The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, grew from an eight-room farmhouse Sarah Winchester bought in 1886 into an immense, highly personal Victorian and Gothic-style mansion shaped largely by her own design choices. Expanded over many years, though not continuously, it became known for its maze-like layout, rich interiors, and practical yet unusual features. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed major portions of the house, and the damaged sections were often cleared rather than rebuilt, creating some of its best-known oddities. Opened to visitors in 1922, it became famous both for its architecture and for legends that transformed it into a lasting haunted-house myth.