I was traveling through Indiana to the Initial Point in the Hoosier National Forest. 37 was closed at a bridge and I was detoured down winding Forest back roads. I came across a big old house and stopped to get a pic. I noticed someone or something was looking back at me from the window. I realized it was a sheet tied over a ball. I guess someone has a sense of humor.
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The small town of Cayuga is in the western heartland of Indiana near the Illinois Border. The cross shaped house is said to be the most haunted house in the Hoosier State and was featured on the first episode of the History Channels The UnXplained hosted by William Shatner. Called the Willows Weep house it was built in the 1890s and several people have died in the home. The man who built it died in the home and three or four people have committed suicide in the home. They say the home is possesed by an evil spirit. I am rather skeptical about the ghost stories but since I saw it on The UnXplained I took a drive past it when I was in Indiana. It was a rather ordinary looking home and I snapped a pic from the road.
P.S. I had a little fun in photoshop with the pic.
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Kokomo Indiana’s Old Silk Stocking Neighborhood has a number of old historic houses but there is one mansion that stands out among them. The magnificent home was built in 1889, by Monroe Seiberling who was the owner of the Diamond Plate Glass Company. The Romanesque Revival – Queen Ann style mansion has 27 rooms and 10 fireplaces.
After World War II, Indiana University purchased the home and used it as part of their campus. By 1964 the university no long used the old house and it sat empty and in a state of disrepair. After talk of demolition the Howard County Historical Society purchased the home in 1972. After extensive renovation the home is now used as a museum.
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Between Dayton and Cincinnati is the town of Middleton. There you will find a massive Richard Romanesque style stone mansion that looks like a castle. Known as the Sorg Mansion, it was built by Paul J. Sorg. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1840. After serving in the Civil War, he partnered with John Auer and the two men formed a tobacco company. Auer was skilled at the process of rolling tobacco and Sorg, who was skilled at bookkeeping, managed the money.
The two men merged their tobacco company with another one that had ties to Middletown. It was there in 1887 that Paul J. Sorg built his elaborate mansion. It is over thirteen thousand square feet with thirty five rooms. It has twelve bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Ornate stone carvings adorn the exterior and wood paneling and hand carved trim covers the interior. Paul J, Sorg died in 1902 and the house passed on to his family.
In the 1930s the home was sold and converted into apartments. After being used as office space and a dance studio the home was sold to a couple that is in the process of restoring it to its former glory. It is still privately owned but worth looking at from the street and marveling at its exterior.
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This Queen Anne style home stands in the town of Drain Oregon. It was completed in 1895 and took about two years to construct. The home was built for Charles D. Drain Jr. the youngest son of Charles Drain. The elder Drain was a prominent politician on Oregon and sold property to the railroad to build the town that bares his name. The ornate and colorful home is now owned by the local school district and used and the headquarters for the district.
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The American southwest architecture is mostly known for tan adobe walls and brown tile roofs. Standing in the heart of Phoenix Arizona is a brick Queen Ann Victorian house. It was constructed in 1895 by Dr. Roland Lee Rosson and his wife Flora. The Rosson family only lived in it a few years before moving to California. The home changed hands several times. By the 1950s it was converted into multi unit housing and walls moved around and kitchens added. In the 1970s the once grand old house had fallen into disrepair and no longer had the appeal it once had. Because it was in important part of Phoenix history the house was purchased by the city in 1974 along with the rest of the block. The home was lovingly restored back to its original 1895 layout and décor. It now serves as a history museum and is the pride of Phoenix’s Heritage Square.
One other interesting thing about the house is that it is rumored to be haunted. In the 1980s a caretaker of the historic house was killed by a gun shot outside the home. They say the sprit of the murdered caretaker still resides in the house. Some people have claimed to see the apparition of a man, or his shadow, on the wall. People have also heard what sounds like footsteps traveling up and down the stairs. I am not sure if the house is haunted but it is a beautiful and unique part of Phoenix history.
The Rosson House Museum can be found at: 113 N 6th St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
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North of Yonkers near the town of Irvington New York is one of the most unique Victorian houses. The octagon house with a domed roof is known as the Amour Stiner House and it was constructed in 1859 by Paul J. Armour. The original octagon two-story house was inspired by Orson Squire Fowler, the author of The Octagon House: A Home for All Occasions. He believed the Octagon shape provided more interior sunlight, and that its rooms were easily accessible to each other
Later on the house was sold to New York City tea merchant Joseph Stiner, who added the domed third story roof and veranda in the 1870s. He used it as a summer cottage and designed it to be a whimsical place to amuse his guests. Over the years the house was owned by some colorful and eccentric people. In the 1930s it was occupied by Aleko Lilius, a Russian born Finnish writer and explorer. He traveled through Africa and South America writing about his time in places like Morocco and Mexico City. For a short time he lived in the Philippines where he was convicted of fraud and did two months of hard labor at a Philippines’ Prison. He also spent time in the South China Sea where he lived with Lai Choi San, A female pirate captain who had a fleet of twelve ships. Lilius published a book about his experience with the Chinese pirates titled I Sailed with Chinese Pirates. For a short time he lived in the United States and and resided in the Armour Stiner home.
Another owner of the home was Carl Carmer, the author, poet, and historian. Carmer resided in the house from 1940 to the time of his death in 1976. He was one of America’s most popular writers in the 1940s and 50s. He primarily wrote American folklore, myths and tall tales. In his later years he worked as a folklore consultant for Walt Disney Productions and produce a folklore radio series called “Your Neck o’ the Woods. While living at the Armour Stiner House, he claimed it was haunted and it gave him inspiration for some of his writing.
Shortly after the death of Carl Carmer, the house was acquired by National Trust for Historic Preservation. In need of stabilization and conservation, it was the first house to be acquired by the National Trust. in 1978 it was sold to architect Joseph Pell Lombardi, who specializes in conservation, restoration, and historic preservation throughout the world. He has restored the home to what it would have look like in 1872. The home is located at 45 W Clinton Ave, Irvington, NY 10533 You can learn more about the house at its website https://www.armourstiner.com/
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