The Riverside House - Jacksonville, FL
N 30° 18.569 W 081° 40.926
17R E 434417 N 3353276
The Riverside House, now an apartment complex, was originally a resort hotel called the Rochester House. A former guest who was the bride of a Confederate blockade runner is said to haunt it.
Waymark Code: WMRMT2
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 07/10/2016
Views: 2
"This structure was originally constructed as an 1860's resort hotel in Brooklyn known as the Rochester House. Located near the current intersection of Leila Street and Riverside Avenue, rooms were rented for $2 to $3 per day. Shaded by wild orange, oak, and magnolia trees, and known for its boating facilities and fishing, guests came from New York, Rhode Island, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and other states. Mary Todd Lincoln may have been its most famous guest. Mrs. Lincoln came to Jacksonville in late 1874 overpowered with grief and depression, following the death of three sons and President Lincoln.
While at the Rochester House, Lincoln became unshakably convinced that surviving Robert was deathly ill. Hurrying to Chicago in March 1875, she found him healthy. During her visit with him, she told him that someone attempted to poison her on the train and that a "wandering Jew" had taken her pocketbook. After nearly jumping out of a window to escape a non-existent fire, she was institutionalized in an Illinois asylum.
We'll never know what impact the Rochester House had on Mrs. Lincoln but many believe the building is haunted. Barged up river to its present location in 1911, it is said that ghost of a long departed guest remains in the building. The guest is said to be the bride of a confederate blockade runner. Claims have been made that the young blonde long black dress wearing ghost's footsteps can occasionally be heard on the third floor."
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