Winchester Mystery House
The Winchester House, or Winchester Mystery House as it is better known, is a 160-room Victorian Mansion built by Sarah L. Winchester, wife of rifle manufacturer William Wirt Winchester. Sarah and William were married on September 30, 1862, and had one child, Annie Pardee, who died about a month after birth in 1866. William Winchester died on March 7, 1881. After her husband's death from tuberculosis, Sarah Winchester inherited more than $20.5 million (equivalent to $576 million in 2021). She also received nearly 50% ownership of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, giving her an income of roughly $1,000 per day, equivalent to $28,000 a day in 2021. Mrs. Winchester, upset at the deaths of her husband and daughter, reportedly consulted a spiritualist. This medium informed Mrs. Winchester that the victims killed by the Winchester rifles her family manufactured were seeking revenge by taking the lives of her family. The spiritualist also conveyed to Mrs. Winchester that the spirits had placed a curse on her, and that if she wished to live, she must appease them by moving out west and constantly, without ceasing, build a house for them night and day. Construction carried on day and night, 7 days a week including holidays.
There was only one mirror in the home and it was in Sarah's room, mirrors upset the spirits. Stairs led to brick walls to confuse the spirits. Doors opened into nothing but a fall to the room below, and expensive Tiffany stain glass windows were inserted on walls between interior walls instead of exterior ones that would never get sunllght were only a few of the oddities. These windows were designed specifically for her, and some by her, including a "spider web" window that featured her favorite web design and the repetition of the number 13, another of her preoccupations.There are roughly 160 rooms, including 40 bedrooms, two 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 basement levels and three elevators. Winchester's property was about 162 acres at one time, but the estate has since been reduced to 4.5 acres – the minimum necessary to contain the house and nearby outbuildings. It wasn't until Sarah Winchester died at the age of 85 in September 1922 that work on her bizarre, multi-gabled house finally stopped. The Queen Anne style house was built at an estimated cost of five million dollars.
Construction began in 1884. The abundance of timber within close proximity to San Jose allowed Mrs. Winchester's imagination free reign to try out what was evidently her consuming interest in architectural innovation. This unique building includes many outstanding elements of Victorian architecture and fine craftsmanship. There are rooms with gold plated fixtures, exquisite doors and windows of stained Tiffany glass set in silver designs as well as practical household innovations years ahead of their time. The continual building and remodeling created a 160-room house covering an area of six acres. The house is predominantly made of redwood, as Mrs. Winchester preferred the wood; however, she disliked the look of it. She, therefore, demanded that a faux grain and stain be applied. This is why almost all the wood in the home is covered. Approximately 20,500 U.S. gallons of paint were required to paint the house. There was only one working toilet for Winchester; it has been said that "all other restrooms were decoys to confuse spirits" and that this is also "the reason why she slept in a different room each night". The home's conveniences were rare at the time of its construction. These included steam and forced-air heating, modern indoor toilets and plumbing, push-button gas lights and Mrs. Winchester's personal (and only) hot shower from indoor plumbing. There are also three elevators, including an Otis electric and one of which was powered by a rare horizontal hydraulic elevator piston. Most elevator pistons are vertical to save space, but Winchester preferred the improved functionality of the horizontal configuration. Shortly after Mrs. Winchester's death in 1922 the house was sold and then opened to the public as the Winchester Mystery House. The Gardens Tour also has many points of interest, including the Greenhouse, Tank House and Fruit Drying Shed.
The cache container is a bison tube and a writing utencil will be needed. No room for SWAG.
Things to remember:
**ALWAYS carry a writing utencil and basic TOTT.
**CITO when you can.
**Give a favorite point to deserving caches.
**Be safe, have fun, play fair, and practice kindness.
**Geocaches can migrate. Don't be afraid to put the GPS down and just search!
**Don't sweat the small stuff. It's just a game.