HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Where Kate and Maggie Fox launched American Spiritualism with a murdered peddler's ghost in 1848
1510 Hydesville Road, Newark, NY 14513
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free admission; donations accepted
Access
Wheelchair OK
Flat park grounds with paved paths near the foundation enclosure
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1848 · Birthplace of American Spiritualism · Fox Sisters — Kate and Maggie Fox · 1848 Spirit Communications · National landmark in religious history
The Fox family rented the wood-frame cottage at Hydesville, in what is now Newark, Wayne County, New York, starting in late 1847. John and Margaret Fox and their daughters Kate and Margaretta had heard unexplained knocking sounds in the house for weeks before the night of March 31, 1848, when the girls began responding to the sounds with a clapping pattern. Their mother called in neighbor Mary Redfield to witness the phenomenon. Through a code of raps, the girls established an apparent dialogue with an unseen presence that identified itself as a murdered peddler named Charles B. Rosna, allegedly buried in the cellar.
Word spread quickly. Crowds gathered. The family relocated to Rochester, where the sisters gave public demonstrations that drew skeptics and believers alike. Their 1849 performances at Corinthian Hall in Rochester were the first paid public séances in American history. By the early 1850s Kate and Maggie were conducting séances for prominent New Yorkers, including newspaper editor Horace Greeley and author James Fenimore Cooper.
On October 21, 1888, Margaretta Fox publicly demonstrated at the New York Academy of Music how the rapping sounds had been produced by manipulating the joints in her toes. She received $1,500 from the New York World for the exclusive account. She recanted the confession the following year, and the controversy over the sisters' credibility never fully resolved before their deaths — Kate in 1892, Margaretta in 1893.
In 1904, schoolchildren in the crumbling walls of the Hydesville cottage found skeletal remains that were reported as potentially dating to the 1840s, briefly reviving claims about the peddler. Subsequent examination found the remains mixed with chicken bones, and the episode was dismissed as a practical joke. The cottage was removed to Lily Dale Assembly, a Spiritualist community in Chautauqua County, in 1916, where it stood until fire destroyed it in 1955. Wayne County now maintains the stone foundation as a small public park.
Sources
The legend at Hydesville is inseparable from the documented history. Kate and Maggie Fox claimed on March 31, 1848 to be communicating with the ghost of a peddler named Charles B. Rosna, murdered years earlier and buried in the cellar. Rosna's identity was never confirmed; no body matching the claim was found during initial excavations, which flooded before completion.
Visitors to the modern park occasionally report hearing knocking or rapping sounds near the foundation enclosure, consistent with the phenomenon the Fox girls described. The Haunted History Trail of New York State lists the site as an active paranormal location, noting that "the rappings" are still associated with the preserved foundation.
The theological and historical weight of the site is unusual. The Fox Sisters' Hydesville cottage is considered the founding event of the American Spiritualist movement, which at its peak in the 1850s and 1860s claimed millions of adherents. Whether or not the sounds were fraudulent, the site produced a genuine cultural earthquake whose effects are still traceable.
Notable Entities
The park is publicly accessible year-round. The original cottage was moved to Lily Dale in 1916 and burned in 1955; the remaining stone foundation sits beneath an interpretive enclosure. Walk the grounds where the Fox family lived and where the March 31, 1848 events occurred.
Interior access to the foundation enclosure is available by arrangement with the on-site caretaker. Call ahead to schedule.
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