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William Wirt Winchester (June 22, 1837 – March 7, 1881) was an American and the treasurer of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, a position he held until his death in 1881. Family. He was born on June 22, 1837, to Oliver Winchester and Jane Ellen Hope in Baltimore, Maryland. His siblings include: Ann Rebecca Winchester (1835-1864) who ...
- June 22, 1837, Baltimore, Maryland, US
- Evergreen Cemetery
Mar 25, 2020 · Her husband, William Wirt Winchester, died in 1881, leaving his widow with a vast fortune: 50 percent ownership in the Repeating Arms Company and a $20 million inheritance. This staircase in...
- Brigit Katz
- It Was Built by The Widow of A Firearms Magnate
- Legend Has It A Medium Told Her to Move to California and Build A New House
- The House Was Under Continuous Construction For 38 Years
- Some Think It Was Designed to Be A Labyrinth
- Sarah Spared No Expense in Fitting Out Her New Mansion
- The Number 13 Is A Motif in The House
- Her Will Did Not Mention The House at All
- It Was Bought by A Couple called John and Mayme Brown
- The House Is Said to Be One of The Most Haunted Places in America
- Winchester Mystery House Is A National Landmark Today
William Wirt Winchester was the treasurer of the Winchester Repeating Firearms Company until his untimely death in 1881. His widow, Sarah, inherited his vast fortune and 50% ownership of the company. She continued to receive profits from the sales of Winchester firearms throughout her life. This newfound money made her one of the wealthiest women i...
After both her young daughter and husband died in quick succession, Sarah supposedly went to visit a medium. Whilst she was there, she was apparently told she must move west and build a home for herself and for the spirits of those who had been killed by Winchester rifles over the years. Another version of the story says she believed her inheritanc...
Sarah purchased a farmhouse in California’s Santa Clara Valley in 1884 and set to work building her mansion. She hired a stream of builders and carpenters, who were set to work, but did not hire an architect. The haphazard nature of the building schedule and lack of plans mean the house is something of an oddity. Prior to 1906, when the house was d...
No one knows exactly what Sarah’s plans for the house were or why she pursued certain ideas or architectural features. Some think the winding hallways and labyrinthine layout were designed to confuse the ghosts and spirits she supposedly thought were haunting her, allowing her to live in peace in her new home.
Within the 160 rooms (the precise number is still debated) are 47 fireplaces, 6 kitchens, 3 lifts, 10,000 windows and 52 skylights. Sarah also adopted new innovations including an indoor shower, wool insulation and electricity. She even had bespoke windows designed, including one by the prestigious artist (and later jeweller), Louis Tiffany, which ...
It’s unclear why the number 13 was deemed so important by Sarah, but it recurs repeatedly throughout the construction and design of the house. There are 13-paned windows, 13-panelled ceilings and 13-step flights of stairs. Some rooms even have 13 windows in them. Her will had 13 parts and was signed 13 times. The significance of the number to her w...
Sarah Winchester died in 1922 from heart failure and construction on the house finally stopped. She was buried with her husband and daughter, back on the east coast. Her detailed will made no mention of the Winchester House: the possessions inside it were left to her niece and took several weeks to remove. The conspicuous absence of the house in he...
Less than 6 months after Sarah died, the house was bought, leased to a couple called John and Mayme Brown and opened up to tourists. The house is owned by a company called Winchester Investments LLC today, which represents the interests of the Browns’ descendants.
Visitors to the house have long been troubled by unexplained phenomena and the feeling of an other-worldly presence. Some claim to have seen ghosts there. The third floor, in particular, is said to be a hot spot for eerie goings-on and supernatural occurrences.
The house has been owned by the same family since 1923 and has remained open to the public almost continuously since then. It was designated a National Landmark in 1974. Guided tours of 110 of the house’s 160 or so rooms run regularly, and much of the interior is extremely similar to how it was during Sarah Winchester’s lifetime. Is it really haunt...
- Sarah Roller
Oliver Winchester (1857–1880) William Wirt Winchester (1880–1881), son of Oliver Winchester. William Converse (1881–1890), husband of Mary A. Pardee. Thomas Gray Bennett (1890–1910), husband of Hannah Jane Winchester. George E. Hudson (1910–1915). He was a partner in the company with Oliver.
Mar 27, 2022 · His name was William Wirt Winchester. The only son of firearms manufacturer Oliver Winchester, William was heir to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The company had made a name for itself as one of the first to mass-produce firearms with the ability to fire multiple rounds without reloading.
Oliver Winchester died in December 1880; his son and successor, William Wirt Winchester, died of tuberculosis four months later. William Wirt Winchester's widow, Sarah Winchester, used her inheritance and income from the company to build what is now known as the Winchester Mystery House.
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IT’S A WONDER. The Winchester Mystery House® is an architectural wonder and historic landmark in San Jose, CA that was once the personal residence of Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester, the widow of William Wirt Winchester and heiress to a large portion of the Winchester® Repeating Arms fortune.
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