Submitted by internallyskating t3_z803wl in massachusetts
The town name is mentioned in an old ghost story about a tavern called the Buxton Inn (not the Buxton Inn in Ohio) and features a man named Charles Buxton, who may have been a sailor or captain in the late 1700s or early 1800s. The story itself is from the early 1800s. Any help is appreciated.
Could be a misspelling of Boston, but is more likely Buxton, Maine. Maine was part of Massachusetts at that time.
This is a tremendous lead, thank you. I forgot that Maine was part of Massachusetts so recently
https://www.oldhousedreams.com/2021/06/29/tavern-in-buxton-me/
This may be what you're after
This could very well be it. Thank you very much
I looked into it and The Buxton Inn, the one you mention in Ohio, is haunted. It was founded by people who moved away from Massachusetts in the very early 19th Century: https://denisonian.com/2019/10/features/the-history-of-the-buxton-inn-is-it-really-haunted/
Andy and Red have that fishing business here:
Maine used to be part of Massachusetts, and there is a Buxton Maine, so maybe that's it.
Sadly, the location, date, name don’t seem to match up. While the story is from the early 1800s, the tavern is supposed to be much older, by nearly a century. Additionally, the Ohio one was only renamed Buxton in 1865 after a man named Horton Buxton purchased it.
gotcha. it would help if we knew what the name of the actual story was for research purposes.
The Inn was founded by NE settlers moving cross country, this makes the most sense. Do you have any more detail from this ghost story?
Remember that stories get twisted and details get re-translated as time goes on. I would bet the Inn located in the reply by bmorro6836 is the one.
This is the answer.
My first thought was that it could've been in one of those towns that were flooded to make the Quabbin reservoir. But there probably aren't any ghost stories about any of those places.
(Not saying there might not be ghosts, just that we wouldn't have any stories about them, because they're all underwater.)
(Man, those ghosts must be bored as hell.)
I’ll summarize the story, but note that it is an oral one, and I’m still in the process of trying to find a literary version, if it exists.
Setting: Early 1800s, Buxton Massachusetts. A blizzard has snowed multiple townsfolk in the Old Buxton Inn, described in the story as a tavern. They are drinking and playing games, expecting to be snowed in until morning. There is a knock at the door late into the night. The bartender opens the door, and is shocked to see a man standing there, in clothing not of the period, reminiscent of a late 1700s ship captain. The man enters the tavern, and denies any drink, but requests tobacco. To pay for the tobacco, he plays cards with the townspeople, apparently winning a fair deal of money. They have a great time with the man, who is good natured and stoic. In the morning, the snowstorm is over. The lady who owns the tavern enters from the upstairs and requests that the guests be on their way, since the storm has cleared. Then she notices the man, and marvels at his resemblance to the man drawn on the sign outside the Inn. “You look incredibly like Charles Buxton” she says, to which the man smiles and says “I do not know this man. Perhaps I can meet him so I may see his likeness?” She replies that he cannot meet him, as Charles Buxton has been dead for nearly a century. Instead, she leads the entourage outside, where the face of Charles Buxton is shown on the sign. The people all marvel at the sign, and how uncanny the resemblance is to the man next to them. However, after gaping at the sign, they turn to see that the man beside them has disappeared.
That’s the entire story, with every detail I could muster.
I’m not sure whether the story itself has a name, and I’m trying to track down a written source, as I came across it orally. I can summarize the story below with all the relevant details.
Setting: Early 1800s, Buxton Massachusetts. A blizzard has snowed multiple townsfolk in the Old Buxton Inn, described in the story as a tavern. They are drinking and playing games, expecting to be snowed in until morning. There is a knock at the door late into the night. The bartender opens the door, and is shocked to see a man standing there, in clothing not of the period, reminiscent of a late 1700s ship captain. The man enters the tavern, and denies any drink, but requests tobacco. To pay for the tobacco, he plays cards with the townspeople, apparently winning a fair deal of money. They have a great time with the man, who is good natured and stoic. In the morning, the snowstorm is over. The lady who owns the tavern enters from the upstairs and requests that the guests be on their way, since the storm has cleared. Then she notices the man, and marvels at his resemblance to the man drawn on the sign outside the Inn. “You look incredibly like Charles Buxton” she says, to which the man smiles and says “I do not know this man. Perhaps I can meet him so I may see his likeness?” She replies that he cannot meet him, as Charles Buxton has been dead for nearly a century. Instead, she leads the entourage outside, where the face of Charles Buxton is shown on the sign. The people all marvel at the sign, and how uncanny the resemblance is to the man next to them. However, after gaping at the sign, they turn to see that the man beside them has disappeared.
i might have found the tavern: https://www.oldhousedreams.com/2021/06/29/tavern-in-buxton-me/
It’s a good lead. I’m going to see if I can find out who the owner is and contact them. Could be one of many old taverns in the area, but it’s worth a shot. I can’t imagine that many buildings in the area date back that far. Thanks for the help!
it was even called " Old Buxton Tavern" and was built in the late 1700's.
Yeah I noticed that, I’m hoping some historical record of the building exists that might shed some light
they also have a local historical society: https://www.buxtonhollishistorical.org/home.html
It's Buxton, Maine nowadays and before 1820 it was Buxton, Massachusetts.
I think your actually looking for Buxton ME!!! I believe this as Etsy has Buxton posted: 1795 Maine Town Plan - Old Roads Reprint Massachusetts Archives - MA
Part of the description of their map says: A reprint of the historic old town plan from the 1794 series. Each Massachusetts town was required to make a map and send it to Boston so that a good map of the whole Commonwealth could be made. Thanks are due to the Massachusetts State Archives for scanning and making these valuable historical documents available.
U thinking about Shawshank redemption and Maine
Goddamnit I came here to post this
Im gonna hook you up!
This is brilliant! Thank you! How did you find this?
Peeeculiar t1_iy909qq wrote
There's one in Maine. It's where Andy buried the money that Red used to get to Mexico.