The Hotel Brunswick, built in 1909, was one of the first three-story buildings in the Kingman, Arizona area. A rivalry between the hotel’s early owners, Mulligan and Thompson, divided the hotel in two separate businesses. One half of the brick building operated as a hotel/restaurant, while the other half ran as a hotel/saloon. Both proprietors were very successful.
The Hotel Brunswick is also known to be very haunted. Mysterious coins have appeared out of nowhere and placed in hidden corners of the hallways and the lobby. Guests report strange appearances of apparitions or ghostly presences in their rooms…tucking them in or touching their heads or feet. A male ghost has been seen coming up the cellar steps.
Could one of the ghosts haunting the Brunswick be due to the sudden death of William D. McCright? W. D. McCright, about 74 years old, was found dead in his room at the Hotel Brunswick on March 7, 1915. The elderly man’s death came without warning and seemed to be of natural causes. He had apparently arisen out of his bed at the usual hour and was making his morning ablutions when the grim terror called him out. Not making his morning appearance downstairs at the usual hour, Mr. Miller went to his room and found the gentleman lying on the floor, dead, clutching a towel in his hands.
Mr. McCright arrived in Kingman about 1913 and moved into the upscaled Hotel Brunswick. He usually woke up about 7am and, after bathing, went down for breakfast. He then whiled away the day reading and talking about old times with friends. His fondness and knowledge of the Pacific coast area brought many acquaintances around him. His colleagues loved hearing his tales of early Arizona.
Born in Pennsylvania in 1841, McCright first came to Arizona from the California coast in 1874. He settled in Signal, AZ (now a ghost town) where he resided for forty years. He was one of the owners of a large mining property known as the McCracken mines. He received a large sum of money when he sold his interest in the mining business.
The retired miner spent the last years of his life as a resident of the Brunswick. He was buried in the historic Mountain View Cemetery in Kingman—and near to the untamed land he loved.
Hotel Brunswick
315 E Andy Devine Avenue
Kingman, AZ 86401
928-718-1800
Debe Branning nazanaza@aol.com
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