Est. 1840 · Fort Edward History · French and Indian War · Colonial Military Architecture · Washington County Heritage
Fort Edward was established as a military post in 1755, serving as a major British supply and staging point during the French and Indian War and later the American Revolution. The defensive fortifications it relied on were earthen walls and palisades that defined the village's footprint for generations after the fort was decommissioned.
In the early 1840s, Alexander Burke constructed a blacksmith shop on the outer walls of the old fort's perimeter—the building that now houses the Anvil Inn. The shop's position on the fort's former outer walls is not incidental; it reflects a common pattern in Fort Edward's 19th-century development, in which the old military ground was gradually absorbed into civilian commercial activity. The blacksmith's stone and timber construction proved durable, and the building survives in substantially original form.
The space was restored and converted into a restaurant in 1975. Since 1986, it has operated as a chef-owned establishment. The main dining room preserves the original exposed beam ceiling and a large stone fireplace, supplemented by antique blacksmith equipment and a collection of horseshoes displayed throughout the space. The restaurant's signature dessert—cranberry bread pudding—has become one of the better-known offerings in Washington County. Current hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 4:00 pm, with the last seating at 8:30 pm.
Sources
- https://www.newyorkhauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/the-anvil-inn.html
- https://northernlivingny.com/haunted-places-in-the-adirondack-region/
- https://www.glensfalls.com/history/spooky-sites-washington-county/
Lights turning on and offMusic activating or cutting outBottles dropped from shelvesCold spots
The Anvil Inn's haunting is attributed to a single female entity whose identity has not been historically documented. The accounts of her activity cluster around interactive manipulation of the restaurant's environment: lights switching on or off during service, music cutting in or out without anyone touching the controls, and—most specifically—bottles being displaced from shelves and dropping to the floor. The bottle-dropping accounts have been consistent enough across different witnesses to become the signature phenomenon at the property.
Cold spots have also been reported by staff and diners, appearing in specific areas of the dining room without correspondence to drafts or HVAC activity. The spirit is not described as threatening or hostile in any of the accounts; the characterization is uniformly mischievous—a presence that interferes with the ordinary mechanics of a working restaurant but does not distress the people in it.
The building's location on the outer walls of the former Fort Edward—a military installation that saw significant violence and death during the French and Indian War period—provides a historical backdrop that paranormal researchers have noted, even though the female spirit's specific origin has not been connected to any particular person or event from the fort's documented history.
Notable Entities
Unnamed female spirit
