Katie Wheeler Library: House Of The Ghosts!
Nestled in Irvine Ranch Historic Park, the “Katie Wheeler” public library is ranked number ten amongst — the most haunted places — in the Orange County (1). The current library building is a new replica of James Irvine’s remodeled ranch house (2), called “The Mansion”, about one hundred and twenty-five years ago. Now, the new building is filled with books, desks, and people working or studying in every corner. Preserving the original design and history of the ranch house enlivens the experience, boosts imagination and creates the feeling of Irvine family’s presence again.
Walking up to the front gate, the oldest living residents of “The Mansion” standing tall with pride and prejudice are twenty-seven fan palm trees aging more than one hundred and ten years old; witnessed every happiness, every tragedy, and the mysteries of “The Mansion”. “Would they ever spill the secret?” I want to know.
The cast iron gate and palm trees lined up both sides of the driveway complemented “The Mansion” and separated the garden, house and its people from outsiders with a strong sense of status. On the lower part of both sides of the gate, you can see a plaque with builder’s information: “Nutting & Son Builders, 227 main street, San Francisco”. A plaster wall was built around the gate after 1934 kidnapping, according to the site tour signs. On the right side of the driveway, a small avocado farm exists, a remnant of Irvine family’s major avocado and lime bean farms. On the left, there is a walking path inside the garden leading to a small gazebo surrounded by red, pink, and white roses, and a green grassy carpet for children to play and a cast iron wood bench inside the gazebo for family’s afternoon tea. Moving along the curved driveway, the palms pointing you to the white gorgeous Georgian building. Is this their way of showing a sign? “The Mansion” entrance has a large carriage porch and two wide planters to soften the overpowered entrance with twelve strong square paired columns. Every four-columns are branched off from a common trunk, heavily rooted in the ground. Seven steps above the ground, the once half-burnt house, rose from the ashes in February 2008 (2) after forty years of abandonment by its heirs; whispering: “I never died!”
The library main entrance with a three-piece, wide, craftsman door, opens to what was the main living room, begging guests to come in! On the right, there is a gigantic traditional fireplace with the portrait of Harvey Rice — James Irvine’s father-in-law- hanging above it. On the mantel, the Irvine family’s old pictures are placed: James Irvine II, his three children Jase, Myford, and Kathryn and granddaughter Katie and a few more. Eerily, the only available seat in the living room is a dark green velvety French chair beside a small round table adjacent to the fireplace, as if the invisible host invites the guest for séance by the fireplace to show off her family and her elegant house. “Would you like to join my family’s Christmas party,” the host whispers. The Christmas tree centered in the living room and guest pick up a drink at the bar, mingle and chat with Irvine family.
Another massive feature in “The Mansion” is the traditional walnut staircase. Across the entrance door, the staircase is making a scene with heavy posts and dark wood paneling creating both senses of solidity and flow in the house. The library’s information section is where Irvine family used to have a bar, alongside the staircase in the formal living room. Behind the staircase was the original formal dining room with two dark wood French doors opening to a white balcony with a white fence and white wooden square railing facing the backyard.
In the library, this area is filled with a few tables and chairs for general use and study. Next to the formal dining room was the children’s dining room. The Library circulation desk is sitting between where the children’s dining room and kitchen were. Four or five reference bookshelves placed in front of the circulation desk where the kitchen, pantry, and storage room were originally built.
The three-story mansion with about thirty rooms in total also had two bedrooms on the first floor right behind the kitchen: one for the chef and another one for the family servants. Servants used a separate staircase in the back of the house to reach the second floor for cleaning. The second floor was designed to accommodate different bedrooms: master, children’s, children nurses and multiple guest bedrooms including the blue and the red guest rooms. The master bedroom located above the living room opened to a large white deck with a French door. This area is currently used as children section. The library basement is used as a staff lounge, conference room, library bookstore, and administration offices.
James Harvey Irvine II had multiple tragedies in “The Mansion”: first, he lost his forty-seven year-old wife due to an illness (3), then his only daughter, Kathryn dies at the age of twenty-five, after giving birth to her only child “Katie” in his house, and last tragic wound was struck after his oldest son “James Harvey Irvine III” –selected by his father to inherit the ranch business — died of Tuberculosis.
One of the most mysterious event was when, James Irvine’s second son, the left-handed Myford, committed suicide in the basement office by shooting himself three times with two different guns. Oddly, he was discovered holding a gun in his right hand.
Among the events held at The Mansion, the ghost stories are still alive. “Three of my colleagues have experienced the presence of a ghost here on three different occasions,” says one of the librarian assistants, who has been working in the library for the last six years. He explains that all three events happened in the morning around 8 am right before the library opens. He continued: “The first time, it happened when one of the pages, a young Persian-American girl, was organizing children books on the second floor where the original master bedroom was and she heard a heavy breathing sound so close that she thought somebody is standing right behind her. When she turned around nobody was there… she screamed for help running down the staircase. The second event was witnessed by two librarians at the circulation desk”, says librarian. He explains that morning before opening the doors both ladies in the circulation desk heard a woman’s voice right in between them singing for a child. He continues: “The third event happened when one of my colleagues was working in the basement. She notices from the corner of her eye that a person passed by. She said to me: “At first, I thought Dave was there, so I called “ Hey, Dave is that you?” but then she doesn’t hear anything back.” librarian explains that nobody was there and when librarian searched the room found the basement was absolutely empty. As she was returning to her basement office, she heard his steps sound right behind her! Tap, tap, tap!
Some believe that the visiting ghost is Kathryn, the mother of Katie. Strangely, when Kathryn died her father insisted on raising Katie in “The Mansion”. Was the Kathryn ghost in touch with her father? Did she ask him to keep Katie so she can visit her regularly? Or is it Anita, the grandmother whose three children Kathryne, Jase, and Myford died in the house? Or is it James Irvine II still living with his family at the ranch in disguise?
Work Cited
1. Don J. Ortega’s blog, October 18th, 2012 http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/845
2. Katie Wheeler Library website: https://katiewheelerlibrary.wordpress.com/the-library/
3. Irvine, Frances Anita Plum, 1862–1909.
http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/ark:/99166/w6p58xzh
