HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Spooner, Wisconsin home of Frank Hammill — railroad engineer, Spooner Advocate publisher, and the city's first mayor, who died in 1922 of a mysterious illness — exterior viewing only from public sidewalk.
Summit Avenue, Spooner, WI 54801
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Private residence; not open to the public
Access
Limited Access
Residential street; sidewalk view only.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1905 · Home of Frank Hammill, 'Father of Spooner' · Mayor of Spooner 1910–1918 · Founder and publisher of the Spooner Advocate
Frank Hammill was born in Parma, Michigan on December 23, 1857. He worked as a railroad engineer for the Michigan Central Railroad and then for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway. In 1902, Hammill and his wife relocated to Spooner, Wisconsin, a Northwoods railroad town in Washburn County.
In Spooner, Hammill purchased two competing weekly newspapers and consolidated them into the Spooner Advocate, which he edited and published. He was elected president of the Village of Spooner in 1903 and served as mayor of the city from 1910 through 1918 — the period during which Spooner formally transitioned from village to city. He was active in Wisconsin Republican politics.
Hammill died at his Summit Avenue home on Saturday, February 18, 1922, at approximately one o'clock in the afternoon. According to contemporary accounts published in his own newspaper a century later, he became ill the previous Monday with what was described as stomach trouble and extreme nervousness, culminating in a complete breakdown. The exact cause of death was not publicly established. Per local custom, his body was displayed inside the house before burial.
The house remained occupied by his widow for the remainder of her life. The property has changed hands multiple times since and is privately owned.
Sources
Local Spooner tradition, summarized in Edina Realty's regional roundup of the most-haunted houses in Minnesota and Wisconsin, holds that Frank Hammill's widow felt her husband's continued presence in the home after his death in 1922, and that subsequent residents have reported similar experiences. The home reportedly accumulated a reputation as a 'haunted' house through the twentieth century, with at least one family said to have moved out as a result.
The accounts collected by Edina Realty describe footsteps in upstairs hallways, voices in unoccupied rooms, and the sense of a male presence that current residents reportedly refer to as 'Frank.' The reports are folkloric rather than the product of structured investigation, and the home remains a private residence.
This venue is privately owned and not open to the public — appreciate from the public sidewalk only.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The Hammill House is a private residence on Summit Avenue in Spooner. View from the public sidewalk or street only; do not approach, photograph through windows, or trespass on the property. The Washburn County Historical Society in nearby Shell Lake holds Hammill family materials and is a better stop for visitors seeking historical context.
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