In May 2009, the present owners moved in with the intention of renovating the house to it's former glory. To see more photos of the house, click here or on the picture (left).

History

The property was owned by James Collins and his wife Elizabeth from 1871 to 1876 when it was bought by Morris Cohen (left), also known as 'Major' Cohen, who was mayor of Fort Scott in 1878. He was born in Prussia (Germany) in 1845 and died of heart disease in Fort Scott in 1880 aged 34, unmarried and without any children.  After his death the house was left to his parents, then to his brother, Samuel and his wife Augusta in 1889 who sold it to Morris Cohen's niece Pearl in 1898.  Pearl and her husband H. J. Bamberger sold it in 1902, thereby passing out of the family.

In 1866 Morris Cohen moved to Fort Scott and in company with J. Rodecker, opened a large clothing store. In 1864 he participated in the chase after General Price when he made his raid into Missouri. He was one of the leading public spirited men of Fort Scott and a member of the Masonic fraternity. (Picture Source: sketch from 1878 Atlas)

The house was bought in 1920 by Dr John D. Hunter and his wife Rena who sold it in 1957.

Reported Activity

The owner reports almost regular nightly and some daily activity since they moved in: footsteps, the sound of something heavy being dragged around in an unfurnished upstairs bedroom as well as being touched on the back, neck, and leg. Voices of a man and a woman have been heard upstairs.

Footsteps have been heard along the upstairs hallway and coming down the main staircase leading into the living room (photo right), though nobody else was in the house. Sometimes the footsteps seem to be fairly heavy, suggesting a man, while at other times they are lighter, perhaps those of a woman. 

Late one night, the owner was watching tv with the volume low and heard the footsteps apparently stop halfway down the stairs on the landing or 'coffin turn'. By now, the owner has become quite comfortable with this kind of thing so she invited whoever was there to come down into the living room. With her back to the stairs, she heard something bump into a large coffee table behind her but when she looked around, nobody was seen. This sound was witnessed by her husband in an adjoining bedroom.

Immediately after, a string was plucked on a guitar which was leaning against a nightstand in the bedroom. The owner asked whoever had plucked the string to do it again, and the string was plucked again. At other times, a key is struck on the baby grand piano in the front room.