The Union Hotel
The Union Hotel is located on Main Street in the small, quaint town of Flemington, New Jersey. Before I go into this history, that is the haunted history of the Union Hotel, I want to first talk about this history of Flemington itself.
In 1870, Felmington became a town. Then, in 1894, Flemington became a village, and finally in 1910, Flemington became an independent borough. Before any of this though, a man by the name of Samuel Fleming purchased part of the land and built his house on Bonnell Street. Even before this, the land was originally maintained by the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. In 1712, William Penn and Daniel Coaxe purchased the land. The Courthouse of Hunterdon County was chosen to reside in Flemington, and on February 13, 1935, a jury in Flemington found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of kidnapping and murdering Charles Lindbergh’s son as the world watched the trial in this small town.
As of the 2000 census, Flemington has a population of 4,201. The land of Flemington consists of 1.1 square miles.
Three historic land marks of Flemington are the Union Hotel and Hunterdon County Courthouse, as well as the Fleming castle.
Built in 1814 by Neil Hart, the Union Hotel served as a gathering police for stage coach passengers and tourists in the 19th century. In 2008, the hotels closed its doors after not being able to turn a real profit for years.
There are ghostly legends surrounding the old Union Hotel, starting with the unexplainable slamming of doors. Also, people have reported seeing two leather children’s shoes walking up the stairs unoccupied. Some have even claimed to seeing children in vacant rooms.
One night, one of the old managers was doing work late in her office and felt an unknown and unseen presence. The majority of these ghost sightings have been on the 2nd and 3rd floors, where most of the public were never allowed to go to during the time the hotel was open.
Whether its for the small-town charm or the old history of Flemington, take a trip down to witness a self-preserved time machine. The economy has hit Flemington hard and many stores have been closing, but it is still holding up its 300 year-old spark. Go to Flemington and walk around this beautiful town, where maybe with a stroll down Main Street, you just may encounter something not of this world.
