Sarah "Sally" Winchester Part II
"Llanada Villa was more like a living sketchbook of an artist at work who could afford to build to full-scale"
The Move West
Sorry there was no psychic visit (Which was going out but still in fashion to see a psychic, or spiritualist. At this time of such invention and breakthroughs it was commonly believed that contact with the other realm was logical if not scientifically possible.), nor even an out of the blue purchase of a house. Sarah Winchester, a socialite in New Haven, Connecticut, after going through back to back deaths was looking for a new start and at the time California, a new state at the time was prime for a woman who wanted a farm with bountiful soil and a climate conducive to her rheumatoid arthritis that was beginning to set in and plagued her the rest of her life. She was wealthy woman entering middle age and close to her sisters. One sister Nettie & husband Homer Sprague had been recruited by a women's college in San Francisco and Sarah stayed with them while looking for her own property. Close to her three living sisters she paid the bill for her other sisters & grown children to also join her out there. She purchased a property for Isabelle and Louis Merriman, land around it, remodeling and naming it "El Sueño" or for them "The Daydream", a horse ranch that later fell in the path of the incoming railroad. The Southern Pacific line was to bisect the property, cutting off feed land from water source and the house, she refused to be bullied by the railroad and they purchased the property in full, subdividing it and beginning the town of Los Altos. (Read a bit about that here)
Looking for property in the area while staying with her sister Edward "Ned" Rambo, the San Francisco agent for Winchester Repeating Arms Co. took her to what he called his own "New Haven" where he has purchase 30 acres himself in the Santa Clarita Valley. While still close to San Francisco, 30 miles south, it was out of the damp climate, far away from the city bustle and much more suitable to her, with beautiful stretching views. The valley was perfect, reminding her of Llanada Alavesa she named her new property Llanada Villa, an eight room farmhouse which was located with access of three townships, correspondence could easily reach her, supplies, lumber, as well as school district for the children of her employees to attend, it really was a great location for her but she knew she'd have to expand and remodel for it to suit her needs.
Construction begins, and ends and begins again.
Construction did go on at Llanada Villa for an extended period of time, but it was not due to a unceasing need to keep 24 hour construction crews going or the ghosts would get her but instead Sarah designed as she went, and with delays or her just wanting rest the construction crew could be dismissed for months at a time. For about 20 years construction went on expanding the farmhouse into a grand estate in the Queen Anne victorian style as was common at the time and Mrs. Winchester was not the only one leading construction of sprawling mansion at this time or even just in the area. She also did not only spend time solely on the one house but it became more like her pet project. Sarah did not enjoy leisure, unlike her peers and the goal of one in the Victorian era was to have a life a leisure, but enjoyed work and kept herself busy finding it healing for her mind and body. There was not a plan for the expansion of Llanada Villa, but Sarah designed as she went, making changes along the way, more experimental. Remember the house she and William had built? She enjoyed the process, learning and teaching herself, if it had been another era perhaps she would have studied to be an architect but as a woman and a rich one at that she experimented herself. Wood work was in her family as her father was a great craftsman. She designed a system to contain and re-use water, when her arthritis made it hard for her to walk she designed stairs easier for her to maneuver, commissioned rich Tiffany glass windows and even utilized technology including multiple elevators for the home, lighting systems, an annunciator and more. The mansion was sprawling but nothing too unheard of for the Queen Anne style, with it's asymmetrical design and tower. Also grand exhibitions were popular at the time and rich estates reflected this often including vast varieties influences from all around the world one person described the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 as a "the contents of a great dry goods store mixed up with the contents of museums."
The house expanded to 26 rooms in the first six months but construction did stretch on due to weather, or Mrs. Winchester requiring work to be done to a certain standard, work was either done, re-done, or put-off for proper weather further delaying construction. She also purchased surrounding acreage for orchards as well as to keep her view. (A habit that was not unique to this house as she later purchased many properties in the prestigious Atherton area.) Expensive touches were abound in the house, custom Tiffany windows installed, grand fireplaces, craftsmanship ran in the family and it shows. Elements bringing nature into the home was in style at the time, a common motif being spiderwebs, they adorn anything from windows to dining chairs. Another way nature was brought in was by plants and water features, Mrs. Winchester also designed features herself like a water collection tray in the second story where she had the staff water on the second level with a large tray was installed in the floor allowing it to be collected on the first to re-use. Californians today could take note. Construction did not go on restlessly, at times she also just wanted rest, and construction would dismissed for months at a time, far from the claims of a 24-hour schedule. The 20 year (a decade+ less than exaggerated claims again) construction did come to a nearly abrupt end in 1906 after an earthquake dropped stories down, destroying the tower and sections of the the house.
Mrs. Winchester then ordered only repairs and maintenance to be done to the property and did not re-build unlike her peers in the valley who felt it was more of a duty or obligation to do so. Damage from the quake quickly explains away most anomalies of the house, doors and stairways to nowhere used to lead somewhere. In addition Daisy, Sarah's niece who had been living with her aunt for years but had recently married & moved to San Francisco with her husband at about the same time as the earthquake and Sarah wanting to move closer to the newly weds and probably did not feel the same need to rebuild as she began buying other properties.
Widow on the Move
In addition to all of her land properties, Sarah had also purchased a house boat 2 years before the earthquake as was completely on trend at the time for the wealthy. These large house boats were also often referred to as "Arks".
She fell in love at first sight with a house in the aristocratic Atherton area that fell halfway between San Francisco and San José. Immediately pulling out her checkbook she purchased the house fo $32,000 and it even came with a phone number "Menlo 291" but was sitting on only 6 acres of land and that just would not do for this widow. As she seemed to like to do when she liked an area she began buying up property including a second house on an adjacent property and an entire tract of land that had been slated for a subdivision, protecting her privacy & view. Her rambling home in San Jose before the earthquake would not have felt too out of place in the Atherton area of wealthy residents.
House in San Jose vs. one of Sarah's Atherton neighbors.
In the end
Llanada Villa was more like a living sketchbook of an artist at work who could afford to build to full-scale, this is why it is an amazing example of multiple styles of Victorian architecture, and fine examples of craftsmen all in one place. Building, the construction, was one way she could feel close to, relive or remember times with her husband keeping his memory alive while also striking out for herself. It is deeply beautiful, and fun to see what one can do with so much wealth & a little creativity. The house and property boasts cutting edge technology of the day as well as so many architectural details, & a frozen glimpse into time. The only thing that made the house spooky is one family's business idea to turn a damaged house that could have been slated for demolition into a tourist attraction fueled by brilliant marketing using the rumors to fuel intrigue for a tourist attraction. I highly recommend a visit. Take it for what it is now, enjoy the fun of it, and see past that, respect, admire, for what it was and who "Sally" Winchester really was. a business woman, real estate mogul, take no gruff, family, intelectual woman, a creative lively woman with money to burn. She was eccentric to her time, and it made he an easy target for rumors and as a way for people to personify their own feelings without making personal statements.
I highly recommend reading Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, Heiress to the Rifle Fortune By Mary Jo Ignoffo, it is thoroughly researched and enjoyable to read.
Thank you for reading, and taking the time to learn a little bit of the real history of one real woman lost in myth.
