Editing Ashland, Massachusetts (section)

===Stone's Public House===
[[File:Stone's Public House, Ashland, Massachusetts.jpeg|thumb|Stone's Public House, {{circa|2008}}]]

Built in 1832 by Captain John Stone to capitalize on the new [[Boston and Worcester Railroad]], The Railroad House, later renamed John Stone's Inn, and now known as Stone's Public House, is located in the center of Ashland.<ref name="ashlandhistsociety.com">{{cite web|url=http://ashlandhistsociety.com/Pages/TheTrain.aspx|title=The Train – Ashland Historical Society|website=ashlandhistsociety.com|access-date=April 7, 2018|archive-date=January 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110220417/http://www.ashlandhistsociety.com/Pages/TheTrain.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

Stone's is reportedly the site of multiple hauntings. According to legend, the Inn was the site of a murder. Captain Stone is said to have killed a New York salesman named Mike McPherson accidentally after hitting him over the head with a pistol when he suspected McPherson of cheating at poker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2005/resources_01232005.shtml|title=The Mysterious Haunting of Stone's Public House by David Retalic|website=Ghostvillage.com|access-date=February 1, 2022|archive-date=August 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802112527/https://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2005/resources_01232005.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> It is said that Stone and three friends with whom he had been playing swore to keep the event secret and buried the salesman's body in the Inn's basement. The legend contends that the ghosts of the salesman and the three other players involved all roam the inn. No body has ever been found.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ghostvillage.com/legends/2002/legends8_12142002.shtml|title=Captain John Stone's Haunted Inn|website=Ghostvillage.com|access-date=February 1, 2022|archive-date=January 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122215843/http://www.ghostvillage.com/legends/2002/legends8_12142002.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

It is rumored that a ten-year-old girl, Mary J. Smith, was struck by a train while playing on the railroad tracks just outside the inn, on June 11, 1862. Onlookers rushed her inside the inn, where she would later succumb to her wounds. A number of employees, patrons, and passersby have reported seeing the apparition of a young girl in a dress, with most reports detailing her looking out various windows that overlook the rear of the building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hauntspot.com/haunt/usa/massachusetts/stones-public-house.shtml|title=Contact Support|website=Hauntspot.com|access-date=April 7, 2018}}</ref>

The inn was purchased from Herve Beaudoin in 1976 by Leonard "Cappy" Fournier and renovated. During renovations, a hidden chamber was discovered in the basement, and it is speculated that this was used to house runaway slaves who made their way to freedom in the North along the [[Underground Railroad]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x77787233/Ghost-hunter-recounts-eerie-history-of-Stones-Public-House-in-Ashland|title=Ghost hunter recounts eerie history of Stone's Public House in Ashland|author=Kendall Hatch|website=Metrowestdailynews.com|access-date=April 7, 2018|archive-date=June 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613201557/http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x77787233/Ghost-hunter-recounts-eerie-history-of-Stones-Public-House-in-Ashland|url-status=live}}</ref>

One notable guest of the hotel, [[Daniel Webster]], gave a speech from the balcony on the day the first train arrived in 1834. Joining him for the inaugural train were Governor [[John Davis (Massachusetts governor)|John Davis]] and former Governor [[Levi Lincoln Jr.]]<ref name="ashlandhistsociety.com"/>