Sometimes the most inconspicuous buildings hold some of the most interesting secrets. Over the summer we decided to take a road trip to Mann’s Choice, PA (outside of Bedford) to stay at the Lincoln Motor Court.
The motor court is adorable in and of itself and it absolutely something every history enthusiast should check out, especially since it is the last operating motor court on Pennsylvania’s Lincoln Highway. While our time at the motor court was wonderful, it was something across the street that also caught my attention.
Discovering the Lincoln Hotel in Mann’s Choice
To most people the old, red building across the street from the motor court wouldn’t look like much, but to me I knew that that building had a story. While discussing the history of the Lincoln Motor Court with the owner, Debbie Altizer, I asked what the history of the red building was. The building has gone through many different owners over the years. She told me that it was at one time called the Lincoln Hotel and had most recently been an antique store. Before that however, it has a history of being a bar and a one-time brothel.
Yep, you heard that right.
Apparently, the attic area was where the lower class working girls worked with only a curtained area in which to conduct “business.” The higher-end ladies of the night were located on the second floor and each had her own room, albeit tiny.
This is the part with the ghosts.
Although I’ve never had the opportunity to go inside the building, apparently it is very haunted. Most recently, the building had life as an antique store. There were numerous reports of visitors trying to go to the second or third floor but were either frozen in fear, felt a foreboding feeling, or even felt a cold air blowing from some of the rooms. It tended to occur most often with women.
As the story goes, one of the prostitutes was killed by her jealous husband when he found out she was entertaining a lover in her room. It is said that her ghost still inhabits the second floor and an apparition has occasionally been seen in a full-length mirror at the end of the hallway.
There are other ghosts said to be inhabiting the Lincoln Hotel building as well. There is a jelly cabinet on the first floor that is said to have burn marks on it and would make noises. People said that it would make crashing sounds and sounds as if two tree limbs were being vigorously rubbed together. The thing is, no one is ever at the cabinet and nothing is ever amiss.
I knew the Lincoln Hotel building had a story to tell and I wasn’t disappointed. While the business is now closed (perhaps the ghosts have chased another owner away?) hopefully someone is brave enough to purchase the building and restore it.
While I love the history of the Lincoln Hotel and the ghost stories that go with it, there are many other haunted locations and roadside oddities to be explored!
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My Uncle, Donald Weyant once ran the Lincoln Hotel, It was a bar then My grandmother, Donalds mom and his wife Ethel were once cooks there