Sarah Winchester sits side-saddle in front of her 8-room farmhouse purchased on 45 acres from John Hamm in 1886 for $12,570.00. San Jose-Los Gatos Road, San Jose, CA.
Several years ago, an employee at the mansion found this photo above (the original is sepia tone) among the Winchester archives. This was the farm house after Sarah made some renovations. The structure in the back, a barn or garage, is still there. The house grew to eventually attach to it. Several architectual elements; porch posts, window framing, decorative panels, resemble the mansion today.
At the right of this photograph, it shows a bench with, some will say, a "figure" sitting on the end. Some will argue that this figure is Sarah and the lady on the horse is her niece, Marion "Daisy" Merriman. I don't think so. I believe the image on the bench is a shrub or vine type of plant and Sarah Winchester is sitting on her horse in front of her house.
An early photograph of the house expansion. Construction began soon after moving to San Jose in 1886. This photo is about 1890. Sarah owned 160 acres including the land across the road.
A south-east rear view taken from the orchard.
Before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the mansion rose to 7 stories, the towers high above the tree line. Although the house is large, it's still cramped with narrow corridors and misaligned rooms. The house doesn't have any flow in the living spaces, only a lot of rooms connected to each other. View from the north-east.
An early post card from the 1930s showing the mansion before the earthquake.
On both ends, the front of the mansion has round two-story towers with a conicle or "witch's cap" roof. The north side had the two towers; a brick octagonal castle tower and a huge foundation and pillars for a balcony on the 6th and 7th story observation tower. The house grew to appear top-heavy and lopsided.
Post card showing the rear view, 1940s.
Pre-1906 showing south-east corner. The sandstone 3-story chimney would fall during the earthquake, leaving a scar on the mansion to this day. The chimney was not rebuilt and the opening boarded up and left unfinished.
The sandstone chimney collapsed to the ground floor during the earthquake. The cupola can be seen tilted to one side as the two support beams collapsed. This 6th and 7th floor tower were built and rebuilt several times, experiencing difficulties for one reason or another during its construction.
Close-up of the tilted tower cupola. The windows, eyebrow dormers, and finial are in the museum on the property along with other architectural elements. The damage was carefully removed in order to save pieces to be used later.
Rear view looking north-west. Pre-1906 showing the 5th floor and towers making the 6th and 7th floors. Notice the two men on the 3rd floor balcony below the tower.
Sarah was very generous with her wealth. She kept building in order to keep the local carpenters and craftsmen employed. She enjoyed being the architect planning and designing each addition or remodel. She gave to local charities anonymously and donated funds to the hospital named after her husband in New Haven. She had domestic staff, gardeners, and orchard workers, all paid higher than the going rate. And, were provided two meals per day. The bell tower rang twice each work day. She provided homes on the estate for several employees and their families. Sarah wanted loyalty and longevity from her employees. Some people remained with her for over 20 years.
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