Entry No. 8 — the Bozeman file — filed under: haunted
Sacajawea Hotel
Built in 1910 by railroad agent John Q. Adams as a stop for Milwaukee Road crews, this Historic Hotels of America property sat boarded up from 2001 until the Folkvord family bought and restored it, reopening in 2010. It runs today as a hotel with the lower-level Sac Bar. Staff and guests describe Adams's apparition lingering in the hallways and a maid who materializes from a third-floor wall where a linen closet once stood. Police have reportedly been called for disturbances that turned up no living culprit.
The story
In 1910, Milwaukee Road land agent John Q. Adams needed a stopover for train crews and rail passengers arriving in Three Forks. Instead of building entirely from scratch, he bought the 1880s Madison House in Old Town, cut it in two, and had horse teams drag the sections a mile across the flats on log rollers. Local history holds that the contractor lost his horses in a poker game mid-move, leaving half the building sitting in a bog for a season before Bozeman architect Fred Willson stitched the structure together behind a grand Colonial Revival facade.
When rail passenger traffic waned, the hotel fell on hard times, eventually sitting boarded up and dark from 2001 until the Folkvord family acquired the property and spent a year restoring it for a 2010 reopening. Today, the 29-room property operates as a boutique hotel with Pompey's Grill upstairs and the subterranean Sac Bar below street level, but the full-scale overhaul didn't clear out every original resident.
You didn't hear it from us, but old J.Q. Adams never really left the building. Guests and staff regularly spot his apparition lurking in guest rooms and corridors, while a spectral maid on the third floor routinely steps out from a solid drywall stretch where a linen closet stood before the modern floor plan wiped it out. The phantom commotion gets convincing enough after dark that local police have been called out for late-night disturbances, only for responding officers to find locked doors and empty hallways with no living culprit in sight.
What it's like
Head down the stairs into the basement lounge to find the Sac Bar, where local ranchers and visitors gather for cocktails, bar bites, and weekend live music. Upstairs at Pompey's Grill, the vibe shifts to sit-down steakhouse dining, but the real atmosphere kicks in after dark on the third floor. Walk the top corridor to spot the drywall patch where the old linen closet used to sit, and listen for unscripted footsteps. Summer stays and dining tables book out early, so secure your room reservations well before arriving in town.
The move: Book a night, have dinner and cocktails at the Sac Bar, then go wandering the third-floor hallway after dark.
📍 Before you go About 30 miles west of Bozeman in Three Forks; reserve rooms and the dining room ahead, especially in summer.
- 📍 Three Forks
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 5 N Main St, Three Forks, MT 59752
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Headwaters Heritage Museum — Located two blocks down Main Street inside a 1910 former bank, this volunteer-run museum holds local artifacts from the exact era John Q. Adams built the hotel.
- Bleu Horses — Drive six miles north to see 39 life-and-a-half-size blue steel horses frozen on a private hillside before your evening at the hotel.
- Madison Buffalo Jump State Park — Located eight miles away, this high limestone cliff offers a look at ancient bison hunting grounds before you head to the basement bar for nightcap drinks.
- Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park — Drive 15 miles west to trade the hotel's haunted upper hallway for a guided subterranean walk through limestone caverns.
Good to know
Where is the Sacajawea Hotel located?
It sits at 5 N Main St in Three Forks, Montana, about 30 miles west of Bozeman.
What ghost sightings have been reported here?
Staff and guests report seeing the apparition of builder John Q. Adams wandering guest rooms and hallways, plus a maid who materializes from a third-floor wall where a linen closet used to stand. Local police have also been called to investigate late-night noise that turned up no living intruders.
What food and drinks are offered on-site?
The property houses Pompey's Grill, an upstairs steakhouse, and the lower-level Sac Bar, which serves drinks and food alongside weekend live music.
When was the hotel built and renovated?
It opened in 1910 around a relocated 19th-century residence. After sitting boarded up from 2001, it was purchased and restored by the Folkvord family, reopening in 2010.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Wikipedia · Official site · Only In Your State · bozemanparanormal.com · historicmontana.org · montanahauntedhouses.com
last checked: 2026-06-24