The Oxford Saloon Has a Haunted History

Article compliments of wierdus.com
The gem of historic Snohomish is the Oxford Saloon. It was built in 1900 and for a decade was known as Blackman’s Dry Goods store. It then became a saloon, and over the years it has changed owners and uses, but each owner incorporated “Oxford” in its name.

When it was remodeled as a saloon the owners added vestibule to the entrance, with a stairway leading to several rooms on the second floor. These were supposed to be boarding house rooms, but there are rumors that a prominent local businesswoman named Kathleen (or Katherine), rented them as a high class bordello.

She did not go into the saloon, but kept an office at the local Eagle’s Lodge, where she made reservations for her high-toned clientele.

Over the years, the Oxford Saloon was often the scene of violence, especially around the basement, a men’s card room and the bar. One well-documented killing was that of a policeman, named Henry. He was a regular at the Oxford and may have moonlighted as a bouncer. One night there was a fight, and when Henry attempted to break it up, he was knifed and died in the melee.

Henry seems to have stuck around, and actually enjoys certain aspects of his ghosthood. He hangs out around the stairs leading to the basement and has been seen many times in the ladies’ restroom. Seen and felt, as many women report being pinched by him. However, Henry always disappears when confronted.

The second floor of the Oxford is now rented out as offices, but at least three ghosts seem to remain from the Oxford’s darker days. One is a man in a bowler hat, and the others are two women. Some people believe one is Kathleen, who

Oxford Saloon Snohomish – Haunted History – Ghost Stories
Haunted History

eventually lived upstairs. She is seen as an older woman, dressed in a purple dress with purple bows. The other woman is Amelia, one of Kathleen’s girls, Oxford Saloon Snohomish – Haunted – Ghostswho had been forced into prostitution. Her dead body was found curled up in her closet, and no one was sure whether she committed suicide, or was murdered.

Beginning in 2005, the Washington State Ghost Society performed several investigations at the Oxford Saloon. Weird Washington spoke with Russ and Sandy, who were members of WSGS at the time, but went on to found FOG Paranormal.

Sandy and Russ investigated the second floor first, turning on their tape recorder, and started up the stairs. At the time, Sandy said, “Russ, take some pictures.” When the tape was played back later on, they heard a male voice echo hers. A few seconds later, they heard a child’s voice laughing or crying in the background.

The manager gave them keys to all of the offices on the top floor. They tried several times to open the rooms, only to have the keys fall out of the lock, as if some unseen hand pulled it out before Sandy could turn it. Eventually they managed to open some of the rooms. While this was going on, on the playback, they heard a voice say, “I dropped the keys to my room.” It was as if they were being mocked. According to legend, Amelia lived and died in Room 6. Nothing happened in that room during the investigation. (Later Sandy and Russ would rent the room as an office, and reported the furniture being rearranged in it from time to time when they weren’t present.)

They entered Room 4 and tried talking to any spirits. They later found they got a response: a strong male voice that spoke directly into the microphone and said, “I am the one.” As they left the second floor, they were followed by a voice that gave them a not so fond farewell, saying, “You’ll die.”

Russ and Sandy met two other investigators downstairs and after some conversation, they went down to the lower bar, and then to the basement. At the bottom of the basement stairs, Russ took ten pictures of the stairs with his digital camera. One of the pictures shows what looks like a man standing in front of the camera, looking up the stairs. Another shows the man turning toward the camera. Because the photos were digital, a professional photographer analyzed them and determined it was unlikely that the picture had been altered after it was taken.

At the end of the investigation, one group member used the bathroom. As he was relieving himself, he heard a man’s voice whisper in his ear, “Get out!” Remembering to zip up his pants, the man did as he was asked, and in the future he always remembered to go before he arrived at the Oxford Saloon.

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Established in 1910 – History of the Oxford

Article courtesy of HistoryLink.org

Arthur M. Blackman (1865-1929) was born into the grocery business side of the Blackman clan from Maine, but who settled in Oakland, California. Arthur arrived in Snohomish on Christmas Day 1885.Oxford Saloon Snohomish - Ghosts

It took him only two years to open his first grocery store on the northwest corner of Avenue C and First Street.

Four summers later he built this large store boasting of 20,000 items in stock. The handsome structure designed and built by J. S. White in the fashionable false-front architectural style cost Arthur $5,000 according to newspaper accounts. White also built Arthur’s family home, still standing on the southeast corner of Avenue D and Fourth Street.

Arthur served as the city’s postmaster for several years and was elected to the county council in 1914.

During Prohibition this building was the Oxford Pool Room. It was not used as drinking establishment until World War II

 

Photo Courtesy of the Snohomish Historical Society

Blackmans store. ca. 1890 

My grandfather, Nels Petersen, was the owner of the Oxford Tavern from sometime in 1923/24 or so, until perhaps 1938. Some records show him as Nels Peterson. He is shown in the picture that I believe is still on the wall behind the bar. A fairly tall – erect – balding man. Grampa always smoked cigars.

It was during the time that grampa Nels owned the Oxford, that Henry was stabbed. And by our family stories, grampa clearly remembered Henry being “kilt” there in the downstairs bar. Grampa sold the Oxford sometime around 1938-39…. and bought another tavern in Riverside, WA. Supposedly this was in part to escape the history of the stabbing and the finding of Amelia’s body.

Nearly 40 years ago, a small group of our family — my mother, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, 2 cousins, and one of my daughters and her baby girl — all met in the Oxford for a GREAT lunch. Several of us smelled cigar smoke while we were eating lunch. We all did visit the downstairs bar, as well as the rooms upstairs; where you could still rent a room for the night.

While we were there we decided to have a family picture taken at the end of the bar. The picture was taken with a 35mm camera. When the picture was developed, you could easily see the outline of a ghost (we think it was grampa, who nearly always wore a hat) standing behind us. The picture was also blurred on one edge with what we thought might be some other spirits or shadow figures. I will try to find that picture and send it to you.

— Gary

We were sitting at the round table by the window and a shadow person came out of edge of the door that leads upstairs and darted along the wall and then behind a booth. We both saw it.

Cindy and Rich

I have always loved and felt “At Home” while in the Oxford Saloon.It just has an aura about it, Very comforting. My wife and I have been coming here for years and have had more than one encounter with the Ghosts from our table moving on its own,banging on the wall, to constant “Touching” on my back shoulder while sitting at my table.My most recent above the normal experience happened just a couple months ago. While sitting at my table watching the band for the evening,my wife was sitting to my left facing the wall searching the web as she always does while listening to the band. While I was watching and listening to the great music I noticed out of the corner of my eye my wife looking up and looking in my direction several times. Finally she said to me,”I have got to tell you, I have been watching a ladies hand come out of the wall several times just to the left of your right shoulder. Not aggressive but just reaching” Wow, that was awesome I told her because that explains all of the touching of my back shoulder and no one ever being there. On this particular night the table was back from where it normally was and I had not felt any “touching” that night. I believe this ladies hand was my ghost who always touches me, and being I was not where I usually am she was feeling for me. I Love The Oxford Saloon…..

–Larry