Haunted hotel guide · Dubuque, Iowa

The Haunted Redstone Inn, Dubuque: A Wagon Maker's Mansion and Its Well-Dressed Ghost

A wagon maker built this red sandstone mansion on Bluff Street for his daughters. Guests and staff say a well-dressed gentleman still walks its halls, and most people assume it is him.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

2.8/5Haunted Rooms Score
1888Built (National Register date)
1985Opened as an inn

Check availabilityMeet the ghosts

The Redstone Inn and Suites stands at 504 Bluff Street in Dubuque’s Cathedral Historic District, a few blocks up the hill from the Mississippi. With its round tower, carved sandstone and stained glass, it is one of the city’s showpiece Victorian houses, and it is one of the most elegant stops on our list of haunted hotels in Iowa.

Its ghost story is simple and has lasted for decades. Guests and employees report seeing a distinguished, well-dressed gentleman who appears and then is gone, and the inn’s owner has spoken of voices and footsteps when the house was empty. Local legend says the gentleman is Augustine A. Cooper, the man who built it.

The Redstone Inn at a glance

2.8/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation3
History4
Ghost hunter access1
$$ · $150 to $300
  • Address 504 Bluff Street, Dubuque, IA 52001
  • Built 1888 according to the National Register; local histories give 1894. Opened as an inn in 1985.
  • Most haunted spots The main staircase and the original family rooms
  • Best-known ghosts A well-dressed gentleman, often linked to builder A. A. Cooper
  • Booking the haunted room No single room is named as haunted. Book any room; the gentleman is seen around the house.
  • Good to know A 15-room inn in a historic house, walking distance from downtown and a few blocks from Hotel Julien. The property was on the market in 2025, so confirm bookings directly.

Check availability

The ghosts of The Redstone Inn and Suites

The distinguished gentleman

The Redstone’s ghost is not a frightening one. Guests and staff describe a well-dressed, distinguished man who is seen in the house and then is simply not there. Y105 in Dubuque reports that guests have seen a well-dressed ghost walking the halls, and Bob Vila’s roundup of haunted inns calls him a gentlemanly apparition whose soft footsteps are heard around the property.

He is most often placed around the main staircase and the rooms that were once the family’s own, the grander side of the house.

Is it A. A. Cooper?

Most people who tell the story assume the gentleman is Augustine A. Cooper, the wagon maker who built the house and two other mansions nearby. Local legend says he still keeps an eye on the place. Nothing ties a particular sighting to him beyond the fine clothes and the fact that it was his house, so it remains a guess, but it is a popular one.

There is a sadder story in the house too. Cooper’s son-in-law, Daniel Sullivan, died young after walking on the railroad tracks during a lunch break. Many at the time believed it was suicide, though Cooper insisted it was an accident. Sullivan is not usually named as the ghost, but his story is part of why the house feels heavy to some visitors.

Voices and footsteps in an empty house

The owner of the inn has described hearing voices and footsteps in the building when nobody else was there. In an old house with steam heat, settling timber and a busy street outside, some of that may have a simple explanation, and guests should go in expecting a peaceful night rather than a show.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • The main staircase: The carved wooden staircase where the gentleman is most often described.
  • The family rooms: The more ornate side of the original duplex, where the Cooper family lived.
  • Hallways: Where guests hear soft footsteps and report the well-dressed man walking.

History of The Redstone Inn and Suites

Augustine A. Cooper made his fortune with the Cooper Wagon and Buggy Works, one of Dubuque’s big employers in the late 1800s. He built three mansions on and near Bluff Street. The National Register gives the Redstone a date of 1888 and names Thomas Carkeek as architect; Encyclopedia Dubuque and other local accounts say 1894. Whichever date is right, it was the last of the three and the only one still standing: the York was demolished in 1934 for the federal building, and the Greystone across the street came down in 1956 for a parking lot.

Local histories say Cooper gave the house to his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Daniel Sullivan as a wedding gift. Doubting that Sullivan could support the family, he had it built as a 27-room duplex, with the ornate family side and a plainer side that could be rented out for income. It was among the first houses in town with electricity and plumbing, and steam heat came from boilers on the Greystone lot. After Sullivan’s early death, Elizabeth left the house with her young daughter. Cooper, born in Pennsylvania in 1829, died in Dubuque in September 1919, and his wagon company closed about a year later. By 1910 the factory had employed some 600 workers.

From the 1920s the house passed through many owners. In the early 1970s it became a nightspot: an art gallery and bar called the Galleria, then The Hearth, then a bar called The Redstone. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 1976, and later counted within the Cathedral Historic District.

In July 1983 the building was empty and threatened with demolition. Sixteen investors formed the Dubuque Historic Improvement Company, raised money with help from a local bank and the city, and began restoration on October 15, 1984. About 2,000 people toured a preview, and the Redstone opened as a bed and breakfast with fifteen rooms, including suites with sitting rooms and marble fireplaces, in spring 1985. It has changed hands several times since, and still operates as a 15-room inn. In 2024 and 2025 the property was advertised for sale as a going concern, so check that it is taking bookings before you plan a stay.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • The ghost is said to wander the whole house rather than one room, so book whichever room suits you and spend some time on the staircase after dark.
  • Ask the innkeeper about the Cooper family: owners have been known to share the house’s history with guests.
  • Pair a night here with Hotel Julien Dubuque, a few blocks away, for a two-hotel haunted weekend.
  • Galena, Illinois, and the haunted DeSoto House are about 20 minutes away across the river.
  • Walk Bluff Street and the Cathedral Historic District in daylight to see where Cooper’s other two mansions once stood.

Want to investigate, not just sleep?

Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Redstone Inn in Dubuque haunted?

It has a long reputation for one gentle ghost. Guests and staff report a well-dressed gentleman who appears and vanishes, and the owner has described voices and footsteps when the inn was empty.

Who haunts the Redstone Inn?

Local legend says it is Augustine A. Cooper, the wagon maker who built the house. Nothing confirms it, but the well-dressed man fits the story.

When was the Redstone Inn built?

The National Register gives 1888. Local histories, including Encyclopedia Dubuque, say 1894, when it was given to Cooper’s daughter Elizabeth as a wedding gift.

When did the Redstone become an inn?

It was restored by a group of local investors from 1984 and opened as a bed and breakfast in spring 1985.

Is the Redstone Inn near Hotel Julien?

Yes. Both are in central Dubuque, a few blocks apart, so you can easily visit both.

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.

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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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