Jenny Lang is an Author currently working on a novel inspired by the life of Sarah Winchester, builder of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. If you would like to be notified when the book is available, please sign up here.
If your favorite character was a real person, and you two hung out, what would you two do?
The other day, someone in the #WritingCommunity on Twitter posted a prompt: “If your main character was a real person, and you two hung out, what would you two do?”
It didn’t take me long to decide. I’d love to go to a World’s Fair with Sarah Winchester. Sarah was very interested in technology, inventions, and industry. World’s Fairs were famous for presenting new technologies to the world. Anyone familiar with the Winchester Mystery House will know Sarah was very progressive with the innovations she included in her home. Could there be a more perfect match than Sarah Winchester and a World’s Fair?
To truly understand the mysterious Sarah Winchester, it is important to understand the time she lived in. Much like the rapid technology innovations we experience today, Sarah lived during a great revolution of invention and industrialization. This rapidly changing world could not help but fascinate and influence her.
The first recognized World’s Fair was held in London in 1851 – known as The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. Early world expo’s focused on industrialization, with an emphasis on trade, technology and innovations. These expo’s highlighted state-of-the art science and technology from around the world. It does not appear that Winchester rifles were represented at this first World Expo, but Samuel Colt demonstrated his prototype for the 1851 Colt Navy revolver, and two of his older models, taking home two of the three gold medals for science and engineering. Samuel Colt and Oliver Winchester were both from New Haven, Connecticut and their businesses frequently overlapped. Samuel Colt’s success at the London expo might have inspired Winchester’s participation in future World’s Fairs.
There were three World’s Fairs in the United States that Sarah Winchester was likely to have attended during her lifetime – the Centennial Expo in Philadelphia in 1876, the Mid-winter International Exposition in San Francisco in 1894, and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. Although we have no evidence that Sarah traveled to see World’s fairs in other parts of the country or world, the expos happened on a fairly regular basis in both the US and Europe, and would have been heavily reported on, giving Sarah exposure to all the latest industrial innovations.
Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, 1876
The first World Expo hosted in the United States was held in 1876 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as part of the United States centennial celebration. To give you a sense of the reach of this event, it is estimated that the exposition brought in nearly 10 million visitors – almost a fifth of the nation’s population, over its 6-month run. The Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition represents a turning point in American history, helping to move the nation from an inconsequential backwater country to a world leader. The technological innovations displayed at the fair were a big part of demonstrating to European leaders that America was equal to them in terms of innovation and industrial growth.
The Philadelphia Exhibition included over 30,000 exhibits. Some of the most memorable exhibits include Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, an early Remington typewriter, Thomas Edison’s phonograph, mass produced sewing machines, and a 5′ by 8′ hand cranked mechanical calculator. One of the most remarkable displays was the Corliss Duplex Engine, the largest steam engine in the world, which was used to power over 800 machines in Machinery Hall. Also of particular interest to Sarah might have been the Otis elevator display, inspiring her years later to install elevators in her own home.
It is documented that Sarah Winchester attended this fair, along with her husband William and her in-laws Oliver and Jane Winchester. (1) The Winchester Rifle Company had over 200 guns on display in the main hall. During the Expo, the Winchester 1876 Model Rifle was introduced. The Winchester 1876 model represented a more powerful repeating rifle compared to the previous 1873 model, with a longer range and ammunition suitable for big game hunting. In fact, the 1876 model was a favorite of President Teddy Roosevelt.
Winchester Rifle Booth (right)
The Winchester company and the Winchester family were part of the American post-Civil War industrial growth. They were helping to build the new American dream, and making an impact on an international front. Sarah could not avoid being swept up in the excitement surrounding all the new opportunities presented at the Centennial Expo.
California Midwinter International Exposition, San Francisco, 1894
By the time of the California Midwinter Exposition in 1894, Sarah Winchester had already been living in the San Jose, California valley for eight years. It is likely that Sarah also attended this exhibition and brought ideas from the festival back to her home.
If you’ve never been to the Golden Gate Park, I highly recommend it as one of your stops while visiting San Francisco. My daughter and I took a Segway tour that is now one of my favorite San Francisco memories (after, of course, the Winchester Mystery House). The California Midwinter Exposition contributed to the expansion of the park, and the addition of features that survive today – such as the Japanese Tea Garden.
While other expo’s focused heavily on invention and industry, the California Midwinter Exposition brought a strong cultural element to the exposition. The expo planners distinguished themselves from other expos by using inspiration from Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Egyptian, Morrish and old Missions buildings in the design of the expo buildings.
Again, Sarah might have been greatly influenced by the building design and gardens, bringing some elements to her own landscaping. The Japanese Gardens and Tea Room in particular included Asian plants, bonsai trees, tranquil ponds, bridges, winding paths, restful benches and colorful lanterns. The garden at Llanada Villa (Sarah’s name for her home) incorporated themed areas representing important plants and designs from many geographies and cultures, including a Japanese themed garden.
Sarah appears to have mimicked the expo’s Strawberry Hill, a recreation area at the west end of the fairgrounds reserved for picnics and relaxation. The grounds at Llanada Villa included a picnic ground referred to as Strawberry Hill. Other features of the expo that might have inspired Sarah in her own designs include an aviary and deer glen. And later, Sarah’s house boat in Burlingham, CA incorporated an arched bridge very similar to the one from the Japanese garden.
Sarah’s interest in attending the fair may also have been driven by the Santa Clara County exhibit, featuring a horse and rider made from the locally grown prunes. (2) As a plum grower herself, perhaps she even contributed some prunes to this display.
I did not find any direct evidence that the Winchester Repeating Rifle Company had a display at the California midwinter Expo, although it seems likely. The Official Guide to the California Midwinter Exposition (3) does not include a specific list of exhibitors, nor does it include any ads from the Winchester Repeating Rifle Co. But the description of included exhibits describes “Material of war, ordnance and ammunition; weapons and apparatus of hunting, trapping, etc.; military and sporting small arms.” With a Winchester sales office located in San Francisco, it seems unlikely the company would have failed to participate.
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was intended as a celebration of the opening of the Panama Canal, a great technological achievement. San Francisco also used the Expo to display its rebirth after the destruction of the 1906 earthquake, when much of San Francisco burned.
Like expositions before, the Panama-Pacific International Expo featured both technological and cultural displays. One exciting display was the advancement of telephone capability. A telephone line was run from New York City to San Francisco so that people across the continent could hear the Pacific Ocean – the first trans-American phone call. Henry Ford build an entire Model T assembly line at the fair. And there was a daily airshow.
Sarah Winchester witnessed such a fantastic advancement of industry during her lifetime, and I believe she reveled in following each new invention. Records show that among the many periodicals and journals Sarah subscribed to, one included the Science Press. (4)
The Expo included eleven palaces to house industrial achievements, a Festival Hall, and pavilions to house displays by the nations and States. The grounds of the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition were so large that it is believed that no one person could have seen the entire exhibition even if they’d spent all day and night for the length of the expo. The Palace of Machinery, which surely held Sarah’s interest, was the largest structure in the world at the time, and was the first building to have a plane fly through it. (5)
By 1915, Sarah Winchester was living full-time in her house in Atherton, CA. Unlike the Winchester Mystery House, the Atherton house was an estate home to be admired, and was featured in the program pages of the Panama-Pacific International Expo brochure, as photographed by A. Hahn. The Atherton house was Sarah Winchester’s full-time residence from 1910 to 1922, and featured modern craftsman architecture. It was considered one of the finest homes in the Bay area. (1)
Sarah Winchester could continue to feel proud of the achievements made by the company founded by her late husband William Winchester and her father-in-law Oliver Winchester. Winchester Rifles were included in the displays of both Hunting Equipment and Military Ordnance. But more importantly, Winchester Rifles were awarded the Grand Prix, the highest honor by the International Jury of Award of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
BY INVITATION MEMBER OF The International Jury of Award of the Panama- Pacific International Exposition has awarded Winchester rifles, repeating shotguns, metallic cartridges, shotgun shells, etc., the Grand Prix, which is the highest honor that this body can bestow upon a manufacturer’s goods. Consequently no other manufacturer of such goods has been so honored at this exposition. This award adds to the long list which Winchester products have received in other expositions in this country and thruout [sic] the world, and is additional evidence why the Winchester Repeating Arms Company is the only manufacturer of guns and ammunition that is by invitation member of Rice Leaders of the World Association. THE GRAND PRIX AT THE Panama-Pacific International Exposition Awarded To WINCHESTER Guns and Ammunition The Highest Possible Honor Bestowed Upon the W Brand ” (6)
The Winchester Rifle was also the weapon of choice for Mrs. Captain Chris Krempel, who won the ladies’ shooting contest by hitting a bulls-eye in her first shot. (7) Reminiscent of the Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley wild west shows, Winchester Rifles lived up to its reputation as a gun favored by shooting aficionados.
Sarah’s interest in technology and innovation likely began at the side of her father in his carpentry shop, and continued through the lively industrialization occurring in New Haven, Connecticut during her marriage to William Winchester. Her interest in exploring and incorporating technology continued during her building of Llanada Villa (The Winchester Mystery House), based on the number of innovations and unique features she included in her home.
I would love to travel back in time to attend any one of these World’s Fairs with Sarah Winchester. It would be fascinating to see which technologies interested her most, which inventions she thought would succeed or fail, the sorts of questions she asked at the displays, and how she incorporated those new innovations into her own lifestyle.
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(1) Ignoffo, M. J. (2012). Captive of the labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester, heiress to the rifle fortune. Columbia: University of Missouri Press.
(2) Santa Clara County Exhibit – The horse and rider are made up of prunes, the prune industry was pre-eminent in Santa Clara County. The San Francisco Midwinter Fair of 1894, in Golden Gate Park, from the collection of Bob Bragman . https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SF-Midwinter-Fair-that-no-one-knows-about-6713601.php#photo-9144767
(3) The Official Guide To The california Midwinter Exposition
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.l0051210433&view=1up&seq=5
(4) Cancelled checks and receipts for subscriptions are int he Leib Collection, Historic San Jose Archives.
(5) The 1915 World’s Fair, National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/upload/PPIE_1915_0304.pdf
(7) https://ppie100.org/the-lady-champion-rifle-shot-of-california/