Est. 1880 · Cambria Pioneer History · Victorian Domestic Architecture
Cambria developed as a coastal village in the 1860s and 1870s, largely on the back of mercury mining at the nearby Oceanic Mine and cattle ranching on the Santa Rosa Rancho. By 1880 the town had enough permanent residents to support a small professional class, and it was in this period that George W. Lull built a cottage on Main Street for his wife Mary.
Mary Inman Lull — born Mary Leah Barnhardt — had been married previously to Dolphin Inman in Illinois before coming to California. The 1880 cottage George built for her is the oldest surviving structure on the Bluebird Inn's current grounds, and the Cambria History Exchange has documented it as one of the town's notable nineteenth-century domestic buildings.
The surrounding inn complex grew up around that original structure over the following decades. By the mid-twentieth century it was operating as a lodging property, and it continues today as a small inn on the East Village portion of Main Street, marketing itself in part on the historic character of the 1880 Lull House at its center. Descendants of the Lull family have periodically held reunions at the property, and the Cambria History Exchange maintains records of the building's occupancy history.
Sources
- http://cambriahistory.org/?p=798
- https://www.slocal.com/blog/post/ghosts-of-san-luis-obispo-county/
Apparition on balconyFootsteps on vacant upper floorDoors opening/closing without cause
The Bluebird Inn's paranormal reputation is specific and consistent: it centers on Mary Inman Lull, the woman for whom George Lull built the 1880 cottage. According to accounts documented by the Cambria History Exchange and reported in SLO County tourism writing, Mary is occasionally seen standing on the cottage's balcony by guests who arrive without prior knowledge of the inn's history — they describe a woman who is simply there, and then is not.
Inside, residents and guests have heard footsteps on the second floor when no one was present there, and reported first-floor doors opening or closing with no one in position to move them. The Cambria History Exchange account describes the ghost as apparently particular about conduct: she is said to have expressed displeasure with certain guests — who check out without explanation after checking in — and to supervise Lull family reunions held at the property, monitoring for good manners and timely departures.
The SLO tourism writing about the inn extends the image of Mary as a hostess who did not leave when her physical life ended, remaining attentive to the property she was given in 1880. No violent or distressing incidents are associated with the hauntings. The tone of all documented accounts is that of a watchful former owner who approves of the inn remaining in use.
Notable Entities
Mary Inman Lull
Where this legend is told
