The Tokeland Hotel, Washington’s oldest hotel, began as a homestead in 1858 and has been expanded and renovated over the decades to serve travelers, artists, and fishermen along the coast. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Early years
1858: The property was originally a homestead built by George and Charlotte Brown.
1885: The Browns’ daughter, Lizzie, and her husband, William Kindred, built a two-story farmhouse on the site.
1899: The Kindreds converted the farmhouse into an official hotel and named it the Kindred Hotel. They ran the business with their daughters, Maude and Elizabeth, and expanded the property to include a golf course, dairy, and oyster farm.
Early 1900s: The hotel became a popular getaway for tourists arriving by steamer ship from Seattle and Portland.
Changing times and decline
1930s–1940s: The tourism industry in Tokeland began to decline due to coastal erosion and the economic pressures of the Great Depression.
1950s: The local economy saw a modest revival thanks to recreational boating, fishing, and oyster harvesting.
2018: The hotel was put up for sale and, by that time, had more ghosts than paying patrons, according to the current owners.
Revival and modern era
2018: Chef Heather Earnhardt and general contractor Zac Young purchased the hotel. Earnhardt, who had previously run the popular Seattle restaurant Wandering Goose, had long envisioned buying the hotel after staying there once.
Today: Earnhardt and Young have revitalized the hotel, turning it into a rustic-chic destination known for its coastal charm, delicious food, and unique antiques.
Hauntings: The hotel has a reputation for being haunted, with some guests reporting encounters with ghost cats and children. The hotel’s general email even has an automatic reply with a list of haunted rooms.
Prominent paranormal reports
The ghost of Charlie
The spirit: Charlie is said to be the ghost of a Chinese immigrant who was smuggled into the United States to work on the railroads.
His demise: He allegedly suffocated to death in a secret hiding space behind the fireplace after someone lit the chimney while he was inside.
Activity: Guests have reported hearing a scream coming from the area of the closet around 3 a.m., which is interpreted as a reenactment of his death.
The ghost cat
The spirit: A ghost cat is frequently reported by visitors and is sometimes identified as the feline seen in a historical photo of the original owners.
Activity: Guests claim to have felt the sensation of a cat jumping onto their beds or walking across the foot of the bed at night.
Restless Brown family members
The spirits: The Brown family, who originally owned the property in the late 1800s, lost two sons in untimely accidents—one in a hunting accident and the other by drowning. Their headstones were later washed away.
Activity: It is believed that the spirits of the Brown brothers may still haunt the hotel, potentially explaining some of the poltergeist activity.
Other reported activity
Disembodied footsteps: Guests have heard footsteps walking down the empty halls and stopping at the top of the stairs, with no one in sight.
Poltergeist phenomena: Plates and other objects that were neatly arranged have been found rearranged the next morning by staff members.
Swinging objects: A guest reported seeing an iron fireplace poker begin to swing back and forth on its own while they were relaxing in the living room.
Haunted rooms: Rooms 4 and 7 are frequently mentioned in guest reviews as sites of paranormal activity.
Buried remains: The hotel property was once the site of a family cemetery. Though the headstones were removed, some bodies may still be buried on the grounds.
Yes, the Tokeland Hotel in Tokeland, Washington is widely considered to be haunted, with numerous guests and staff reporting paranormal activity. It is known for a variety of ghostly phenomena, including the spirits of a Chinese immigrant and a man named Charlie, along with sightings of spectral cats, unexplained voices, and strange occurrences in certain rooms like Room 7.