Owego, NY Inn Said to Be Haunted by a $45 Million Lottery Winner

Tioga County has a hotel where the guest list may include a few who never checked out. The 1867 Parkview Inn sits at 145 Front St. in downtown Owego, a charming river town, and the inn says it is listed on New York State's Haunted History Trail.

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, a night in a restored 1867 hotel is an easy sell for a Southern Tier getaway.

Owego, NY Parkview Inn History Starts in 1867

The story begins in 1867, when brothers Robert and John Cameron decided Owego needed a hotel, according to the inn. They built what became known as the Exchange Hotel and hired an Irish immigrant, Hugh Dugan, to manage it. Dugan later bought the property, renamed it the Dugan House, and added a second-floor balcony by 1878.

After Dugan died in 1885, his widow and son added onto the west side of the building. The hotel kept changing hands and names for more than a century. It became the Page Hotel in 1916 and the Park Hotel when John and Rose Kaufelt bought it in 1946. Joseph and Louise McTamney, who owned and operated it for nearly four decades, adopted the Parkview name.

The old hotel hosted dignitaries and outlaws over the years. The inn says its guests included John D. Rockefeller and Oscar Hammerstein.

SEE ALSO: The 10 Most Haunted Places in the Southern Tier of New York

Owego Parkview Inn Restoration and Hotel Rooms Today

The inn says Tropical Storm Lee flooded the first floor in 2011, just as current owners Beth and Mark Johnson were getting ready to buy the building. They went ahead with the purchase and restored the hotel. The inn's Airbnb listing says the renovation was completed in 2019 and describes nine rooms and five suites, an elevator, a handicap-accessible room, and two pet-friendly rooms.

You can reserve a room through the inn's website or by calling 607-687-9873.

Haunted Owego Parkview Inn Ghost Stories and Legends

The inn says paranormal professionals have confirmed its reported hauntings. The legends below come from the inn and from a Wandercuse account of a stay there.

The best-known story involves a 2-year-old girl named Marguerite. The inn says she died from burns in 1909 after a blanket caught fire while she sat in a rocking chair near a warming fire. Staff and visitors have reported hearing the dinner bell ring when no one is around, and the inn says that is Marguerite's way of showing she is nearby.

Some of the legends center on the bar. The inn says the spirit of Hugh Dugan, whose family operated the property for about 34 years, sits there with a pint. Floyd Hooker, a longtime Owego resident, is said to be another regular. The inn says he won $45 million from a New York State lottery ticket sold there on St. Patrick's Day.

Three cowboys are said to gather at the end of the bar. According to the legend, they murdered a man in the basement crawl space, and the inn says a bathroom renovation uncovered old bones that it ties to the story.

Renovations turned up more mysteries on the upper floors. The inn says a sealed-off room left dusty and quiet after a 1970s fire was discovered within the last several years. A room known as the Crying Room was identified by a paranormal professional as the site of a child's death, and the inn says it has stirred emotional reactions from visitors.

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Dugan House Restaurant and Pub Inside the Owego Parkview Inn

The first floor is home to the Dugan House Restaurant, which the inn calls the village's oldest continually operated business, operating since 1867. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, so check before you go.

The menu leans toward comfort food, with shepherd's pie, bangers and mash, and macaroni and cheese. The pub has a full bar with Guinness on draft. The Parkview Inn is at 145 Front Street in Owego.