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The Adams Hotel is haunted, or was haunted at one time. The Hotel is the centerpiece of Lavina in Golden Valley County just 40 miles north of Billings, Montana. Just drive up to the top of 27th Street North in Billings and take a left turn onto Montana Route 3 and that will lead you straight to Lavina, Montana.
Lavina was a ranching community built where the Northern Pacific Rail Road put up their bridge at the best crossing of the Musselshell River in 1882. William Burke was the foreman of the construction crew and named the siding "Lavina" after his girlfriend. In 1885 the stage company built a steel bridge and Lavina became a hub for freighters and travelers to pause to change horses, have a drink or a meal, and get a good night's rest.
John Q. Adams, vice-president of the Milwaukee Road Company, chose a site on Ludwig "Louie" C. Lehfeldt's ranch for the Lavina town and the Hotel was built there in 1908 and named after Adams. http://mrha.com/
The Adams had steam heat, gas lighting, a fully stocked bar, hot baths and 22 rooms from 1 to 23 because there was no Room 13. The main entrance was on Main Street but another entrance faced the tracks and the depot.
Emmanuel Dolt, called "Manny" or "Dolty" came to the U.S. from Switzerland in 1902 and arrived in Montana in 1910 where he homesteaded 12 miles north of Lavina. He sold his place and moved into town and worked as a cook at the Adams Hotel and he lived in Room 2 there.
Dolty liked to drink and spent a lot of time alone in Room 2 with a bottle. In March 1927 he passed out in the coldness of the room and died of pneumonia. He was buried in Lehfeldt's family plot in Lavina's Cemetery.
Raymond Barry bought the hotel in 2000. Before the purchase he went there with two friends to see the place and got a very negative impression, but he saw potential. As he was looking around the place, he and his friends walked towards Room 1, the choicest suite, and as he was passing Room 2 Raymond saw an apparition dressed in 1920s style clothing.
Raymond said, "What are you doing here? You don't belong. Get out!"
The apparition left the room, crossed the hallway and passed through the wall. Ray's friend, Vianna Miles, also saw the ghost. The ghost had dark, curly hair and was slender and small in stature. When Ray asked if the building was haunted the owner said yes that the locals had seen a man ghost inside the building. The ghost's description matched that of "Dolty".
On another occasion Ray also saw a female ghost sitting at the piano in the downstairs music room. She wore a long, dark skirt with a high waist band and a white shirt and had black, pointed boots. The Adams Hotel is in the National Register of Historic Places. http://www.co.golden-valley.mt.us/html/lavina.html
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http://www.examiner.com/x-10832-Billings-Sightseeing-Examiner~y2009m6d10-Ghosts-of-Montana http://www.examiner.com/x-10832-Billings-Sightseeing-Examiner~y2009m6d15-Still-More-Ghosts-of-Montana
Gregan Wortmann
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