The Reeder Hotel

A few years ago, our Wisconsin Illinois Paranormal Investigation Team did an investigation of a home in rural Wisconsin. A child living in a home near the old Reeder Hotel talked of a ‘mean man in a uniform’ haunting him. Could it have been John J. Reeder?

Mr. Reeder was born in Germany in May, 1846. Let’s pick up his journey when the family came to the United States. John was 14 and by the time he was 16 the family had made their home in Rockland, Michigan. (Reeder Hotel is shown at the corner on the right side of the photo.)

The 1864 US Census shows he lived in Michigan with two daughters, Carrie Reeder and Susie Hammerquist. (We’ll chat about them another time.) I could not find records of a marriage but his Civil War draft documents say he was married.

He enlisted in the Union Army at 17 and served a little over 2 years. At the Battle of the Wilderness he was shot in the left hand. There was no medical care available because they were ‘so far into the wilderness’ nobody could reach them. There were many casualties and he did lose his left hand. He was also shot in the leg which resulted in a noticeable limp for the rest of his life. He spent the rest of his service time in the hospital. When the war was over, they sent him home to Michigan.

He married Mary Swartzby in 1874 and the couple had five children. He was a miner and may have owned a small boarding house or hotel. The 1880 US Census lists 9 boarders in the household.

In 1900 the family moved to Janesville, Wisconsin. He worked as a railroad laborer. In 1905 they moved to Orfordville, Wisconsin and The Reeder Hotel came to be.

It was a grand 3-story building on the town’s main road. The building had been rented to several people over time and John leased the building until 1909 when his son Edward bought the building. The town was a busy one located on a highway that connected it to several larger cities. The community included farmers, families, merchants and clergy. As in most communities of the time, moonshining and gambling were often found in the taverns. There were a number of boarding houses and small hotels in town.

John and Mary moved between the hotel and Janesville from 1920 to 1927. They had a grocery store in Janesville while their son Edward ran the hotel.

John passed away in Janesville at the age of 88. He is buried in the Oakhill Cemetery beside Mary and daughter Caroline (Carrie).

There is so much more to know about the Reeder family. Stay tuned!

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