Built in 1772 from Fort Edward's salvaged timbers and visited by Washington, Arnold, and Solomon Northup, this Washington County landmark runs seasonal haunted tours around its documented Revolutionary-era apparitions.
29 Broadway, Fort Edward, NY 12828
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Adults $10; seniors, military, AAA $8; children 13–18 $3; family $22; children under 13 free. Haunted tour pricing may differ — contact museum.
Access
Limited Access
Historic multi-building complex on uneven grounds; some areas may not be accessible. The 250-year-old main structure has period-era interior features.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1772 · National Register of Historic Places (1983) · Oldest Wood-Frame Structure in Washington County · Revolutionary War Headquarters (American and British) · Solomon Northup Residence (1830–1834)
Patrick Smyth constructed the Old Fort House on Broadway in Fort Edward in 1772, recycling heavy timbers from the original Fort Edward — a British military installation built in 1755 during the French and Indian War on the portage between the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. The building's gambrel roof and Federal-style detailing placed it among the finer structures in the region; it operated as the area's first tavern and functioned as a center of commerce for travelers on the Hudson-Champlain corridor.
During the American Revolution the building was claimed by both sides at different points. Benedict Arnold used it as a command post and arrested Smyth himself on charges of Loyalist sympathies. General Philip Schuyler inspected the old fort site from the house and determined that its position was indefensible against Burgoyne's advancing forces. George Washington and James Madison both passed through and are recorded as visitors; Baroness Frederika Charlotte Riedesel, wife of a Hessian commander during Burgoyne's campaign, called it 'the Red House' in her published memoirs.
Between 1830 and 1834, Solomon Northup and his wife Anne lived in the building, which Northup later described in his memoir as 'the old yellow building.' This detail gained wider recognition when Northup's narrative became the basis for the Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave (2013).
The building suffered significant fire damage in 1943 and was subsequently restored. The Fort Edward Historical Association has operated it as a museum complex since 1953; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and is recognized as the oldest standing structure in Washington County.
Sources
The most consistently reported figure at the Old Fort House is a Revolutionary War soldier seen upstairs. Staff members who have worked at the museum describe encountering him in a specific part of the upper floor; accounts from visiting paranormal investigators have corroborated the general location if not the specific identity.
Beyond the soldier, visitors and staff report shadow movement in the peripheral vision, unexplained voices in rooms that are known to be empty, and physical sensations interpreted as contact — the feeling of being touched or brushed past. These reports have accumulated across decades of museum operation, generating the kind of repeated-witness pattern that the Historical Society now treats as part of the site's documented history.
Paranormal investigation teams who have been granted access to the building after hours have used the term 'very interesting' in their public reports — a descriptor that, in investigator parlance, signals measurable anomalies without committing to an explanation. The Old Fort House is an official stop on the New York State Haunted History Trail, which connects it to a broader regional network of historically haunted sites with verified dark histories.
The museum runs one-hour haunted history tours each fall on select dates in September and October, framing the paranormal reports within the building's 250-year history.
Notable Entities
One-hour guided tours offered select Thursdays through Saturdays in September and October covering the 250-year history of the Old Fort House and the paranormal reports documented by staff, visitors, and investigators. Public and private tour options available.
Self-guided and docent-led daytime access to the Old Fort House complex, one of the oldest wood-frame structures in northern New York. Exhibits cover the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, Solomon Northup's residence, and the history of Fort Edward.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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