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LOCATION:
The Madrona Manor can be found in
the heart of California's wine country, in a town called Healdsburg, in
Sonoma County. It was built up on top of a knoll of land, surrounded by
very tall trees.
The Madrona Manor - 1001 Westside
Road, Healdsburg, Calif. 707-433-4231 - Now a Bed & Breakfast Inn
DESCRIPTION:
John Alexander Paxtron, a rich, California
state legislator, built this grand Victorian mansion, Madrona Manor, in
1880, for his wife, Hannah, and their two sons, Blitz and Charles, to
be their family home. He also planted vines in his winery, which still
produce award-winning wine to this day.
HISTORY:
After John died seven years later,
Hannah, the story is told, kept his body in a lead-lined glass coffin
in the mansion, until she herself died in 1902. Their sons inherited the
Manor. Charles killed himself there, after his wife ran away with another
man.
After 1913, Madrona Manor was sold
many times and had many owners. When it stood vacant in the 1980 ' s,
Mr. & Mrs. Muir saw this property for sale, and decided to buy this
grand, old mansion and transform it into a long - time dream of theirs,
which was to own and run a bed & breakfast inn.
MANIFESTATIONS:
1) During the renovation of this old
mansion, workman and carpenters told Mrs. Muir of the eerie feeling
of an unseen presence watching them.
2) Since the Madrona Manor has opened,
employees also have felt that they were being studied by a presence
they couldn't see.
3) Guests have found their belongings
in strange, unusual places, much to their annoyance.
4) One guest, who was in Room 101,
got quite a surprise, upon awakening during the night, of finding an
unexpected visitor, an apparition of a 30 - something woman, wearing
a long black dress and had a black ribbon tied around the collar of
her dress, standing right next to the bed. She went from the side of
the bed , to sit in the blue velvet chair by the window. This visitor
disappeared, after the guest asked her what she wanted.
5) After having finished a wonderful
dinner, a guest, Mrs. P, looked up and saw one of the French doors,
leading to the dining room, open up and an apparition of a small, gray-haired
lady, dressed in clothes from the 19th century, came into the dining
room. In utter awe and fascination, Mrs. P continued to stare at this
elderly lady as she came over to Mrs. P., and stood right beside her.
The lady told Mrs. P, "I'm glad you can see me. I feel so bad that
no one else can. This was my house once and I like what's been done
to it! I'd like to tell someone that. Now, you can tell them."
6) At breakfast one day, a cup turned
completely around in a circle on its saucer, fully jolting awake a Madrona
Inn guest.
Still Haunted?
Yes.
Mrs. & Mr. M have accepted the
apparent fact that they have non-paying, unseen residents in their Madrona
Inn.These innkeepers have a peaceful relationship with these ghosts from
the past, though, as Mr. & Mrs. M don't bother them, and the ghosts
don't bother the living, which has worked out well for all concerned.
All Photos taken by Tom Carr
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