S.D. Greenwood Block
Photo courtesy of Liberty’s Restaurant and Lounge
Built: 1870
Architectural Style: Late-19th Century Commercial Style
Architect/Builder: C.R. Brink
Currently: Liberty’s Restaurant & Lounge
It was sometime around 1994 when Doug Noreen, whose family opened Liberty’s in 1975, and a friend were in the basement of this building cutting boards for a project. Just as Doug was about to start the saw, he looked over his friend’s shoulder and saw a ghost.
He was going to ignore it, but his friend stopped him. After some cajoling, Doug admitted he’d seen something suspicious, and his friend admitted he had also looked right into the apparition’s eyes.
Prior to that sighting, Doug was a skeptic. But knowing someone else had seen the specter too, he started believing the building was haunted.
In the years since, he’s had plenty of other sightings and peculiar situations that have only confirmed his suspicions. He’ll often hear footsteps in the dining room when he’s down in the basement and knows he’s the only person in the building, and he’s had chairs moved into walkways he just passed through when no one else is around.
He has seen the same ghost walking through the basement on many occasions, and different Liberty’s employees over the years have sensed something too.
A couple that rented the upstairs apartment from him told him they heard voices.
He’s even had professional ghost hunters come to the building and confirm his suspicions.
In 2020, a car drove into the front of the restaurant, destroying much of the historic brick facade. The building, understandably, was the site of much chaos in the following weeks as various firefighters, police officers, and insurance agents surveyed the scene.
When he was able to re-enter the building, Doug noticed that the ghost was moving much more frantically than any time in the previous decades. Doug decided to stop and talk to the ghost. He told the ghost the whole story of what had happened, and that they were going to rebuild the building. After hearing the news, the ghost stopped rushing around and began to relax.
“Call me crazy, I don’t care,” Doug says.
Even with all of his interactions over the years, Doug does not know the ghost’s name, or why it haunts this building.
Before Liberty’s moved in, the building had many uses. For many years it was a grocery store, but it also spent time as a saloon and a pool hall believed to be a destination for the town’s gamblers. Perhaps the spirit still haunting the halls is someone with unpaid debts.
