Simsbury's Pettibone Tavern

The Pettibone Tavern in Simsbury has been around since the 1700's. It's a very beautiful old building. For as long as I have lived in town, I have heard the stories of the place being haunted. For many years it has been a restaurant. I have known people who have worked in the restaurant and they also claim that there are ghosts that prowl the old house. One friend was a waitress and said she just set the tables in one room and had all the glasses turned down, she walked out of the room for 30 seconds and when she returned, all the glasses were turned up.

Up on the second floor there is a storage room. I once went into that storage room and in one section of the room, I got very cold but didn't feel cold in other parts of the room. Anyway, I just finished watching TAPS on the Sci-Fi channel and it was about the Pettibone Tavern. The story goes that Captain Pettibone had a daughter Abigail who was married, but not happily and she was having an affair. The husband found out about it and cut off their heads. The crew from TAPS was not able to detect any ghosts. I find that pretty hard to believe since so many people have had experiences there including myself.

In the 70's the Chart House chain purchased the Pettibone Tavern and it seems they liked to spread the word that the place was haunted. It must have been good for business. Several years ago, the Chart House sold the restaurant and it was turned back into the Pettibone Tavern. Last year there was a fire in the building which set off the sprinkler system. Unfortunately, there wasn't an alarm tied into the police or fire, so no one knew about the fire until all the damage was done & it was discovered the next morning. There was extensive water damage to the old house.

The good news is that it has been purchased and rumor has it that it will once again be a restaurant. I guess we will see if the ghosts are still there or if they moved on.