Six years ago we wrote about the haunted DeSoto House Hotel in Galena, Illinois. Guests feel someone sit on the bed at night. Others smell cigar smoke where there is none. And then there’s the story of The Lady in Black, who makes an appearance and then disappears through walls.
We’re amazed at the number of people who continue to comment on the article, relating their own paranormal experiences in the hotel. Here are some of them:
Kenosha, Wisconsin, has a new hotel, the Stella Hotel and Ballroom. The building that houses the downtown hotel started out as the Kenosha Elks Club in 1919. A century later, the building still maintains its early 20th century character but with all of the amenities of a 21st century hotel.
Notorious gangster Al Capone owned the historic Hotel Julien Dubuque in the 1920s—maybe. He did stay there a lot, and although some believe he owned it at one time, it could never be confirmed. Earlier in history, Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain both stayed at the hotel. However, the building that they stayed in was the original building, which burned down in 1913.
Today, the hotel, located along the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa, is a boutique hotel that combines its original grandeur with modern amenities.
On our summer Great River Road trip we stayed in several hotels along the Mississippi River. But for two nights we actually stayed on the Mississippi River. The Covington Inn Bed and Breakfast in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is one of only a few floating bed and breakfasts in the United States.
Did you know that ninety-five percent of pumpkins for processing in the United States are grown in Illinois? Specifically, they’re grown in and near Morton, a town southeast of Peoria, home to a large Libby’s cannery. Every September, Morton celebrates its pumpkin industry with the Morton Pumpkin Festival.
In this podcast, we wrap up our Great River Road adventure. We start in Dubuque, Iowa, and travel south through Fulton, Illinois, and Clinton, Iowa. Then we move on to our last stop, the Quad Cities.
