Curious about the History of the B&B You’re Booking?
Posted: Wed-Oct-2012
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Livingston Inn, Madison.[/caption]
When you go somewhere special, do you like to stay somewhere special? As in an inn with an intriguing past life? If yes, then try the circa 1910 Brumder Mansion in Milwaukee, where ghost sightings are part of its lore and its lure – there, that’s our nod to Halloween. To acknowledge the final weeks of the 2012 presidential campaign, we bring you the Livingston Inn in Madison, a 160-year-old Gothic Revival mansion with political ties – it was home to two of Madison's first mayors. Yet, we think the Wisconsin inn with the most intriguing history has to be the Hamilton House B&B in Whitewater, where the owners learned of secret tunnels leading to other homes and the local train depot, believed to be part of the Underground Railroad, only after purchasing the inn. Innkeeper Kathleen Fleming tells us there are three tunnels leading from the basement, all brick lined with timber top and dirt bottom. They also discovered a fourth tucked behind a chimney that leads to a tiny hiding space on the top floor. Every Sunday morning, Kathleen’s husband Jim, a born storyteller according to Kathleen, shares the intriguing history of the inn with guests.
Livingston Inn, Madison.[/caption]
When you go somewhere special, do you like to stay somewhere special? As in an inn with an intriguing past life? If yes, then try the circa 1910 Brumder Mansion in Milwaukee, where ghost sightings are part of its lore and its lure – there, that’s our nod to Halloween. To acknowledge the final weeks of the 2012 presidential campaign, we bring you the Livingston Inn in Madison, a 160-year-old Gothic Revival mansion with political ties – it was home to two of Madison's first mayors. Yet, we think the Wisconsin inn with the most intriguing history has to be the Hamilton House B&B in Whitewater, where the owners learned of secret tunnels leading to other homes and the local train depot, believed to be part of the Underground Railroad, only after purchasing the inn. Innkeeper Kathleen Fleming tells us there are three tunnels leading from the basement, all brick lined with timber top and dirt bottom. They also discovered a fourth tucked behind a chimney that leads to a tiny hiding space on the top floor. Every Sunday morning, Kathleen’s husband Jim, a born storyteller according to Kathleen, shares the intriguing history of the inn with guests.
