Est. 1860 · Lambertville Commercial History · Delaware River Flooding · New Jersey Tavern History
Lambertville sits on the Delaware River at the New Jersey-Pennsylvania boundary, connected by bridge to New Hope, Pennsylvania. The town's position as a Delaware River crossing made it commercially important in the 19th century, and the building at 74 South Union Street reflects that history.
William McCreedy built the structure in the early 1860s. He owned and operated McCreedy's Paper Mill directly across South Union Street, making the house a domestic extension of his industrial enterprise. When the paper mill closed and the house changed hands, it transitioned through several uses before being converted to an inn and tavern in the early 1900s.
The 1903 Lambertville flood was a regional catastrophe. The Delaware overflowed its banks and the covered bridge connecting Lambertville to New Hope was destroyed; the current iron bridge dates to 1904. The building at 74 South Union survived.
In 1993, Doreen and Melissa Masset took ownership and renamed the property the Inn of the Hawke. The establishment operated as a restaurant and inn for 29 years, developing a reputation as one of New Jersey's more atmospherically active dining establishments. In March 2022, the Inn of the Hawke closed. New owners opened The Hawke — a casual steakhouse — at the same address in 2022.
Sources
- https://hauntedhistoryjaunts.com/the-inn-of-the-hawk-lambertville-nj/
- https://www.thehawkerestaurant.com
Object movementPoltergeist activity
The Inn of the Hawke's kitchen was the most consistently reported location. Pots and pans would lift from their hooks — not slide, not fall from a vibration — and come down hard onto the floor. The accounts describe this as a distinct movement, not a settling or a shift from nearby foot traffic.
The photographs were a separate phenomenon. In one specific area of the inn, framed pictures refused to stay on the walls. Different methods of hanging were tried and failed. The pictures came down regardless.
Ghost Hunters, the television investigation series, visited the Inn of the Hawke and broadcast their findings. According to reporting in the Asbury Park Press, the show's investigation confirmed a psychic's reading that identified two presences: a handyman who worked in the building when it was still a private home, and a girl wearing a yellow floral dress. Neither was identified by name, and neither has a documented historical counterpart.
A guest at the inn reported that their great-grandfather's family had owned the building from 1892 to approximately 1915, and that his mother, sister, and one brother had died in the house during that period. This would place multiple deaths in the building during a single family's occupancy — a circumstance that, if accurate, would provide historical grounding for the accounts.
The Inn of the Hawke closed in March 2022. The Hawke, which operates at the same address as a casual steakhouse, carries none of the original name's paranormal associations — at least not yet.
Media Appearances
- Ghost Hunters (TV series)
