Monday, April 28, 2014

Jimmy's



The last public hanging in Morristown, NJ occurred in 1833. A man by the name of Antoine Le Blanc was hired by the Sayre family to help around the farm. La Blanc murdered the Sayre Family by bludgeoning them with a shovel and killed their servant girl Phoebe with an axe. He was caught, tried, convicted, and hung in the Green in Morristown.  
The hanging was a major event in Morristown history. It turned into quite a celebration. To cover the expenses of the trial and subsequent celebration, Le corpse was skinned and made into wallets and purses.
In 1946 the old Sayre House was converted into a restaurant called Jimmy’s. It suffered a devastating fire in 1957. After the fire, reconstruction included additions and expansion to the building while maintaining the tree that was kept growing through the atrium dining area. There was one room which was Phoebe's bedroom, that could never be heated properly and the waitresses working in that room would sometimes see Phoebe's reflection in the mirror and not their own. Waitresses also reported the feeling of chilling hands being placed on their shoulders.
One owner of the restaurant noted the ghostly time he had when his keys disappeared right off his desk. He searched and searched, but could not find them. He returned to his office and had his back to his desk and heard the keys drop. Sure enough, he turned around and there they were right where he had originally left them.
Psychics indicate that both LeBlanc and Phoebe exist in the place as restless entities.  They've tried to exorcise the spirits, but cooks and wait staff alike at Jimmy's have continued to describe eerie sensations. One waiter claimed that he was spun fully around by an unseen force.
The gallows are still inside the Morris County Courthouse, in the attic. 

Source: http://www.njhm.com/wedgewood.htm and various stories from patrons of Jimmy's

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