Two-Way Inn: The Oldest and Most Haunted Bar in Detroit, Michigan

The oldest bar in Detroit dates back to the 1870s and it is also believed to be the most haunted one in the city.

According to audacy.com, the Two-Way (or 2-Way) Inn sits on the corner of  Mount Elliott and Nevada streets, where it has been ever since it was founded in 1876. When it opened, it catered to just about anyone's desires: it was a dance hall, general store, hotel, jailhouse, and saloon.....and who knows what else (wink).

The Two-Way was created, owned, and operated by a Civil War veteran, Colonel Philetus Norris...and it's believed by some that he found it too hard to give up...even after he passed away in 1883 at 65 years old...at least, that's what paranormal investigators want to believe.

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Philetus was born in New York in 1821, and died in Kentucky.
So where did Michigan fit in?

For one thing, he is buried in Michigan...in Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit. His grandfather John Norris was also born in New York, and died in Detroit. The Two-Way Inn was just a small part of the Colonel's life: he was also a poet, surveyor, a member of the Smithsonian Institute, and was the first person to persuade the United States government to turn Wyoming's Yellowstone property into a national park.

So with all this busy stuff, why would he want to 'haunt' the Two-Way Inn, which seemed to be a whim of his to make a few bucks during his lifetime? Questions, indeed.

But what is NOT questioned is the fact that people have experienced paranormal occurrences during their visit. A spirit has been seen wandering the halls, believed to be that of Philetus. There is also an apparition they've named the “Lady in White” (yes, still another one), seen by current staff members, owners, and customers and believed to be one of Philetus' daughters.

During 1930s Prohibition, the inn doubled as a dentist's office where they could legally prescribe booze as medicine (right). The dentist's son passed away during this time, and his spirit is said to also roam thru the inn.

Whatever, whoever, whyever these occurrences happen, and how devoted Philetus was to this place is up for speculation. But people swear by what they've seen and the Two-Way Inn seems to retain it's legendary status as the most haunted - and oldest - bar in Detroit.

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