Forepaugh’s Mansion

Joseph Lybrandt Forepaugh was born in Pennsylvania in 1837 and made his money in dry goods, wholesale boots and shoes, and later real estate in St. Paul. Around 1870–71 he built an Italianate and Second Empire mansion for his wife Mary and their children on Exchange Street in what is now the Irvine Park Historic District. In 1886 he sold it to retired Civil War general John Henry Hammond while the family travelled in Europe, and on their return in 1889 they built a second estate on Summit Avenue. The older house passed through many hands, and in 1976 it became a restaurant.

On 8 July 1892 Forepaugh was found dead in nearby Irvine Park of a gunshot wound. The family attributed it to anxiety over his investments, and it is said that the financial crash of the following year did not in the end cost them their wealth. His death is documented. What is not documented is the story that gave the house its ghost: a young Irish maid called Molly, said to have been Forepaugh’s lover and to have been dismissed when Mary learned of it. In the legend, Molly took her own life in the house; versions disagree on the details, and local writers note that it is unclear whether the affair ever happened or whether Molly existed.

The restaurant’s staff have supplied most of the reports. A former general manager, Doran, told a 2015 television feature that activity occurred “every single day,” with third-floor lights turning back on after closing and glasses rattling after a guest joked about the haunting. Others describe cold spots, rhythmic banging and footsteps in the upstairs dining rooms, a woman in period clothing glimpsed by a waitress setting a table, and a well-dressed man who strides through the restaurant as if he owned it. Some guests mention a lavender scent, and the third-floor table linked to Molly was long the most requested reservation. A 1990s wedding photograph was said to show a disembodied arm on the staircase.

Forepaugh’s closed in March 2019 after about 43 years, its owner citing falling revenue and the death of its executive chef. After a renovation it reopened in 2024 with a new menu and a patio. The ghost stories remain a draw, but they are best treated as local folklore built on a real family’s real loss.

Lights that switch back on, rattling glasses, cold spots on the third floor, footsteps and banging upstairs, a lavender scent, an apparition of a woman in period dress and a man in Victorian clothes. Reports are from employees, a former manager and visitors.

The third floor and its dining rooms, the staircase, the basement and the second-floor rooms, according to staff and visitors.

The restaurant has been featured in Twin Cities media for its ghosts, and Forepaugh’s ranks in regional lists of Minnesota’s most haunted places, alongside the Wabasha Street Caves.