Ogdensburg Claire House. Courtesy of The Claire House.com
BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week
OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg’s Claire House be featured on Travel Channel’s Ghost Hunter’s season finale tonight at 9 p.m.
It will also be streamed Discovery+.
“TAPS is called to Ogdensburg, New York, to investigate a large family home. Once a church rectory, this imposing limestone manor is filled with terrifying entities that tie back to its religious beginnings. Alongside Jason’s son, Austin Hawes, and guest investigator Dustin Pari, TAPS hopes to calm the family’s fear of being in their house,” the episode description says.
The episode will explore 709 Franklin Street owned by the Kench family, who are converting it to a “Haunted B&B,” according to their website www.theclairehouse.com.
“Built as a rectory in 1884, "Claire House" once neighbored the original St. Mary's Cathedral and was home to the Rector and other priests for 76 years. When fire destroyed the cathedral in 1947, precious relics were saved from the flames and secretly stored in the basement of The Rectory (Claire House),” the website says.
“In 1960, a new cathedral was completed on a larger plot of land to accommodate the growing parish population. Soon, a new rectory was also built. The priests moved into the new rectory, and for the next 45 years, the former rectory functioned as both convent and makeshift orphanage - lived in and cared for by the Grey Nuns of the Order of the Sacred Heart.”
According to the website, the Sisters remained at the former rectory until 2005.
“It was then sold to a succession of families who used it as their home. During this time, the house fell into serious disrepair.”
The building was purchased in 2019 by Hal and Rachel Kench, who have rehabilitated the property.
