HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Oldest commercial building in Jonesborough hosted three future presidents; staff report footsteps and doors moving of their own accord
116 West Main Street, Jonesborough, TN 37659
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free exterior viewing; interior access through scheduled tours and events
Access
Limited Access
Historic building; some accessibility limitations. Main Street sidewalks accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1797 · Oldest surviving commercial building in Jonesborough · Hosted Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Andrew Johnson, John Sevier · Key stop on the post road connecting Knoxville to Washington · Tennessee State Historic Site administered by state archives
The Chester Inn was constructed in 1797 on what was then a key post road through Jonesborough—at the time the largest town in the western territories. The Federal-style building served as a tavern and inn for travelers and legal professionals visiting the Washington County Courthouse across the street. Its position on the main road and its proximity to the courthouse made it the natural gathering place for the most consequential figures passing through the region.
Four men who would hold high office in Tennessee or the United States stayed or practiced law in Jonesborough and are documented at the Chester Inn: Andrew Jackson, who practiced law in Jonesborough before becoming a U.S. senator and president; James K. Polk, the 11th president; Andrew Johnson, the 17th president, who lived in Greeneville just twenty miles east; and John Sevier, Tennessee's first governor. WJHL-TV reported on these connections as part of its Haunted Tri-Cities coverage.
The Tennessee State Library and Archives now administers the building as a state historic site. The building has been preserved within the broader Jonesborough National Register Historic District, which encompasses the core of the 1779 town.
Sources
WJHL-TV documented accounts from Chester Inn staff of unexplained footsteps—audible foot traffic in rooms and hallways where no one is present. Staff also described doors opening and closing without external explanation, consistent with other reported activity in the building's older sections.
Paranormal investigators who have conducted sessions at the Chester Inn report capturing photographs of orbs under the upper left balcony of the building's Main Street facade. The Tennessee state tourism office included the Chester Inn on its 2022 list of the state's haunted destinations, giving the site a modest official acknowledgment of its reputation.
Appalachian GhostWalks includes the Chester Inn as one of the anchor stops on its Jonesborough tour, connecting the building's documented history—presidents, governors, frontier lawyers—with the staff's reported experiences. The building's two centuries of continuous use give it the depth of layered occupancy that defines the most durable dark tourism sites.
The Chester Inn's Federal-style facade dominates the west end of Jonesborough's Main Street. Dating to 1797, the building is the oldest surviving commercial structure in Jonesborough and operated as a tavern and inn hosting travelers on the Knoxville-Washington road.
The Chester Inn is a primary stop on the Appalachian GhostWalks Jonesborough tour, which covers the building's presidential visitor history and staff-reported paranormal activity including unexplained footsteps and orb captures under the upper balcony.
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