Haunted hotel guide · Deadwood, South Dakota
Haunted Historic Franklin Hotel, Deadwood: Harris Franklin, Footsteps and the Fourth Floor
Deadwood’s grand 1903 hotel, with doors named for Roosevelt, Babe Ruth and John Wayne, and a reputation for footsteps that follow guests down its upstairs halls.
The Historic Franklin Hotel stands on Main Street in Deadwood, a four-story brick hotel that has been the town’s grandest address since 1903. It is now part of the Silverado Franklin, with a casino and restaurants, and the doors of its historic rooms carry the names of famous guests: Theodore Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, John Wayne, Will Rogers, Buffalo Bill and more.
It is also one of the hotels Deadwood’s ghost guides talk about. KOTA’s haunted history of the town says Harris Franklin, the investor the hotel is named for, is believed to watch over it to keep an eye on how things are run. Guests describe footsteps following them through empty hallways, and the best-known staff story is about a housekeeper who walked out after seeing a man in old-fashioned clothes watching her clean. The hotel itself does not market a ghost. For the rest of the town, see our guide to haunted hotels in South Dakota.
Franklin Hotel at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 709 Main Street, Deadwood, SD 57732
- Opened June 4, 1903; apartments for decades; a hotel again since 1989; owned by the Silverado since 2005
- Most haunted spots The upstairs hallways, the third and fourth floors, and the stairs
- Best-known ghosts Harris Franklin, and a man in period clothing
- Booking the haunted room No room is sold as haunted. Ask for a historic room named after a famous guest, on an upper floor.
- Good to know It is a working casino hotel on the busiest stretch of Main Street; rooms vary a lot in size and age. Pets are not allowed.
The ghosts of Historic Franklin Hotel
Harris Franklin
Harris Franklin was the businessman whose dollar-for-dollar pledge finally got the hotel built, and he became its chief shareholder. KOTA’s 2024 haunted history of Deadwood says he is believed to watch over the hotel and its restaurant to keep an eye on how things are run.
That is the whole of the story; nobody describes seeing him. He is the hotel’s guardian figure more than a ghost with a sighting attached.
The man in period clothing
The most repeated staff story is about a housekeeper who quit on the spot after seeing a man in period clothing standing and watching her while she cleaned a room. Neither her name nor the room is recorded.
Guests have their own versions. One woman said her mother saw a woman in a bustle on the second floor early in the morning, heard a door click shut and found nobody there. Another guest described a figure at the end of the bed.
Footsteps that follow you
The common thread is footsteps. Guests write about steps following them down empty hallways and up the stairs. One visitor in 2000 described someone climbing the stairs behind him at 3:30 in the morning, stopping at a creaky board at the top in front of the former owner’s suite, with nobody there.
Another family on the third floor in a more recent stay heard heavy stomping and running in the hall at 2 a.m. and found nobody at their door. A doorman told one guest that noises on the fourth floor have never been explained.
The basement and the old bar
Some of the darker stories are attached to the basement, where a bar and restaurant once operated. Guests repeat what staff told them about a man who died there and a woman who fell from an upper window. We have found no record of either, so treat them as hotel rumor, the kind any 120-year-old building collects.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Historic named rooms: Rooms whose doors carry the names of famous guests. A local travel writer counted 18 such doors, including Room 418, named for the rodeo rider and silent film actor Jack Hoxie. The hotel replaced its doors at the end of 2025 and has said the name plates will return, with a scan-the-door app about each guest planned.
- Fourth-floor rooms: The top floor, where a doorman says noises have never been explained and where guests report the most activity.
- Third-floor suites: Larger rooms, and where one family reported running footsteps in the hall at 2 a.m.
- The lobby and ballroom: Restored in 2007 with a tin ceiling, fluted columns and chandeliers based on early photographs.
History of Historic Franklin Hotel
Deadwood’s business leaders wanted a big downtown hotel for years, but financing problems kept stalling the project. Harris Franklin broke the deadlock by offering to match every dollar raised, and building began in earnest in 1902.
The hotel, named for him, opened on June 4, 1903, with a banquet for 250. It had 80 rooms, half with private baths, which was rare at the time, plus a lobby fountain, cigar store, barber shop, restaurant, ladies’ parlors, steam heat, an elevator, electric light and a telephone in every room. Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, John Wayne, Buffalo Bill Cody, Babe Ruth and the boxer John L. Sullivan all stayed.
A 1929 addition opened just before the stock market crash, and the hotel struggled. Like other Deadwood hotels it was turned into apartments. Clio’s history of the building dates the conversion to the Depression years of the 1930s. It came back as a hotel when Deadwood legalized gaming in 1989.
In 2005 the owners of the Silverado Gaming Establishment next door bought the Franklin, opened up the ballroom and added a casino. The restored first floor reopened in June 2007, with the tin ceiling refinished, the woodwork restored and fluted columns rebuilt from early photographs. Upper-floor rooms have been updated in stages since.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ask for a historic room with a famous guest’s name on the door, ideally on the third or fourth floor.
- Take the stairs at least once late at night; the stair stories are the most consistent ones here.
- Visit in spring or fall. Sturgis week in August and summer weekends are loud and expensive.
- Walk to the Bullock Hotel and the Fairmont, both a few minutes along Main Street. The Fairmont runs ghost tours.
- Stop by Mount Moriah Cemetery, where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried, before dark.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Historic Bullock Hotel, Deadwood: Sheriff Seth Bullock, a short walk along Main Street
- Historic Fairmont Hotel, Deadwood: a former brothel with Maggie’s story and ghost tours
- Alpine Inn, Hill City: a tin miner at the foot of the bed, an hour south
- Hotel Alex Johnson, Rapid City: the Lady in White, about 50 minutes away
- Haunted hotels in South Dakota
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Franklin Hotel in Deadwood haunted?
It has that reputation. Deadwood guides say Harris Franklin still watches over the hotel, guests report footsteps following them in empty hallways, and a housekeeper is said to have quit after seeing a man in period clothes. These are stories and personal accounts, not proven events.
Who is the ghost at the Franklin Hotel?
The ghost most often named is Harris Franklin, the investor the hotel is named for. A man in old-fashioned clothes and a woman in a bustle have also been described.
Which famous people stayed at the Franklin Hotel?
Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, John Wayne, Buffalo Bill Cody, Babe Ruth and John L. Sullivan, among others. Many room doors carry famous guests’ names.
When was the Franklin Hotel built?
It opened on June 4, 1903, with 80 rooms.
Who owns the Franklin Hotel?
The owners of the neighboring Silverado Gaming Establishment, who bought it in 2005. It operates as the Silverado Franklin.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- Silverado Franklin: History
- Deadwood Chamber: Franklin Hotel history booklet (PDF)
- Clio: Silverado Franklin Hotel
- Travel South Dakota: Silverado Franklin Historic Hotel
- KOTA: A haunted history of Deadwood (2024)
- Black Hills Hiking, Biking and More: The doors of the famous at the Franklin Hotel
- HauntedPlaces.org: Franklin Hotel, Deadwood (guest accounts)
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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