Elsing's 2nd Hand Shop History

The History of Hanson
House/Grand Hotel
421 E Main St.
Stoughton, WI. 53589

1891 Building Architect’s: Magnus Kalhagen and George W. Becker.
Built by Gregor Hanson, Brother of the owner H.T. Hanson.
The Hanson House was ran by Gregor and Mary Hanson.

1893 John W. Richardson traded his farm, three miles from Janesville,
for the Hanson House. Mr. Richardson will lease this property.
The name of the Hanson House was then changed to The
Grand Hotel. Carl Ellingson likely proprietor.

1894 The Diamond Laundry opened in The Grand Hotel.

1899 Two fires and Grand Hotel are damaged in fire. The Grand
Hotel received two hundred dollars of damage from the fire to
the back of the building.

1901 Carl Ellingson retired as proprietor of Grand Hotel in
February and the property to Marshal and Bissell.

1901 By May, G.F. Carley purchased The Grand Hotel.

1902 Gregor Hanson dies at age of 59.

1904 H.T. Hanson was proprietor of The Grand Hotel.

1906 The Grand Hotel was leased to Samuel Peterson.

1915 Mrs. Julia Thompson was running the Grand Hotel leading
to this year. Julia did all of the cooking.
Documentation suggests that AJ Thompson owned the
building while Julia ran the hotel.

1917 Robert Bratvold ran the Grand Hotel for a time in this year.

1922 Carl Bratvold bought The Grand Hotel and ran it as a
Rooming House. Mrs. Carl Bratvold ran the rooming house
until 1928. I have been told by some of the older residents of
Stoughton, that while Bratvold’s owned the building, it was
a Brothel and also known as the king pin of Bootlegging in
Stoughton. I have been told that this building had a second
basement (hidden), but I have never found evidence of this.
This is where the bootlegging and butchering was taking
place. I have also been told that a shooting happened in the
saloon. I have also been told by Carl Bratvold’s grandson,
that one of Carl’s son’s was killed while bootlegging from
Utica. I have not found any proof of any of this yet. I am still
researching all of this.

1923 January 24, Carl Bratvold, proprietor of the Grand Hotel, was
arrested for breaking the State Dry Laws, which was raided
by state and county authorities. Bratvold was ordered appear
in court by prohibition agents and Under Sheriff William
McCormick after they found a quantity of liquor on his
premises.

1923 January 24, Carl Bratvold pleaded not guilty to charges of
violating the state dry laws. Carl was released on $750.00
bail.

1923 Charges against Carl Bratvold, violation of the State’s Dry
Law, have been dismissed from the Superior Court on the
grounds that the State lacks sufficient evidence to try him.

1925 On November 26, 1925, Stoughton Police Chief, Saxe
Hoverson Sr. jumped from the top window in the back of
the building, allegedly committing suicide. He was still alive
when found and died later at the hospital.

1937 Carl ran the hotel until about 1937.

1938 Mary Hanson dies at age of 84.

1939 Carl Bratvold, 54, owner of the Grand Hotel for 21 years,
died today at the hotel after a three month illness.

1946 Robert Bratvold has purchased the Grand Hotel Building
from the estate of his brother, Carl Bratvold. Robert plans to
remodel the building into a rooming house. The building has
been in the Bratvold family for 39 years.

1947 Donald Daggett bought the building and had it remodeled by
Madison architects Weiler and Strang.
Mr. Daggett ran Daggett’s grocery store and had meat lockers
in the basement.

1973 E & H building owned by Harold and Gung Miller bought
the building.

1978 Bernard Arnold owned and sold the building.

1984 Marsala’s Pizza opened in the building and ran until 1986.

1986 Miguel and Amy Barcena bought out the Marsala’s Pizza
business and ran the restaurant until 2004.

1988 Carl and Marion Thompson owned the building. I’m not sure
what year they bought the building. Valley Bank foreclosed
on the Thompson’s. Bob Quam then bought the building.
Between the years of 1973 and 2004, many business have
been in this building, a exercise place, political station, teen
center and a haunted house operated by the Jaycees.

2004 Philip and Vicky Elsing bought the building and opened up
Elsing’s 2nd Hand Shop.

Elsing's 2nd Hand Shop (My Haunted Shop)

Elsing's 2nd Hand Shop is located in beautiful historic downtown Stoughton Wisconsin.
We run our business in what is believed to be a haunted building.
We have two great floors of item's for you to check out and shop in.
You could spend all day shopping in our place.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10:00 to 5:00
Thursday 1:00 to 5:00
Saturday 10:00 to 2:00
We are closed on Sunday and Monday's

About Us

My husband Phil and I had been selling at flea markets for 17 years before opening up our shop. We bought our building in 2004 and opened Elsing's 2nd Hand Shop. When we bought the building, we were told it was haunted. That didn't stop us, we loved our new building.
Our building was built in 1891 as the Hanson House and then became the Grand Hotel, two years after it was built. We have always been told by many people that a little girl cries in the basement.
In the 1920's , The Grand Hotel was known as a Brothel and the king-pin of bootlegging in Stoughton. The Chief of Police, they say, committed suicide, jumping out of one of the top windows in the building.
We have had things float off our shelves in front of some of our customers and Phil. We have also heard a lot of unexplained sounds like breaking glass, loud crashes, yet nothing is out of place.
Phil and I really enjoy running our second hand shop. Besides running our own business, Phil also has another full time job. Between the two of them, it keeps him really busy.
We also have 4 boys between us. They are all great boys and a great help to us. Our boys names are David, Jeremy, Nick and Brandon. Nick and Brandon help us out when ever we need anything. David is married lives in Texas and Jeremy is married and has two daughters, Morgan and Mia. That keeps him real busy most of the time.
In our free time, which there isn't very much owning our own business, Phil and I love going out to karaoke. Phil loves to sing and I think he's a great singer. We also have two great boxers, Otis and Baxter who are just great and go to work with me everyday. It's always nice to have my babies with me. The customers just love them both. Now that our boys have moved out, the boxers are our boys now. We just love our babies.
We also have some land up north that we enjoy and wish we had more time to spend at. This summer we have been building our own camper. It's been fun and can't wait until it's all done. Our kids also love to spend time up north.


Elsing's 2nd Hand Shop Web sites

http://www.freewebs.com/elsing/

http://www.iamhaunted.com/Vicky-E

http://www.youtube.com/user/VickyElsing

http://www.supernaturalconnections.com/Vicky-E



The Grand Hotel Legacy (By Vicky Elsing)

A woman with Wisconsin roots has written a detailed book that delves into the fascinating true stories of her haunted second hand shop. Vicky Elsing's book was inspired by the many strange occurrences she, her husband, and several visitors have experienced since they bought the building in 2004.
This remarkable book tells the stories of objects mysteriously floating off shelves inside the shop, and describes some of the strange, eerie noises heard throughout the building. Many friends, customers, ghost hunting groups, as well as the Elsings, have witnessed these unexplainable occurrences.
Several teams of ghost hunters have investigated the older building, built in 1891. Evidence over the past three years has been collected by these groups, strongly indicating the building as truly haunted beyond reproach.
Vicky Elsing and her husband Phil own Elsing's 2nd Hand Shop located in Stoughton, WI. They cordially invite everyone to visit their shop, and experience your own ghostly encounter!

Overview of book

Our building was built in 1891 as the Hanson House and then became the Grand Hotel, two years after it was built. We have always been told by many people that a little girl cries in the basement. In the 1920's , The Grand Hotel was known as a Brothel and the king-pin of bootlegging in Stoughton. The Chief of Police, they say, committed suicide, jumping out of one of the top windows in the building.
We have had things float off our shelves in front of some of our customers and Phil. We have also heard a lot of unexplained sounds like breaking glass, loud crashes, yet nothing is out of place.
In this book you will read about our journey through the paranormal world we never thought we would be a part of; a journey we have really enjoyed living.
The building was built in 1891 as the Hanson House and then became the Grand Hotel, two years after it was built. We have always been told by many people that a little girl cries in the basement. In the 1920's , The Grand Hotel was known as a Brothel and the king-pin of bootlegging in Stoughton. The Chief of Police, they say, committed suicide, jumping out of one of the top windows in the building.
We have had things float off our shelves in from of some of our customers and Phil. We have also heard a lot of unexplained sounds like breaking glass, loud crashes, yet nothing is out of place.
In this book you will read about our journey through the paranormal world we never thought we would be a part of; a journey we have really enjoyed living.

Free Preview of book

Elsing's Secondhand Shop looks like any other store on Main Street in Stoughton. The place is even decorated for Halloween. The owners here, though, say their building offers a fright year-round. "I don't like coming down here at night alone," said co-owner Vicky Elsing, who added she's not overly scared by working there. "I told her stories when she bought the place, I told her, you know, you're buying a haunted building," said Elsing's best friend Pam Buckley, a life long Stoughton resident. That building dates to 1891. It was called the Grand Hotel, which doubled as a saloon and brothel. In the 1970's, it became a teen center. In the '80's and '90's it was a pizza joint. When the Elsing's took over in 2004, they say they realized how accurate the stories might be. Vicky Elsing said she hears pots and pans falling off shelves. When she walks in to check on the commotion, everything appears fine. She recounted one story where a customer claimed to have seen a cup floating off a shelf and landing on an aisle floor. Then there were sightings of a young girl. A medium (one of 11 different mediums or paranormal groups who have visited the building) claims the girl's name is Mary. One story is that Mary is the daughter of a hotel worker, who died from appendicitis. Buckley said she also saw the image of a woman or a girl back in the 1970's when she visited the teen center on the site, though it's unclear if that's the same ghost as 'Mary.' Buckey described that figure as wearing a long white dress and curly hair. The supposed hunting's at the store are now a hobby of the Elsing's, who post their findings on display near the cash register. That includes audio recordings called electronic voice phenomena, or EVP. In one audio file, they claim two ghosts can be heard; a man speaks while the other, likely that of Mary, cries. In the other recording, a medium asks if anyone else is in the room. A garbled noise is recorded seconds later. Elsing believes that is the voice of Mary answering, "Just me." There's also a blurry black and white photo that she believes shows the ghostly outline of a woman. Elsing can point out the figure's hair, head, eyes, shoulders, and arms. If that's not enough, then try explaining her dog Otis. We were told Otis doesn't like going into a back room where other ghostly events have taken place, including stories of doors that keep opening, and books that are pulled from shelves. Even with some coaxing, as Vicky walked toward that room, Otis refused to go anywhere near her. After about a ten second pause... he slowly walked down the hall and into that room. For the Elsing's, it all adds up to proof that their secondhand shop, on the edge of historic downtown Stoughton, is haunted.

To order The Grand Hotel Legacy click below

http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000063815