
Sarah was a generous employer and paid her servants almost twice the average rate. “Winchester Mystery House, 8:30 PM” by naotakem is licensed under CC BY 2.0Īs her estate grew, so did her eccentric reputation. The land grew to eventually hold apple, plum, and walnut tree orchards, which also added to Sarah’s income. Crews worked around the clock and managed to transform the farmhouse into a seven-story mansion. As soon as she bought the house, she got to work immediately. Both inheritances left Sarah the owner of 50 percent of the company’s stock, which provided her with a $1,000 a day income. Her mother-in-law passed away in 1897 and left Sarah an additional 2,000 shares.
Winchester mystery house story of husband plus#
Sarah inherited millions after her husband’s death plus 777 shares of stock in the rifle company. Winchester found the raw materials and had the funds to do whatever she wanted with it. In 1884, she purchased the house that would become the now famous, elaborate, and unusual Mystery House. Winchester left New Haven to visit a niece who lived in Menlo Park, CA. The Winchesters lived in New Haven, Connecticut at the time. The medium told Sarah that the only way to appease the spirits would be to move west and build a house for them. The medium also told her that the spirits caused the deaths of both her husband and daughter and that she may be next. Sarah contacted a spirit medium who told her that her family was haunted by the spirits of people killed by Winchester rifles. The Winchesters had a daughter, Annie, who passed away in 1866.

William passed away in March of 1881 from tuberculosis. According to her biography page, “ Sarah Winchester: Woman of Mystery,” archived from the Winchester Mystery House website, Sarah Lockwood Winchester was married to William Wirt Winchester, whose father manufactured the Winchester rifle, known as “the gun that won the west.” Sarah was an accomplished musician and spoke three languages.
