Merchant’s House Museum
New York City, New York, United States
Historic house · established
The Story
In Manhattan’s preserved Tredwell family home, museum stories center on Gertrude, the daughter who remained until 1933. Unexplained voices, smells and sightings accompany rooms still furnished with family possessions. Daytime museum admission and separately arranged ghost tours offer different ways to experience the house.
The Hauntings
The Merchant’s House keeps its atmosphere in the family’s furniture, clothes and personal belongings. Its preservation makes the haunting feel unusually intimate. Gertrude Tredwell’s name recurs, but accounts from staff, neighbors and visitors give the museum an accumulating history of encounters. Gertrude was born in an upstairs room in 1840 and died in the house in 1933. The museum’s tradition associates her with a watchful presence that remained after the family’s residence ended. The museum describes reports of unexplained sounds, figures and scents reaching back to its early public years. Doors closing, creaking floorboards and voices recur in its ghost-tour accounts. Investigator Dan Sturges has worked at the house since 2007, according to the operator, and a further research program began while the building was empty during the 2020 closure. Today’s candlelight tours share both the accumulated stories and the investigators’ interpretations.
The History
Joseph Brewster built the house in 1832. Seabury Tredwell bought it in 1835, and his family occupied it for nearly a century alongside the Irish servants whose work sustained the household. The survival of possessions belonging to the residents gives the museum much more than a period-furnished interior: it connects rooms to a particular family and way of life. After Gertrude’s death, a relative, George Chapman, intervened to preserve the house and collection. It opened as a museum in 1936. Later deterioration required a long restoration led by architect Joseph Roberto and his wife Carol; the museum reopened in 1979. The house is owned by the City of New York and operated by a nonprofit organization.
A sense of place.
Visitor Experiences
Have you experienced something here?
This future chapter will bring together stories from the PHASM community. An unexpected encounter, a lingering feeling, or a quiet visit—your experience will be welcome.
Submissions are not open yet.
Sources & further reading.
- Merchant’s House Museum — Museum History (history)
- Merchant’s House Museum — Mission (history)
- Merchant’s House Museum — Our Ghosts (reports)
- Merchant’s House Museum — Hours & Admission (visiting)
- Merchant’s House Museum — Our Ghosts (visiting)
Plan Your Visit
The museum is open during restoration; its current instructions direct visitors through Manuel Plaza at 35 East Fourth Street. Self-guided admission, guided house tours and ticketed ghost events have separate arrangements. Use the museum’s current visitor and ghost pages, and request a private ghost tour through the published program contact. The historic rooms are reached by stairs; consult accessibility information and arrange group visits in advance.