On This Date in Minnesota History: March 18

March 18, 1898 – John Mushik – the last man to be [legally] hanged in Minnesota – was declared dead 14 minutes after being hung in Minneapolis City Hall on this date.¹  “His crime: murdering [John Lemke] for a measly $14.”² The murder took place on October 21, 1897, two days after Mushik was released from Stillwater prison for stealing. His execution took place in the large vacant space on the jail floor between the hospital and the insane wards on the 5^th Street side of the building.³

“The [Chapel] Courtroom where he was convicted, the place where he was hanged and the mayor’s office are all said to be haunted by an angry Moshik. The dead man rearranges photos at his most harmless, and makes judges and attorneys to fall deathly ill at his worst. He has appeared before workers and other inmates, dressed only in his boxers.”<sup>2

1</sup>Grand Forks Herald; “Hanged This Morning, John Moshik, The Murderer of John Lemke, Pays the Price”; Grand Forks, ND; March 18, 1898; p.8.

²http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/10/minnesotas_most.php

³Minneapolis Journal; “Where Mushik Hangs, The Gallows will Stand on the Jail Floor”; February 7, 1898; p. 6.

Minneapolis City Hall
Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain July 16, 2013,
as long as acknowledgement included.

Other Haunted Places in Minnesota:

Thayer’s Hotel, Annandale, Minn.; see August 24, 2012 blog

The Jackson Hotel, now Billy’s Bar & Grill, Anoka, Minn.; see December 8, 2012 blog

Forepaugh’s Restaurant in S.t Paul; see July 8, 2013 blog

LeDuc House, Hastings, Minn.; see October 30, 2013 blog

The Palmer House Hotel in Sauk Centre, Minn.; see Feb. 11, 2014 blog

Kohler Hotel, Rochester, Minn.; see February 17, 2014 blog