La Grange Inn

A Brief History: The La Grange Inn was originally located at 499 Montauk Highway, West Islip, NY., but was relocated to 5 Higbie Lane West Islip NY. A CVS was built on the original property and the town was able to save the historic location by moving it less than a block away. The La Grange Inn dates back to the early colonial times. The Inn was built by Nehemiah Higbe and was opened by his son, Samuel A. Higbe sometime around 1750, although there is no confirmed date of its opening. It was originally called the Hotel LaGrange. The Inn is said to be the longest operating hostelry, restaurant, inn and hotel, on Long Island. The building was enlarged in the mid 1800s. During 1872-1874 Captain Benjamin Cole was in charge of running the inn and that’s when the name changed to La Grange Inn. In 1968 Uwe Paulssen purchase it and he ran it until 2001. In 2008, the Inn suddenly closed its doors due to a proposal to build a CVS Pharmacy on its grounds. The People of Islip fought back for this historical site and the Inn was saved and moved. The Inn is now run by the West Islip Historical Society and is open to the public as a museum.

Haunted History: There have been claims of people who have been in the building while it was left abandoned of hearing sounds of heavy boots walking on the 2ndfloor and then just stop. There have also been claims of objects like glasses and plates moving on their own. People also claimed to have seen a misty figure on the stairwell and then just disappear.