Paranormal Activity Investigators

Investigators Notes:

​Lead Investigator: Becky

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Location History:

Built in the 1870s, the location now known as Malvern Manor originally served as the family home of Mr. Isaac Baine Ringland, the elected mayor of Malvern at the time. It was the fourth structure built in Malvern, Iowa.

With the completion of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad in late 1869, Malvern often played host to weary travelers making their way across the country.

In 1890, after the death of both Mr. Ringland and his wife, the property was left to R. E. K. Mellor, who sold it to Julia Betts. It was then expanded into a hotel/boarding house, and in 1891, it opened as the Cottage Hotel. With competitive rates of two dollars a night, guests frequented the hotel, receiving both a place to rest and hot meals to sustain them during their travels.

It was a popular location for travelers on the Wabash Trail railway that was part of the Wabash Railroad’s Omaha to St. Louis rail line, and Malvern’s local doctor, I.U. Parsons had his residence in the boarding house.

Due to the location’s popularity, the Hotel was expanded again in 1895, this time to twice its former capacity.

In 1905, the Hotel changed ownership and was briefly closed while its interior was updated.

Between 1906 and 1955, the hotel changed ownership frequently, and at one point, it was renamed the Piper Hotel.

As Iowa joined the “good roads” movement, Malvern was left off the path of the construction of Highway 34. This caused significant economic distress in the area, and the hospitality industry was deeply affected as fewer people traveled by train. The family-run hotel was no exception to this economic downward spiral.

Bessie Smith, Mildred Peterson, and Eyvonne Wederguist purchased the hotel with plans to remodel it into a residential care facility with a capacity of 45 beds, adding the new wing to the structure, and advertising that their facility had larger rooms, generally already furnished for most residents. It reopens that fall and operates as the Nishna Cottage Nursing and Rest Home.

It was purchased by Geraldine and Hap Reid in 1959. Residents were from all over southwest Iowa, including Mills, Montgomery, Harrison, and Pottawattamie counties.

In 1976, state inspectors realized that the hallways were not wide enough to roll a bed down, making the location ineligible to house a nursing home. Patients were moved to another facility in Malvern, and the building became a convalescent halfway house for those trying to reintegrate into society after facing economic hardships and addictions, and a group home and care facility for a range of folks from those with developmental challenges to those who have mental illness.

Even after her husband died in 1963, Geraldine continued to run the group home. The facility ran smoothly for years until she was forced to retire at 87 in 2005. Due to funding issues, Geraldine lost the building financially; it was taken over by a new owner who refused to make repairs, and it was shut down after only 6 months for fire code violations.

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​Previous Investigations at this Location:

​Malvern Manor, Nov. 2, 2019