Winchester mystery house san jose yelp how to#

One craftsman spent an entire 33 years installing, demolishing and reinstalling the mosaic design flooring made from rosewood, teak, mahogany and other woods. One of the most impressive features of the house is the parquet floor. The rooms that didn’t undergo alteration were ornamented with Tiffany glass windows, rare woodworking and other exquisite décor. Whether this was done intentionally to perplex the malicious spirits or simply because there was no established building plan, no one knows. Miles of maze-like hallways, dead-end stairways, secret passages (to confuse stalking spirits) and doors leading nowhere are just a few of the inexplicable things to be found in the Winchester Mystery House. It was not uncommon for a room to completed and then be torn out or remodeled soon after. It is believed that between 500 and 600 rooms were built, but today only 160 remain. By 1900, the small, unfinished dwelling had been transformed into a 7-story mansion until the 1906 earthquake reduced it to four.

Winchester mystery house san jose yelp how to#

Whether that was truly her motivation or she just needed a change of venue and a hobby to occupy her time, Sarah moved to the Santa Clara Valley, purchased a small, 8-room farmhouse in 1884 and immediately began construction.Ĭarpenters and builders worked in shifts day in and day out constructing the mansion, guided by evening séances Sarah held to seek direction from the spirits on how to proceed with their grand house. Winchester that to appease these angry spirits, she was to move to the West coast and ‘ build a great house for them’. Legend has it that a Boston medium informed her that her family and her $20 million fortune were being haunted by the spirits of all those who’d been killed by Winchester firearms. Bereft, Sarah was rumored to have sought the help of spiritualists. In 1866, their only child, Annie, died at five weeks old, throwing Sarah into a deep depression, which was amplified when 15 years later, William passed away from tuberculosis. Sarah and William lived in Connecticut and were happily married but their relationship was one of tragedy. William was the treasurer of Winchester Repeating Arms Company run by his father, Oliver Fisher Winchester. Sarah Pardee married William Winchester in 1862. How the Winchester Mystery House Came To Be If you live in Redwood City or beyond and haven’t yet seen this astounding mansion, it is well worth the short drive. Because of its connection with the supernatural, guided flashlight tours of the massive mansion are especially popular around Halloween. For 38 years, Sarah kept up nonstop construction of her San Jose home, known today as the Winchester Mystery House. The Silicon Valley is replete with intriguing people and history and one of its most fascinating residents was Sarah Winchester, the wealthy and eccentric widow of William Wirt Winchester of Winchester Rifle fame. San Mateo, Santa Clara, Southern Alameda Counties.