Unique Haunted Rooms Experience with the Herkimer County Historical Society

We all know that New York has plenty of history with lots of historical societies to illuminate the colorful past of our region. Just in time for Halloween, the Mohawk Valley Today team got to join sin on the fun at the Herkimer County Historical Society’s recent Haunted Rooms event.

Haunted Rooms America visits Herkimer, NY

Haunted Rooms America is a nationwide organization that offers ghost hunts in every corner of the country. This month, Haunted Rooms was in Herkimer at the notorious the beautiful Suiter House Museum and the notorious 1834 Herkimer County Jail. The spooky event had participants from all over New York and even as far away as New Jersey.

David, the event host from Haunted Rooms, has been hosting similar ghost hunt events in various haunted locations for more than 10 years. His first ghost hunt was at the Yorktown Hospital in his home state of Texas, and he was quick to tell the MVT team that experience was also one of his spookiest. Traveling all over the country, David leads investigations for Haunted Rooms, along with his sweet dog Alice, and he was happy to be back at the Herkimer County Historical Society. To assist with the sold-out event, David also had two other hosts, Jennifer and Brandon, who traveled to the Mohawk Valley from Maryland.

The event hosts were clear that all participants were required to approach the experience with respect, or risk being removed. As David said in the introduction “This isn’t Ghost Adventures, we don’t provoke anything here.”

The participants for this event were split into three groups, and would take turns in three locations: the first floor of the jail, where Jennifer guided a conversation like session using a spirit box; the basement of the jail, lead by Brandon, who used devices to detect movement and static electricity to illuminate any otherworldly activity, and the Suiter Home, where David taught participants how to use dousing rods and K2 meters for any possible ghostly encounters.

1884 Suiter House Museum

The 1884 Suiter House Museum is a beautiful Queen Anne-style home in Herkimer, NY, most notable for its beautiful architecture and the fact that the house has never been lived in. The mansion was constructed for Dr. A. Walter Suiter, prominent physician in the area. Although no-one ever resided in the building, Dr. Suiter the ground floor for his medical practice, which included an office, waiting room, and library.

1834 Herkimer County Jail

The 1834 Herkimer County Jail is diagonally across the street from the Suiter House Museum, at the historic four corners on Main Street. The MVT team at the even was fascinated by the history of the 1834 Herkimer Jail, particularly the story of Roxalana “Roxana” Druse.

Roxalana “Roxana” Druse

Many in the area may have heard the gruesome tale of Roxana Druse, who was charged with her husband’s murder in 1884. Roxana had been abused throughout her twenty-year marriage, at one point even strangled and threatened with death by her husband. After suffering for years at his hands, she ended her own torment with her plan to murder her husband.

After enlisting help from her daughter and nephew, Roxana killed her husband and disposed of him in such a way that when investigators began searching for her husband in 1885, all that could be recovered were some bone fragments. After an investigation, murder charges were brought against Roxana and she pleaded guilty to the murder of her husband. Unfortunately, aside from the grisly nature of the crime, Roxana is also infamous due to the botched hanging execution she was forced to suffer through. Due to the horrific nature of her execution, Roxana was the last woman to be hanged in New York state.

During her incarceration, Roxana was held in the upstairs women’s wing of the Herkimer Jail. The women’s wing of the Herkimer Jail is notable for the presence of a cast iron clawfoot tub, a privilege that was not extended to the men’s wing of the jail.

Chester Gillette and John Henry House

On the other side of the upstairs section was the men’s wing, which held notable male murders such as Chester Gillette, from Cortland, NY, and John Henry House, from Warren, NY. Both were charged with killing their female partners in brutal fashions. Chester Gillette violently murdered Grace Brown in 1906, and Chester was incarcerated at the Herkimer County Jail until his execution in 1908. John Henry House was arrested in June, 1924 for murdering his fifth wife, Harriet Schmall. In July of 1924, John Henry House elected not to be put on trial for the murder of his wife by way of committing suicide.

In the basement of the Herkimer County Jail, men charged with lesser crimes were held on a temporary basis for no more than 364 days. Men moved around the cells freely, which once lead to a successful escape of several men, two of which were never caught. The 1834 Herkimer County Jail continued to be a place where incarcerated persons were held until 1977.

MVT was thrilled to be part of such an interesting and unique event! If ghost hunts are up your alley, be sure to check out HauntedRooms.com for next years spooky event! Many thanks to the Herkimer County Historical Society for hosting the event along with the Mohawk Valley Today Team.