Since tours began in 1923 more than 12 million people from around the world have toured the lonely hallways, dark passages, and ornate rooms of the Winchester Mystery House. Originally known as Llanada Villa, today it stands as an architectural wonder, a time capsule of a bygone era and one of America’s most celebrated haunted mansions. Winchester Blvd., San Jose CA 95128.For nearly 100 years the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, has stood as a testament to the ingenuity, singular vision and lore that surrounds its namesake, Sarah Pardee Winchester (heir to the Winchester Repeating Arms fortune). If you decide to visit, the house is located at 525 S. Access at įor something more atmospheric, there’s a 30-minute black and white 1963 documentary narrated by Lillian Gish from KPIX-TV. If you’d like to see what the house looks like, I have two You Tube videos to recommend.įor a short 7-minute tour, check out “Winchester Mystery House Video” from a KTEH program called This Is Us. That’s not unreasonable for a 160-room house. The official website says it took six weeks to cart off the furnishings. Sarah left her personal property to her niece Marian Merriman Marriott who auctioned off the household contents. On the day of Sarah’s death, the house had 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, 6 kitchens, plus a ballroom constructed without nails. Which proves that sometimes you follow directions and things still don’t turn out as promised. Front of Winchester Mystery Houseĭespite dedication, Sarah died of heart failure in 1922. Exterior walls became interior, for example. Although she remained true to stylistic considerations, there are many peculiarities in the final product. Eventually, Sarah dispensed with the services of an architect, and drew her own designs for the carpenters. Over the next 38 years, she built as many as 600 rooms in the Queen Anne style house. In 1884 Sarah bought an unfinished 8-bedroom farmhouse near San Jose. Sarah paid her employees $3.00 a day – twice the going rate. A 1922 dollar is worth $13.47 in 2014, so in today’s money, Sarah earned $13,470 each and every day.Īnd she spent it. She owned about 2777 company shares that earned her $1000 per day. THE MONEYĪlthough deeply unhappy and depressed, Sarah Winchester had buckets of money. In 1866 the company became Winchester Repeating Arms Company – it was worth lots of money. Union troops were so excited about the new technology they happily purchased their own weapons, rather than use single shot rifles. Tyler Henry, developed a repeating rifle that could fire 28 rounds per minute. In 1857 William’s father, Oliver Fisher Winchester, purchased the New Haven Arms Company. But if she built a house for them, as long as she continued to build, she wouldn’t die. Option B: The medium told Sarah the unhappy spirits killed her daughter and husband, and might take their revenge on her as well. And, if she followed directions, William would be immortal. She must go to California and build a mansion for them. Option A: William Wirt Winchester spoke to his widow via the medium and told her the spirits of those killed with Henry repeating rifles (aka Winchester rifles) during the civil war needed a place to live. Not knowing what else to do, Sarah consulted a spiritual medium. Sarah fell into a lifelong depression, which deepened when her husband died of tuberculosis in 1881. Four years later, Sarah gave birth to a daughter, Anne, on June 15. Sarah caught the eye of William Wirt Winchester, heir to what became the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. Personally, I don’t think she was attractive enough to merit the title “Belle of New Haven,” but she could speak four languages and play the piano. Her father made a good living manufacturing carriages. THE WOMANīorn around 1840, Sarah Lockwood Pardee grew up in a conventional middle class family. Learn what you can do with unlimited time, a vast fortune, firm belief in the spiritual realm, and a massive dose of eccentricity. Look through Tiffany glass windows with a view of absolutely nothing. Return with me to stroll through the Winchester Mystery House, premier San Jose tourist destination. Years ago, before Silicon Valley took off, I visited that fair city. Today’s adventure takes us to San Jose, California.
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