The familiar and typical one room school houses from the 1800’s that we so often see on television traditionally had dirt floors and plank furniture with amenities that consisted of a one man outhouse and a nearby clear running creek that offered students cool drinks of water by using a metal dipper for sipping the water, and a filled bucket that was used for hand washing. Social gatherings at the school house was the highlight for students, and newly introduced spelling bees and math tests offered the children valid reasons why an education was so important. The children graduated by the eighth grade so that more important matters like farm work could be attended to. However by 1827, education laws came into place, and towns that had more than 500 families were required to provide public English high schools to students of all ages.
North Dakota recognized this need for students to have access to a higher education, and the first schoolhouse was quickly constructed during the 1800’s and was known as the “White House” due to its namesake Colonel Samuel White. The school was nestled in the countryside between the towns of Anamoose, Martin and Sage Hill, and it was the talk of the area due to the modern conveniences that it offered the students. Everything from hot showers and power supplied from wind generators to hearty hot lunches and a huge library were available to both boys and girls. The White School was considered by scholars to be a model school as the cigar smoking Superintendent and professors from Minot State University once used the well facilitated schoolhouse as a gathering place to discuss the new teaching methods with the North Dakota teachers.
The school flourished with young minds wanting to learn about new things and the ways of the world that would help them to better their lives once they were old enough to start their own families. Unfortunately a declining population forced the schools doors to be closed to students during the late 1960’s, and the once prosperous and beautiful old schoolhouse sat vacant. It eventually became dilapidated over the years due to harsh weather and from sitting vacant for so many years. After sitting lifeless for almost 30 years, the historical structure was purchased by owners Jacqueline Fix and Brad Mincher, who dreamed up some exciting plans for the property that included breathing new life into the grand structure by making it into a bed and breakfast, with all attempts to keep it as original as humanly possible.
Since 1996 the historic and haunted building has become a flourishing bed and breakfast, known as the Sage Hill Bed & Breakfast / Country Inn, but a fire thought to have been started by an unattended coal stove in the cellar almost gutted the structure back in its school days, killing the cigar smoking traveling superintendent, and a young school boy in its path of destruction making renovations on the bed and breakfast almost impossible as it opened up a fresh can of worms leading to a host of irritated spirits that neither wanted nor needed these major repairs performed on the building in order to bring it up to code and back to its original grandeur. During the construction phase workers were constantly plagued by the feeling that they were not alone, and the heavy smell of cigar smoke would often seal the deal when they started doubting that the offensive odors were coming from a cigar smoking ghost.
As workers tore away old burned debris from the building, strange noises and sounds similar to moaning and groaning would fill the airways. Agitated workers purged themselves from these persistent annoyances by moving on with the process of restoring the grand old building to a livable establishment. Missing tools were a constant source of irritating circumstances during a normal work day, and flickering lights were an all day affair that led to headaches and unworkable conditions at best. Fortunately the construction crew after much dismay with dealing with the active spirits finished the bed and breakfast.
Today guests enjoy the simple comforts of the inn, but they are often reminded that they are not alone. Items come up missing or relocated to other areas of the bed & breakfast, and the heavy smell of cigar serves as a reminder to who really rules the roost. The ghosts are friendly enough, but they are obviously mischievous with their intent when it comes to the guests. They playfully mess with the patrons by showing themselves to the diners only to their peripheral vision, and disappear when any attempts at making full contact are made. The dining room is often a hot bed for entities as this was once the traveling superintendants office, and cold spots along with invisible cigar smoke is an ongoing problem with no current theories on how to overcome these spirited issues have surfaced as of yet.
Each of the rooms is decorated elegantly with soothing hues, cherry furniture, and the baths come complete with claw-foot bathtubs, but beware! The toilets sometimes flush all by themselves, and the lights have a mind of their own because they flicker on and off at free will. Apparitions have been seen literally everywhere throughout the bed and breakfast, but the basement appears to be their favorite hangout. Panoramic views of the beautiful countryside are offered to diners who wish to eat their meal on the second floor, and the food has been rated exceptional and has previously won the Blue Ribbon award. According to the owners of the Sage Hill Bed & Breakfast / Country Inn, outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy bird watching and the nearby gardens and lakes region. For more information on booking a haunted room for a spirited night of haunts, go to: http://sagehillnd.com/index.html
Location: 2091 33rd Street NE, Anamoose, North Dakota, 58710
Phone: 701-465-0225
Sources:
http://sagehillnd.com/about.htm
http://hauntsofamerica.blogspot.com/2008/01/haunting-of-sage-hill-bed-and-breakfast.html
http://www.hauntin.gs/North%20Dakota/Anamoose/Sage%20Hill%20Bed%20and%20Breakfast/512/
http://www.hauntedlodging.com/states/northdakota/index.shtml
http://www.mightbehaunted.com/NORTH%20DAKOTA.html