Located at 2476 San Diego Ave, San Diego, CA 92110
The oldest two-story brick structure in Southern California was built right here in San Diego. It's better known
as The Whaley House and is designated as a National Historical Landmark located in Old Town. Thomas Whaley built it
in 1856 and his family continued living here until 1953. While the Whaleys lived in the house,
Thomas had created it with the intention of establishing a center for activity and business. Throughout the years it served as a courthouse, a general store, and a theater.
Between Thomas and his wife Anna, they had six children: Francis Hinton, Thomas Jr., Anna Amelia, George Hay Ringgold, Violet Eloise, and Corinne Lillian.
The eldest child Francis or "Frank" became a notary public for San Diego County in 1884 and was instrumental in later years
for the restoration and preservation of the Whaley House as a historical site. In 1912, he opened the courthouse to the public as a museum.
His sign says 1854 even though the Whaley House wasn't built until two years later. Perhaps Frank labeled it to coincide with his own birth year.
Thomas Jr. sadly caught scarlet fever and died at the age of seventeen months. He was buried at the Protestant Cemetery to the west of Old Town.
The following decades saw the construction and growth of "New Town", which was centered around the Gaslamp Quarter of today. New Town was built
by Alonzo Horton pictured here in 1884 with his wife and mansion in New Town. It would draw many families away from Old Town, moving their relatives' graves along with them.
The Protestant Cemetery became forgotten and the land was used as a dog pound, a goat farm, and a trash dump. A handful of graves remained and almost one century later
the gravesite of Thomas Jr. was transferred to Mount Hope Cemetery prior to the construction of Interstate 5 over the land where the Protestant Cemetery once stood.
In 1882, the Old Mission Bells most likely rang for a double wedding that was held at the Whaley House in the background. It was for sisters Anna Amelia and Violet Eloise.
Anna Amelia married her first cousin John T. Whaley. They later moved to Modesto, California and she would be the only sibling who died outside of San Diego.
Violet Eloise married George T. Bertolacci. He turned out to be a charlatan trying to marry into the Whaley family's wealth.
He left two weeks after the wedding and Violet was thrown into bouts of depression from the deception itself as well as embarrassment from the subsequent divorce.
Early in the morning on August 18th, 1885, she shot herself in the chest in the backyard. Her father brought her into the parlor of the Whaley House, but it was too late.
Violet was a talented musician and was remembered as an artist by her siblings. She left a note with a poem by Thomas Hood: It read,
"Mad from life's history,
Glad to death's mystery,
Swift to be hurled -
Anywhere, anywhere,
Out of the world!"
Violet Eloise was only 22 years old. Considering the trying times we are going through, be sure to check on the mental health of others.
George Hay Ringgold Whaley wanted to become a professional musician against his father's wishes. He taught himself to play the violin
and left the Whaley House at the age of 19, allegedly to avoid abuse from his father. He began working downtown playing the violin and made his first public appearance at Horton Hall in 1880.
Named after its benefactor, Alonzo Horton, Horton Hall was San Diego's first theater and could seat 400 people comfortably with another 200 chairs if needed. Opened in 1869, it hosted meetings, shops, variety shows, the Philharmonic Society of San Diego,
and even comic operas like Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. Horton Hall burned in 1897 and was then torn down.
The last of the Whaley children, Corinne Lillian, was a school teacher and a librarian. She also took voice lessons to become an opera singer.
She was the last Whaley family member to live in the Whaley House until 1953.
The Whaley House is advertised at America's Most Haunted House. Several members of the Whaley family died within its walls.
Toward the back of the house is a replica of a jail cell.
Prior to the building of the Whaley House, the property was the location of the gallows where Yankee Jim Robinson was hung for stealing a boat.
His soul is said to haunt the Whaley House and this cell is similar to where he was held before his trial and execution.
If you want to hear more detail of Yankee Jim's story, search for and watch the San Diego Review of Old Town after this one.
The deaths in this location are said to have confined their spirits in and around the Whaley House. On the subject of paranormal activity, recent polls show roughly 40% to 60% of Americans believe in ghosts.
One hundred years ago, the magazine Scientific American offered $5,000 for scientific proof that ghosts really do exist.
The world had just battled through World War I and was recovering from an influenza pandemic.
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