Kahn Hotel - Jefferson, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 32° 45.373 W 094° 20.706
15S E 373997 N 3625062
Originally built in 1865, the Kahn Hotel in Jefferson, TX (USA) used to be a saloon for many years; it has the dubious honor of being the 7th most haunted building in the state of Texas.
Waymark Code: WMWF1Y
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/25/2017
Views: 2
Located in the heart of downtown Jefferson, Texas, the Historic Kahn Hotel is a tiny 4-bedroom hotel which opened in 2016. It was previously the old Kahn Saloon (also known as the "George E. Haggard Building"): built during the civil war, it has the dubious honor of being the 7th most haunted building in the state of Texas.
The historic Kahn Hotel's building has housed many commercial establishments over the past 150 years, as elaborated by a Texas Historical Marker on its facade:
"[...] this structure served as a boarding house and as a mercantile before opening as the Kahn Saloon about 1900. Temperance movement leader Carrie Nation was denied entrance here during one of her campaigns through Texas. Jefferson native Marion Try Slaughter launched his career as country music singer Vernon Dalhart at the Kahn Saloon. The popular gathering place was closed after local prohibitionists won a 1907 election. Since that time, the building has been used for a variety of purposes, including a newspaper office, lodge building, furniture store, and funeral home."
Per a 1979 National Register Survey, the building is a "brick, rectangular (three-bay front), two-story Victorian Commercial building. Arcaded first floor front with ashlar-scored stucco, flat roof with full entablature; rusticated corner pilasters; first level has three apertures with masonry arches and fine fanlight transoms, double entrance door; second story has three windows (6/6 light double hung sash type windows with segmental brick arches)".
As noted on the Texas historical marker, the hotel was was also the launching pad of Country Music singer Vernon Dalhart. A separate historical marker has been placed on the building's facade in his honor as well (see gallery photos).
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A few additional "ghost-related" historical facts, per the hotel's own website: (
visit link)
"The Kahn Hotel is considered to be one of the top ten most haunted hotels in Texas and is located in Jefferson, the most haunted city in Texas, having been featured in several magazines, newspaper articles and the Travel, Discovery and SciFi channels.
The Historic Kahn Saloon was built in 1865 and renovated into a hotel in 2016. The property has a colorful and violent history as a saloon and brothel during Jefferson's wild-west days as a booming river port town in the civil war era. A few notable events that occurred in the saloon include an incident whereby a local deputy and patron of the saloon shot and killed each other inside the front door. Perhaps this event still reverberates through time as a paranormal group recorded the sound of gunshots in 2017. In another incident, Jessica, a madam in the brothel and her 7 year old son Andrew were killed during a robbery upstairs and both seem to remain in residence. Andrew often plays tricks on guest and Jessica can sometimes be seen at the top of the stairs in a white dress. In another event, a prostitute leaving one evening was beaten in the rear alley and dragged herself just inside the still existing back door where she died. Blood stains appear randomly at that entrance and were photographed in July 2017. Then there is the legend of how a young couple eloped to Jefferson to marry and were followed here by the girls father. The father confronted the couple in the rear upstairs area and a fight ensued. The bride-to-be was accidentally knocked out the rear window during the scuffle and fell to her death on the street below. After knocking the groom unconscious the father reportedly hung him from the rafters in the rear left corner upstairs. A resident spirit named Billy (according to paranormal investigators) hangs out in that corner and does not apparently appreciate visitors unless they are women.
These and more violent episodes in the building's history along with it's later use as Haggards funeral home at the turn of the century give rise to the buildings other worldly residents and its reputation as one of the most haunted buildings in Texas, making the property a haven for ghost hunters and paranormal groups. The property's central location in the heart of the historic district and its convenience to events, restaurants and activities also make the hotel a popular destination for tourists."