In 1881, Sarah Winchester became one of America’s wealthiest women after her husband, William Wirt Winchester, died and left her a vast inheritance. A few years later, the widow moved from Connecticut to California and bought an eight-room farmhouse in the Santa Clara Valley. What began as a modest renovation soon turned into an extraordinary building project that continued for 36 years, with rooms, corridors and architectural experiments added without a conventional master plan. By the time Winchester died in 1922, the house had grown into a sprawling Victorian mansion containing 160 rooms, thousands of windows and doors, and staircases that appeared to lead nowhere. Some stories claim she built endlessly to confuse restless spirits, while other explanations point to her fascination with architecture and desire to keep workers employed. Whatever motivated her, the result became one of California’s most unusual historic homes in America, drawing visitors intrigued by its strange rooms, hidden passages, elaborate craftsmanship and enduring mystery.
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