The Lumber Baron Inn in Denver, Colorado, is a historic, and allegedly haunted, mansion with a dark, troubling past.
History of Colorado’s Lumber Baron Inn and Gardens
Originally built in 1890 by a literal lumber baron and Scottish immigrant, John Mouat, the Lumber Baron Inn was one of roughly 200 homes that Mouat erected using his lumber and the fortune he’d made from it, specifically for his family.
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In fact, Mouat once said that he’d made what would become the Mouat Lumber Inn for his wife and five children because it was the nicest of all of his houses.
Tragedy Strikes Colorado’s Lumber Baron Inn
Decades after it was originally built as Mouat’s family’s mansion, the home became subject to neglect and was eventually made into temporary housing.
During this period, tragedy struck in 1970 when an occupant of the property, identified as a 17-year-old runaway, was sexually assaulted and murdered by an unknown assailant. The incident became more tragic as one of the girl’s friends, an 18-year-old woman, showed up on the property while the assailant was still there and was subsequently shot to death.
Colorado’s Lumber Baron Inn is Revived Post-Tragedy
After the tragic events took place, the property became even more neglected and was even condemned until 1991, when married couple Walter and Julie Keller took it upon themselves to restore the building and convert it into the Lumber Baron Inn that we all know today.
Colorado’s Lumber Baron Inn is Allegedly Haunted
Because of the tragedy that took place there in 1970, and the simple fact that it has been standing since 1890, it should come as no surprise that the Lumber Baron Inn is said to be haunted.
Various paranormal investigation groups have checked out the property and have claimed to have spoken to the spirits of both girls who lost their lives there, and some have even claimed to have seen apparitions…