground Railroad network. A former manager named Jaime Saxe reported hearing a woman humming in the liquor storage area adjacent to what she described as a passage in the lower level. The Common Man chain continues to operate the restaurant today, with the building listed on local historical registers as one of Merrimack's oldest structures.
Sources
Reports of paranormal activity at 304 Daniel Webster Highway predate The Common Man's ownership. When the building was still operating as Hannah Jack Tavern, a bartender named Mark described encountering a man in 19th-century clothing and a long black coat in one of the dining areas. Former employee Ginger encountered a small girl in the kitchen who told her she was lost. When Ginger alerted the staff and called police, the girl was gone.
Manager Jaime Saxe reported hearing a woman humming in the liquor storage room near what she understood to be an Underground Railroad corridor in the lower level. During quiet hours, staff described hearing dishes, bottles, and glasses fall or move without contact — with the frequency of incidents reportedly increasing whenever employees gathered to discuss the building's history.
In October 2008, the Nocturnal Society of Paranormal Research and Investigations conducted a formal survey of the property. Investigator Scott McCann described a specific experience in the basement: the sound of someone running past, clear as day, with no one visible. The team captured audio of footsteps running through the lower level — an account McCann attributed to James Thornton, whose 1817 death in the dining room is documented in the Farmer's Cabinet newspaper.
The woman ascending the staircase in a long black dress has been reported by multiple workers over the decades, typically in the early morning hours before the restaurant opens. A fire fighter visiting the building reported seeing a small boy near the same staircase. Native American and colonial servant figures have also been reported, particularly in the basement area and on the cellar stairs, though no specific historical identity has been attached to either account.
Notable Entities
Dine inside a 1797 structure built by Matthew Thornton, signer of the Declaration of Independence. The kitchen where a colonial-era girl reportedly vanished when staff called police, the cellar passage believed to be part of the Underground Railroad, and the staircase where a woman in a long black dress has been seen ascending — all accessible during a standard dinner visit.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Rye, NH
Ray's Seafood Restaurant at 1677 Ocean Boulevard in Rye, New Hampshire has operated for over 50 years and is recognized as one of the oldest continually running seafood restaurants on the state's Seacoast. The building's earlier residential use in the 1960s included tenants named Goldie and her sister Blanche, whose time in the building is the origin of the property's paranormal reputation.
Stony Brook, NY
Built around 1710, the Country House Restaurant in Stony Brook is one of Long Island's oldest surviving domestic structures. The building served as a private residence and farm before British troops occupied it during the Revolutionary War. Over its three centuries of use it has housed a tavern, a private home, and its current incarnation as a full-service restaurant.
Casa Grande, AZ
Cafe de Manuel's operates as an authentic Mexican restaurant in Casa Grande, Arizona, established in 1995. The building formerly functioned as a furniture store and private residential property prior to restaurant use. The structure harbors historical trauma from its commercial and residential operations.