In honor of the 2 hundredth anniversary of the beginning of Thomas Whaley, the Whaley Home Museum in Outdated City will rejoice the San Diego pioneer’s birthday.
Whaley, who lived from 1823 to 1890, was a service provider and investor from New York Metropolis who arrived in California in 1849 and turned an early settler of San Diego two years later. The 2-story Greek Revival brick home he inbuilt 1856-57 stays as a illustration of his legacy – and an emblem of haunted San Diego.
Anniversary occasions start Sunday with a trivia contest on Whaley Home social media accounts.
The majority of the celebration follows on Thursday Oct. 5, the day of Whaley’s beginning, which will likely be proclaimed Thomas Whaley Day within the metropolis and county of San Diego.
If you happen to occur to share a birthday with him, there will likely be free admission to the Whaley Home Day Tour, accessible from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Museum officers additionally will unveil a particular exhibit, open via Nov. 5. It consists of a few of Whaley’s private gadgets, on mortgage from San Diego County. Cake and refreshments will likely be served on the Whaley Home grounds from 1 to 2 p.m.
Whaley supplied the Brick Home, because the museum as soon as was recognized, as residence to San Diego’s second County Courthouse, the county’s first industrial theater, a railway workplace and numerous companies.
The property’s historical past as a web site for executions, together with tragedies suffered by the Whaley household, have fueled rumors that the home is haunted. The fears date again to 1857, when Whaley’s spouse Anna wrote of “being startled out of my sleep within the evening” by sounds and footsteps, although nobody else was residence.
Right this moment, the Whaley Home, billed as “America’s most haunted home,” is managed by Outdated City Trolley Excursions of San Diego, which runs haunted excursions.
“Thomas Whaley was an early chief of San Diego’s enterprise group and his residence in Outdated City is among the most historic buildings in San Diego County,” stated Victor Santana, operations supervisor on the museum. “We expect you will need to honor Thomas Whaley
and his contributions to San Diego’s historical past.”
