Winchester Mystery House

From the moment you walk into the Victorian Mansion of Sarah Winchester (wife of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester) you sense you have walked into one of the most unique homes in America. The home was never completed on purpose.  It is speculated Mrs. Winchester believed she was haunted by all of the souls killed by her husband's rifles and the continual building of rooms for these souls to inhabit was the only way to keep them at bay.  Thus the building went on 24 hours per day from the time she bought the unfinished farmhouse in San Jose, California in 1884 until her death on September 5, 1922.  It is said she spent about $5.5 million over those years on continual construction which would amount to $75 million in today's dollars.  At the time she earned about $1,000 per day from her stock alone which financed this endeavor.

There are rooms that house unused Tiffany windows and rolls of wall paper among the items purchased for the home's construction that were never installed.  There are windows that open to another room and doors that open to a blank wall.  There are stairs that go nowhere and stairs that only rise a couple of inches at a time.  There are rooms and rooms that have never been finished.  The front doors were only used once by the installers and Mrs. Winchester.  Despite all of this the home boasted state of the art plumbing and heating for its time, elevators, and efficient kitchens.  Gardens on the property provided fruit and vegetables as well as lovely flowers and fountains to stroll among.

 Mrs. Winchester loved daisies, the number thirteen and spiderwebs.  All of these were incorporated into Tiffany windows constructed specifically for the home as well as in the number of windows in a given room sometimes.  She paid her staff a generous salary for the time ranging from $3 to $10 per day plus room and board.  There are roughly 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms (one completed and one unfinished) as well as 47 fireplaces, over 10,000 panes of glass, 17 chimneys (with evidence of two others), two basements and three elevators.  There are many more details about this house to explore. Check it out on the web by clicking here:  Winchester Mystery House

We were not permitted to take interior photos, but we have some of the exterior.  This is well worth the trip if you are ever near San Jose.  The tour is very well done and worth every penny.  Above is a photo on the left of one of the Tiffany windows and on the right is a door that literally opens to nowhere on the second floor.  Walking out that door would land you on the ground a story below!

The gardens around the home are a tour in themselves and are maintained beautifully.  There are also additional buildings to see such as a caretakers quarters, a carriage house and buildings used for gardening tools and construction equipment.  The tour includes a museum of Winchester firearms and also a room of other items the company manufactured which history enthusiasts will enjoy.