Farnam Mansion
Encyclopedia
The Farnam Mansion is a 19th century mansion in the city of Oneida, which is located in Central New York State midway between the cities of Syracuse and Utica. Built circa 1862, it is situated on the southwest corner of Main and Stone Streets within the city's Main-Broad-Grove Streets Historic District
, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
(also known as a cupola) is situated above the east side of the mansion. It has a mansard roof and a trio of arched windows on all four sides. The front entry of the mansion features a pair of arched mahogany doors with windows, hand-carved panels, and brass doorknobs in the shape of a dog's head. The mansion's interior features eleven-foot high ceilings, ornate plaster ceiling medallions and crown mouldings, tall panelled tiger-oak doors, and two sets of panelled tiger-oak pocket doors. Three of the first floor rooms each contain a fireplace of imported Italian marble. A grand staircase leads to the second floor where there are four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a small library, nursery, and servant's quarters.
In October of 1913 Stephen Farnam's widowed second wife, Sarah, sold the mansion to Mary Dyer Jackson, an early activist in the women's suffrage movement. Miss Jackson, who founded the Progress Club in 1889 and became a charter member of the Madison County Historical Society in 1898, was well-known on a regional scale for being the first woman in Central New York to circulate a petition asking the New York State Legislature to grant women the right to vote. Interestingly, just five months after purchasing the mansion, Jackson sold the property and moved out. Her unusual short stay, along with the Farnam deaths, ignited a rumor that the mansion was haunted. As the rumor spread, many people in Oneida became convinced that frightful encounters with spirits were responsible for Jackson's hasty departure.
In March of 1914, Dr. Robert Lewis Crockett and his wife Mabel took ownership of the mansion. Dr. Crockett was a distinguished physician and surgeon who served as the 8th mayor of Oneida from 1916-1917 before leaving for military service in the first World War. He was also a naturalist who made a hobby of collecting wild plants and flower specimens, and was a member of three noted Syracuse University expeditions into Mexico, South America, and Canada. One of his favorite pastimes was taking field trips to the wilds of the Adirondacks to seek unusual plant specimens, many of which he brought back with him and studied in a laboratory set up in the basement of his home. It was down in this laboratory, while examining botanical specimens with his wife, that he was stricken with a fatal heart attack on May 27, 1946. His widow sold the mansion to Dr. Chancellor H. Whiting in 1952, who, in turn, sold it ten years later to Dr. William M. Hummer and his wife Shirley - both of whom passed away in the house in the 1980s.
The mansion was converted into a bed and breakfast by its next owners, the Chapins, who added four bathrooms and two rooms with jacuzzi tubs to the bedrooms on the second floor. They lived in the house for eleven years until ill health forced them to retire from innkeeping. The mansion was once again sold and eventually ended up being rented out to military families. Over the years it slowly fell into a state of disrepair.
themed bed and breakfast called the Collinwood Inn, welcoming paranormal investigators and spiritualists, and offering tours and seances in addition to overnight lodging. A number of paranormal investigations have been conducted at the mansion by various ghost-hunting groups (including the New York Shadow Chasers and New York State Paranormal Research) and all have reported paranormal activity.
Main-Broad-Grove Streets Historic District
Main-Broad-Grove Streets Historic District is a national historic district located at Oneida in Madison County, New York. The district contains 194 contributing buildings. It is predominantly residential in character but includes two schools, five churches, and one park...
, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Architecture
Constructed in the Italianate style, the mansion's exterior features a low-pitched roof, projecting eaves supported by large decorative cornice brackets, tall windows with ornate pediments, bay windows at the north and south sides of the house, and a wrap-around porch at the north and east sides. A square belvedereBelvedere (structure)
Belvedere is an architectural term adopted from Italian , which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. A belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building so as to command a fine view...
(also known as a cupola) is situated above the east side of the mansion. It has a mansard roof and a trio of arched windows on all four sides. The front entry of the mansion features a pair of arched mahogany doors with windows, hand-carved panels, and brass doorknobs in the shape of a dog's head. The mansion's interior features eleven-foot high ceilings, ornate plaster ceiling medallions and crown mouldings, tall panelled tiger-oak doors, and two sets of panelled tiger-oak pocket doors. Three of the first floor rooms each contain a fireplace of imported Italian marble. A grand staircase leads to the second floor where there are four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a small library, nursery, and servant's quarters.
History
The original owner of the mansion was a wealthy gentleman named Stephen Head Farnam, after whom the house was named. In addition to being a successful hardware store owner and president of the National State Bank, Mr. Farnam was also the original proprietor of the Little Falls Axe Factory, the president of the Glenwood Cemetery Association, and one of the organizers and first directors of the Oneida Gas Light Company. He died at home on November 17, 1897 after suffering a stroke. His obituary described him as "a well-known and highly esteemed citizen and merchant" of Oneida, and also "a self-made man and the architect of his own fortunes." (Other members of the Farnam family who have died in the mansion include Stephen's first wife, Elizabeth; and their son Frederick James, who died of consumption in 1892 at the age of thirty-one. All are buried at the Glenwood Cemetery in Oneida, New York.)In October of 1913 Stephen Farnam's widowed second wife, Sarah, sold the mansion to Mary Dyer Jackson, an early activist in the women's suffrage movement. Miss Jackson, who founded the Progress Club in 1889 and became a charter member of the Madison County Historical Society in 1898, was well-known on a regional scale for being the first woman in Central New York to circulate a petition asking the New York State Legislature to grant women the right to vote. Interestingly, just five months after purchasing the mansion, Jackson sold the property and moved out. Her unusual short stay, along with the Farnam deaths, ignited a rumor that the mansion was haunted. As the rumor spread, many people in Oneida became convinced that frightful encounters with spirits were responsible for Jackson's hasty departure.
In March of 1914, Dr. Robert Lewis Crockett and his wife Mabel took ownership of the mansion. Dr. Crockett was a distinguished physician and surgeon who served as the 8th mayor of Oneida from 1916-1917 before leaving for military service in the first World War. He was also a naturalist who made a hobby of collecting wild plants and flower specimens, and was a member of three noted Syracuse University expeditions into Mexico, South America, and Canada. One of his favorite pastimes was taking field trips to the wilds of the Adirondacks to seek unusual plant specimens, many of which he brought back with him and studied in a laboratory set up in the basement of his home. It was down in this laboratory, while examining botanical specimens with his wife, that he was stricken with a fatal heart attack on May 27, 1946. His widow sold the mansion to Dr. Chancellor H. Whiting in 1952, who, in turn, sold it ten years later to Dr. William M. Hummer and his wife Shirley - both of whom passed away in the house in the 1980s.
The mansion was converted into a bed and breakfast by its next owners, the Chapins, who added four bathrooms and two rooms with jacuzzi tubs to the bedrooms on the second floor. They lived in the house for eleven years until ill health forced them to retire from innkeeping. The mansion was once again sold and eventually ended up being rented out to military families. Over the years it slowly fell into a state of disrepair.
Current use
The mansion is currently owned by Gerri Gray, who, along with her husband Brian, have painstakingly worked to renovate and restore the mansion to its former glory. In 2010 they opened their doors to the public as a Dark ShadowsDark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
themed bed and breakfast called the Collinwood Inn, welcoming paranormal investigators and spiritualists, and offering tours and seances in addition to overnight lodging. A number of paranormal investigations have been conducted at the mansion by various ghost-hunting groups (including the New York Shadow Chasers and New York State Paranormal Research) and all have reported paranormal activity.