Ithaca's oldest downtown landmark, built 1828–1829 as an upscale hotel where Simeon DeWitt — the 'Father of Ithaca' — died in Room 9; his ghost is reported shuffling through the upper floor.
120 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Exterior viewing only; the building houses offices and a charter school and is not open to general visitors.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Downtown sidewalk; exterior viewing from public street
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1829 · National Register of Historic Places (1971) · Greek Revival Architecture · Ithaca's First Professional Office Building · Pre-Civil War Hotel History
The Clinton House was built between 1828 and 1829 at 120 North Cayuga Street in downtown Ithaca, on land near the corner of what is now the Ithaca Commons. The partnership behind the project — Henry Ackley, Jeremiah Beebe, and Henry Hibbard — designed it as both Ithaca's first professional office building and an upscale hotel, with 150 rooms arranged across multiple floors. The building is primarily Greek Revival in style with Federal elements, and its scale and finish made it the most prominent structure in the village on completion.
A contemporary account from 1832 described it as 'a hotel of superior order and of the first class… equaled by few and surpassed by none in the State.' The claim was credible: the Clinton House served guests of stature passing through Central New York during the antebellum period.
The building is named for DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York from 1817 to 1822 and again from 1824 to 1827, and the driving force behind the Erie Canal. It is not named for Simeon DeWitt — a confusion that occasionally appears in local tourism material — though DeWitt Clinton and Simeon DeWitt were first cousins.
The Clinton House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 12, 1971 (reference number 71000560). The address in NRHP documentation is 120 North Cayuga Street. The building is now occupied by professional offices and New Roots Charter School, and is not open to general visitors.
Sources
Simeon DeWitt served as Surveyor General of New York State for fifty years, from 1784 to 1834. He is credited with platting Ithaca and is often called the 'Father of Ithaca.' Though his family remained in Albany, DeWitt spent three months each year in Ithaca, and his room of choice at the Clinton House was always Room 9 on the third floor. He died at the hotel during one of those annual stays.
At his request, DeWitt was buried on land he owned on Buffalo Street in Ithaca. The town honored his wish, and his remains stayed there for roughly 25 years. Then a particularly severe winter storm shifted the ground enough that his casket rose and his bones were scattered across the burial plot. Locals collected what could be found and transported the remains to Albany, where DeWitt was reinterred in a vault beneath the Middle Dutch Church.
The displacement of his remains is the context most often offered for the Clinton House haunting. Guests and later occupants of what was Room 9 reported shuffling sounds late at night and found objects moved from where they had been left — phenomena consistent across accounts documented by Ithaca Voice in 2018 and cited on local haunted history walking tours organized by The History Center in Tompkins County.
The building no longer operates as a hotel. The charter school and office tenants are not known to have reported activity publicly.
Notable Entities
The Clinton House at 120 North Cayuga Street is viewable from the public sidewalk in downtown Ithaca. The building houses offices and New Roots Charter School and is not open to general public access. Ithaca's haunted history walking tours organized by The History Center cover the Clinton House and Simeon DeWitt's story.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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